The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1909-01-22

which, if the truth were known, would
prefer not to be bothered with the
small deposits of these Negro patrons.
The business white men of this and
other Southern cities have far more
respect for a Negro that will give his
patronage to his own institutions than
they have for the Negro who both by
words and actions show that he pre-
fers not to deal with his own people.
PROGRESS OF NEGRO BANKING INsTITU-
TONS AND THEIR SAFETY.
Ten years ago there were but two
Negro banking institutions in the
United States. To-day there are forty
two in active operation and two that
will throw their doors open next
month, four have suspended business,
making fifty in all. Only one of this
fifty is North of the Mason and Dixon
Line, showing that the Southern Ne
gro is making strenuous efforts to
take care Of his own financial con-
dition and that the Southern white
man is doing all in his power to en-
courage him in the same. AS to the
safety of Negro banks and banking
institutions we must Judge the future
by the past. During the fifteen
months of financial stringency there
has been but one Negro bank failure
in the United States. While it is true
four have temporarily closed their
doors, but three of these were closed
by contracts. Both stockholders and
depositors received 100 cents on the
dollar Only one Negro bank had to
go into the hands of a receiver, and
in this case the cashier was so we'll
bonded that the depositors will lose
no money. In almost every daily pa
per that you pick up you will see the
account of the failure of some white
banking institution or hear of presi-
dents and cashiers being indicted in
the courts for bad management of
financies, and yet out of the fifty
banks now in operation in the United
States among Negroes not one has
been indicted for embezzlement or bad
use of the financies of the institution
of which he is an officer.
Comparison is said to be odious,
but for our own benefit and for the
benefit of Negro stockholders and de-
positors | beg to be allowed to give
some facts and figures concerning
banking institutions and then we can
answer for ourselves whether Negro
banking institutions are as safe as other
institutions. Upon consulting Dun's
Annual Review for 1909 | find under
the head of Bank Suspensions" that
in the United States there were 253
banks suspended with a liability of
1851 ,924,354. These suspensions were
confined to no particular section of
the United States but are widely scat
tered in all portions of the country.
For instance, in New York City alone
there were % bank suspensions with
liability of $135, 9SS,629 Thus when
we take up the sections of the coun-
try, the capital invested, the ability
and experience of the officials hand
ling these banking institutions, we
can see that there exist no reasons
why Negroes should fear to deposit
their money in Negro banking insti-
buttons.
Each of the so Negro banking in
situations with but one exception is
savings bank and while we have had
four suspensions in Negro banking
circles during the year 1908, only one
of them was thrown into the hands of
a receiver, the other three being clos
ed by mutual consent, or selling out
to others, or by reimbursing their de-
pOsitors and redividing their paid up
capital among the stockholders. This
one Negro savings bank, while it went
into the hands of a receiver, we learn
from good authority that depositors
will receive 100 cents on the dollar
and the stockholders will lose nothing
if the securities are properly collected.
Out of the 253 banks suspended dur
ing the year 1908 only 10 of them
were savings banks and these 10 saw
ings banks had a liability of only
$S,056,591. If we are to be governed
by these figures we must surmise that
the savings banks of the United
States are the safest banking institu-
tions that we have, and we give as a
reason for this that they invariably
loan on real estate securities. Hence
real estate securities are about the
only securities that Negro banking in
situations can safely deal in at this
time.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
l would recommend first that $4,000
of our capital stock be disposed of at
an early date and the remainder TAX
en- off the market at par, 1t is I'M
fair to the stockholders to have new
stockholders come in and share equal
ly this undivided surplus. But if our