The New York herald., 1922-05-21
SAYINGS AND LOAN
SOCIETIES PROSPER
Assets Of State Organizations
Totaled S131,271,OO0 at
Close Of 1921.

Every knock is boost-for some one,
as the old saw has 1t. High rents have
been great boon to the savings and
loan associations in the metropolitan
district. At the annual meeting OF the
metropolitan league of these associa-
tions. held recently in Brooklyn. the
reports showed that 1921 was the most
prosperous year the organization ever
had. High rents drove many otherwise
contented apartment dwellers or rent
payers TO buy lot and build a home.
and thousands OF such persons found
the savings and loan associations very
present help in time OF trouble. The
wrowth of these institutions was marked
all over the State, Proof OF this was
afforded by the fact that the total assets
OF the State associations increased from
$115.4s0.000 In 1920 to sl31,271. 900 in
1921. The increase In membership was
80.576. The total amount of loans made
reached s23.273,00o.
According to Archibald w. McEwen,
secretary of the Metropolitan League,
the State banking Department reports
showed the following statistics for the
metropolitan district: Associations In
Kings county increased their assets %
$10, 1855. Nassau county associations
are gradually climbing TO the million
mark the report showing $4,000 as
sets. Bronx shows a small increase.
The Manhattan or New York county as
sociations increased more than double
those OF any other county in the State,
going from s17.2s5.s40 to $40, 500.
an increase Of $3.544.56s. Queens. VITA
eleven associations, increased s236.0O0.
and the associations have s1,575.000 as
sets.
with s11.410,0 assets increasing
s1.s5sDoo; Rockland. sixteen associa-
tions. with $4,000. 900 assets; Westches-
ter made an increase of s670,000. Its
ten associations have total assets Of
s3.3s0.000.
Banner Year for Organization.
Enlarging on this report, Mr.. Nc
Even says:
''The year 1921 stands out as the BAN
ner year in the history of cooperative
| savings and loan associations OF the
metropolitan district. Every association
increased in assets and membership. to
some extent at least. Two large as
sociations of the borough OF Manhat-
tan increased their assets more than
81. 10000 each. and the total number
of loans made by these two institutions
alone was 729. with the average mort
gage less than $500. showing what two
institutions in that borough did in one
year. to say nothing of the twenty or
more others in that borough and seven
ty-five In the metropolitan district. The
total was more than 5000
"One gets good idea of the growth
Of our organization when II Is rernem
bered that ten years ago the total as
sets of all associations in Manhattan
were about sll.Oo0.oOo. Two associa~
tions alone now have about $40. ooo.OoP
and a combined membership OF nearly
10000, which is more than the men,
bership Of all the associations IN Man
haitian ten years ago.
And what Is the reason for this
phenomenal increase? It is apparent
that II Is primarily brought about by
the increased rents of the average
householder and the congested housing
conditions generally. Coupled with It
| all is the education of the people to the
merits OF our institutions. and II Is
| steadily sinking into the average man
and woman that they are the greatest
agencies In the country to-day for home
owning and systematic thrift.
1T is pleasing to the average person
to know that he has a voice in the man
agement: that no self perpetuation of
boards of management can exist--that
an association is absolutely controlled
by its members. and that savings and
loan associations stand alone In this re-
spect among the banking institutions Of
the United States. The knowledge is
becoming general among our citizenry
that the cornerstone of these intitu.
| tions is the broad. underlying principle
of humanity. that feeling which is gen
orally absent from other financial inti-
tutions dealing with the people and
which makes our institutions the only
truly democratic financial institutions
| In the United States.
Figures Show 20 Per Cent. Growth.
1--WE have been able to secure from
the State Banking Department the offl-
cial figures OF the status OF savings and
| loan associations in the metropolitan dis
trict on January ], 1929. as compared
| with one year ago, and from reports re-
ceived from organizations throughou the
district the growth was at least 20 per
cent. Several associations were organ
ICED during the year. a few In sections
where they were needed and IN other
sections where they were not needed.
And while am on this subject let me
timc from managers of Industrial and
commercial concerns with perhaps a
maximum OF 1900 employees when times
are good requesting information relative
to organizing a savings and loan asso-
citation among their employees.
TO all these give but ono answer.
namely: 1t is inadvisabie to organize
an association for employees exclusively
unless the concern has more than 5000
persons 20 draw upon, as the history OF
these associations in this section shows
that they invariably liquidate in the
course OF a few years. dying Of dryrot.
Our State League Committee on Pro-
gram has induced II. D. Haight. man
ager of the Industrial relations depart
men tof the Eastman Kodak Company,
to write a paper on this subject for the
annual convention at Saranac Lake on
June 1915.
'In a recent letter Mr.. Haight says
that IL is inadvisable for small concerns
not engaged in a fairly stable business
to start plant savings and loan asso-
citation, as the laying of OF high per-
centage OF employees would call for sud-
den heavy Withdrawals that might cause
the association serious financial embar-
rassment. When an employee IL laid of
for an indefinite period he will inva-
riably withdraw from plant associa-
tion, which Is not always the case II he
is a membe rof an association outside OF
his place of employment.
"Mr. Haight recommends that an en-
nloyer should get on the hoard Of man