Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-02
IMMIGRATION.
XXu-THE IMMIGRANT BANK.
By Frederic J. Haskin.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

He looks forward to the day when he can
bring his family from Europe or return
there himself.
Nothing is more natural, under these
conditions, than that he should deposit
his savings with the steamship agent in
preparation for that day. 1t is not lOns
before the steamship agent has the nu-
T cleus of banking business, and his as
sumption of the role of banker quickly
follows. And then this confidence as
sures him that if he opens up still an
other business he will get the immigrants
trade. So he becomes a saloonkeeper, a
grocer or something like that. 1t also
happens, on the other hand. that the sa-
loonkeeper or the grocer is led into the
banking business by the demands of his
patrons. Here is a customer who brings
his savings to his grocer to keep over
Sunday because he has safe in which to
lock them up. Another follows suit, and
still others, until the grocer is a banker
before he knows 1t.
The immigrant banker deals almost
wholly with a floating population of alien
Deals Almost Wholly Having just
With Alien Laborers. rnast WHOLE,
beyond the influence of Americanization,
methods, easily influenced by racial APP
peal and largely dependent upon leaders
of their own nationality they flock to the
immigrant banker. A successful Italian
banker in commenting upon the ignor-
ance 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 for
L l. IL, l..
without question his statement of the
amount. A member Of a leading steam
ship agency which acts as a depositing
agency in trying to encourage immigrants
to patronize regular American banks
declares that without solicitation his
agency could command 100000 in immi-
grant deposits. SO frequent and insistent
are the requests from the immigrants
that it acts as custodian of their funds.
Ordinary American banks are looked
upon with suspicion by the new immi-
grant, and furthermore, it has no facili-
ties for 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 hon
est which has (what seems to them
such extravagant appointments. The
equipment of American banks prevents
them from entering into a fair COMPETE
ton with the immigrant banker. A
Slovak immigrant banker. in apologizing
to an American for the appearance of his
banking room, declared that it was neces-
sarily ill-kept, because the men came to
the bank in their working clothes, often
intoxicated, and usually smoking, chew
ing and splitting without regard to cuspi
doris.
While there are many large and care
fully conducted immigrant banks in the
United States, there are many more
small ones which are indifferently con-
Quoted. Some of the large ones fail at
times. A Croatian banker in New York,
who had branches and agencies through
out the country, failed to the extent of
100000 in 1908. In some of the banks
no receipts are given and no pass books
issued. The alien press frequently helps
keep alive a prejudice against American
institutions, often because those who con-
troll the papers are immigrant bankers.
A certain Sloyak banker is the religious