The Detroit times., 1910-11-29
SCHOOL CHILDREN
TURN BANKERS
They Deposit and Borrow Money
Like Grown-Ups and Institution
Is Run on Business Lines.
BY w. G. SHEPHERD.

NEW YORK. Nov. 29.-When
school is out at $3.50 in public school
No. II the KIDS don't rush into the
yard; they rush down to the basement
where the school bank, the only one
OF Its kind In the void. is located
Everybody has business 10 do down
there II he or she--for the girls are
as much interested In the bank as are
the boys-can summon even a penny.
It's lots more fun to put q penny In
the bank than TO go 10 a candy store
and buy suckers with II.
In every detail the small basement
room has ben fitted up like a bank.
AT various rallied w'ui Tvs stand the
ca.E:er. re paying teller, The receiv-
Ing teller and tie boOSkccpe". At
3:35 they are al In their places ard
banking hours begin
There isn't grown-up person about
the place, yet fro misc 10 800 chill
dren will transact banking business
until p. M, handling real money and
errors than a real bank might make.
The president of the bank Is If
teen years old: he was elected by u
board of directors, who were chosen
by the depositors at an election. He
has a private office, where he confers
| with clients OF the bank. He has a
secretary and a guardian at his door,
just like any other bank president, and
like any bank president, he likes TO
make good loan, at 6 per cent inter
est.
There Is a police department In the
school, and the chief needed stars for
his officers He went to the bank and
borrowed 81 on a promissory note for
80 days at per cent. Then the chief
bought the stars for 40 cents and sold
them to his policemen for 90 cents.
With the profit he paid off the note
and started bank account for the
police department.
William Berwind, eight years old,
wanted to go TO the school athletic
games The admission was 10 cents
and he didn't have the money. He
went to the bank with his problem.
I'll loan you the money on a prom
issory note for 80 or so days, at per
cent" said the president, but the
note must be Endorsed by some de-
positor who has more than 10 cents
In the bank"
William went to his friend, Isador
| Kingston, who had 6S cents in the
| bank. Isador signed the note in very
vertical handwriting. But the note
was as good as any millionaire ever
made out in the unreliable scribble
that millionaires often use.
I William got his rs cents and saw
the game. He made good" too for
before the 80 days had rolled around
he had bank balance of his own OF
! " cents.
The average deposits in the bank
are running up this year, which Is
| the second In the banks history, to-
| ward 81 and there are nearly 400 de-
| positors.
A little problem that is a very big
| problem In the country at large has
come up in the bank recently.
| When the bank was started Its by
laws provided that the depositors. in
selecting a board of directors,' should
have one vote for each so cents In
their accounts. II wasn't long before
the depositors with the largest nc
counts were beginning to control the
| bank. Mr.. Mandelstam wouldn't help
the small depositors. telling them they
would have to work out for them
selves this big question of the dollar
and the man..
The small depositors are working
II out. They are getting together az
many present depositors as they can
and as many new ones as possible.
hoping that their combined vote as
50-cent depositors will outweigh the
~
have three and four votes each. Then
they'll change the bylaws so that the
vote Of one deposition will count as
much as the vote of any other.
Patent Applications filed by Barthel
& Barthel. 81 w. Congress-st.