El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-31

/ every part OF the United States where
| immigrants from southern and eastern
! Europe are found in considerable
numbers. 1t is a bank that bears no
closer resemblance to ordinary bank
! ing institutions than a sailboat bears
( 10 the big ocean greyhound that brings
/ the immigrants over. 1t is without
capital, except the confidence of the
immigrant in his banker; without Ie-
gal responsibility except what little
( the common law might place upon it;
! without regulation, except what the
( eX1Sencies of business require: ana
wholly without legal control by duly
constituted state or national authorI-
ties.
no Chance for Bad Debts.
immigrant bankers are, as a rule,
also :. steamship ticket agents, ana
usually conduct other businesses of
some kind. frequently they run the
nelghb0rhOod grocery store, and there
is little chance Of bad debts when they
carry both the accounts payable and
the accounts receivable of their Gus
toners. Often they are the neighbor-
hood saloon keepers, and the banker
who runs a saloon and an Immigrant
bank combined is always prosperous.
But the proprietor of the immigrant
bank, though he may also be a saloon
keeper or a grocer is not entirely mer-
cenary. He not only is always ready
to handle the immigrants savings, but
obl1ges them by writing their letters,
receiving their mail, giving them ad-
vice and doing everything a good
neighbor might be expected to do. His
ability and willingness to help them
in all their small-but to them import
ant-affairs, naturally gives him the
advantage over regular banking insti-
tutions, and makes him an important
factor in the life of the new immigrant
No Interest on Deposits.
The immigrants deposits are not sub
ject to check, they draw no interest,
( and there is no requirement that the
panker shaH keep a reserve fund on
hand to take care Of any possible run
on the bank. The banker simply plays
the role of custodian of the funds and
uses them in his own business without
let or hindrance. The transmission of
the money Of immigrants to their
friends and relatives abroad is an i'm
portant part of the business of every
immigrant banker. It is estimated
that this business amounts TO more
than quarter of a billion dollars a
year. The immigrant banker usually
has the money orders of some big
banking house whose credit is good on
the other side, and these orders are
sold to the immigrants who wish to
send more money home, the immigrant
banker and the big banking house d.
V1dlng the profit OF the exchange,
The best information available shows
that there are nearly 5000 of these
banks in operation in the United States.
and that New York alone has about
1000 of them. They never have flour
lSIGu aAuOuS immigrants from north ]
western Europe, for the reason that
the immigrants from those countries
nave readily fallen IN with the regu-
lar American banking system.
Patrons Mostly EabOrers.
The immigrant banker deals almost !
wholly with a floating population of /
alien laborers. Having Just arrived /
almost wholly beyond the influence of
Augmentation, completely ignorant /
OF American banking methods, easily
influenced by racial appeal and largely /
dependent upon leaders of their own
nationality, they flock ID the immi- ,
grant banker. 4 successful Italian /
banker, IN commenting upon the ig-
norance and trustfulness of his patrons /
pointed out the ease with which he /
could exploit them should he so desire. /
Often they lose their deposit receipts /
and forget how much is due them !
Trey accept without question his state 4
ment Of the amount.
a member Of a leading steamship 4
agency which acts as a depositta. |
agency in trying to encourage immi- 4
grants to patronize regular American !
banks, declares that without solicita-
ton, his agency - 5Ild command $500 !
600 in immigrant deposits. so FREQUENT 1
ana lnslstant are the requests from the \
immigrants tlfat it act as 4 custodian
Of their funds.
Ordinary American banks are 10 )I,ed /
upon with suspicion by the new fmu1i-
grant, and furthermore, it has no facil-
tues Tor rendering the sort of banking
service the immigrant needs. When
they see the magnificence OF the rooms
of some of our big banks they stand
aghast; and are sure that no bank can
be honest which mas GThat seems to
Ihem) such extravagant appointments.
Inc equipment of American banks nre-
vents them from entering into a fair
competition with the immigrant banker.
A SloVak immigrant banker, in apollo
glzing 10 an American for the appear
ance Of his banking room, declared
that 1t was necessarily i'll kept be-
cause the men came to the bank in /
their working clothes, often into&i-
Gated, and usually smoking, chewing
and splitting without regard to cuspi-
doris.
No Pass Books Issued.
Wnlle there are many large and
carefully conducted immigrant banks
In the United States, there are many
more small ones which are indifferent
" conducted. Some of the large ones
Ia1l at times. CrOatian banker IN New /
York, who had branches and agencies
throughout the country, failed &c The |
extent of 100000 in 1905 In some Of /
the banks no receipts are given ana
no pass books issued. The alien press
frequently helps keep alive a preju-
dlce against American institutions, Of
ten because those who control the pa
pers are immigrant bankers.
A certain SlOvak banker is the ra-
hgious leader of his people, and the
organizer of national SIoYak society
Although he has become an American
citizen. in the several publications he
issues, ranging from a daily paper to
yearly almanac, he breaches Pan
Slovakism. He transmits more than
S2,OOO,OO0 to Europe and sells some 5000
steamship tickets every year.
Sometimes immigrant bankers obtain
postal sub-station in their places of
business and use this as a means to
encourage their people to patronize
them. One Italian banker who Ope-
rated such a station in connection with
his bank, made it appear that he was
doing a government business. He
failed, with liabilities of more than a |
quarter of a million dollars.
The investigation or rne immigration
commission shows that comparatively !
few of the immigrant bankers keep an
adequate reserve fund on hand, and /
also that there are many scOundrels (
who set up immigrant banks just long !
enough to get a good line of deposits,
and then abscond, leaving the poor i'm
migrants without a cent of their saw 1
ings. There are frequent instances
where the bankers, in perfect good |
faith, make use of the funds deposited
with them. and fail from making in 4
Judicious investments.
The amount deposited by the immi-
grant in an immigrant bank seldom
exceeds 500 and the amount sent back