Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1912-05-31
NsGa] BANKS
NO CAUSE FOR GENERAL FEEL
ING OF ALARM BECAUSE SEW
eRAL coLoRED BANKING IN.
sT.TCTIoNs HAVE FAILED RE-
GENTLY,

By reason OF the failure within the
past three months of three negro
banks, the prophets of Ill omen are
having their inning. and are voicing
their pleasure In the saying: Il told
you so!"
However, there is no cause for
alarm. Failure, like death. has al
ways been in the world, bit despite
-rat fact. men are still brave enough
to live.
There is nothing miraculous about
the failure of a negro bank. 1t would
be a miracle, however If none OF
them failed. The negro is handicap
red by lack of experience in bust
ness way. -his experience can not
be imrarted by the schools. nor de-
rived from books alone. 1t must be
acquired at first hand. We've got to
get in the game just as the other
folks rave had to do. and If we blum
der while trying to eject an entrance
it orght not to cause surprise, 1t Is
t~'l or r. o~rd th". nn enc occasion
; he was soliciting funds from a rich
rhilanthropist for a business venture.
The philanthrorfst offered to advance
$50 1000 on condition that white man
be placed at the head of the concern.
DR.. Boyd refused the offer, saying
that he preferred to take much
smaller sum to be handled by ne
groes
Let us have what you can" he
said. and we'll take it and waste It,,
and in the process we'll learn how to
use it, just like you all had to do"
The colored banker has to pilot his
way through reefs and rocks, and
many of which are often hidden. He
is sympathetic-a quality fatal in
business He finds 1t hard to turn a
man down who puts up good front
and thinks he will be able to make
good when the notes fall due.
The colored banker has not yet de-
veloped into the bloodless business
man who is equally concerned and in
different as to whether you lost day
from work or lost your entire family
by death. Further, the colored bank
er has only narrow margin on which
to do business.
Fifty per cent OF the people to
whom he has to look for support have
no money, and among the other fifty
per cent there are boss Knockers"
"croakers," "'fuence men," and 9TH
r,I ~ 1o%
ter happen to be black. However, the
march upward is a necessity; 1t may
be checked temporarily by passing
failure, or business error, but it
must move on. There Is no other
way out. We are surrounded by big
business; we are living In the dawn
of new era. There Is only one way
for us to be factor in this great in
dustrial awakening and that Is to
mass our means. We have got to cor
ner some of the dollars In way that
they will be forced to abide awhile
among negroes. We recently heard
lecturer give this striking illustra-
ton Of the cumulative force of a dol
lar at work. An old colored woman
works a week and at the end she
takes what she can spare of her
money-say a dollar-and deposits it
In a white bank. While she Is leav-
Ing Dago, or Jew, comes in and bor-
rows that dollar. He buys groceries
with 1t for his store and next week
sells those groceries to the old lady
who had deposited the dollar, and
makes profit. The man from whom
he bought the groceries takes the
same dollar and buys coal-from a
white man-and this latter makes a
profit. The coal man needs dry goods
for his wife and takes this dollar and
spends 1t with white merchant, who,
Of course. makes a profit: the white
merchant needs medicine and goes to
white druggist, buys it and this lat
ter makes a profit. The druggist
takes the dollar to a butcher-white,
Of course-and he makes a profit. The
butcher needs some circulars printed
to advertise his business. He takes
the dollar to a white print shop,
whose proprietor does the work, and
makes a profit. The dollar continues
in this charmed circle, yielding a
profit for everybody except the negro
The old lady does not share In the
profits, but she gets big dividend OF
consolation at the thought Of having
money in "de white folks bank"
| We've got to break into that flnan.
cial circle, not as an offense against
the white man, but as defense for
the negro.
TOMATO BUTTER.