The St. Paul echo., 1927-05-28
PLAN AND WORK BINGA'S
PROGRAM FOR SUCCESS
CONTINUED from page u
One of Ten Children.

One of Ten Children.
Jesse Binga was born in Detroit in
1865. He was one Of ten children and
when he struck out in the world for
himself it was by himself. There was
a spell Of barbering, and of Pullman
portering, and Of huckstering, but al
ways with an eye on houses and lots.
At last came the opening of a real
estate office at 1881 South State street,
Chicago, with capital Of $40.
The rent was SO month.
Jesse Binga paid half Of it.
He bought desk for $3.50.
He ordered 1000 business cards, but
the printer to let him have 25 proofs
of the cards on the plea thu p must
have samples " of the WORK. Those
samples he used until he could pay in
full for the order.
Meanwhile he borrowed nothing. ~
never" he said yesterday, borrowed
a dollar in my life."
Such was the start Of the man who
now owns 1,025 feet of frontage on
Ooulll OldlC ollCCl pSlWSSH oflH dio
18th streets.
Soon after the start he rented one
of the flats in the building where he
had opened office with the dollar and
a half desk. Then he tinkered that
fiat into shape and rerented it at
substantial advance.
"That was the point" he said"
could do the repair work myself. I
could do everything from digging a
posthole to topping a chimney. I
knew, Many a night I've worked all
night on boilers and plumbing, and
wiping joints, and mending stairs, and
hanging paper. I knew materials and
I knew when work was right, Today
have my own force Of carpenters and
decorators and plumbers. I can be
my own inspector. Then knoao.
"Well that was the start.
I'm those days-yes, and long after
our group was mostly porters and
messengers and janitors and walters.
l thought that was the great weakness
of our group-the individual so seldom
striking out for himself and so, be-
cause he was more or less a dependent,
not considered very good risk.
THAT was 1.-THE man of color
wasn't very good risk.
"'Well,' said 1. I'm going to give
it a fair test, and if integrity counts
for anything, I'll win. felt that only
prejudice could beat me and I deter
mined that if it did beat me l would
go to South America and start life
in one of those republics where mans
color is not his crime"
So integrity was your prime asset"
Others Credulity Helps.
Jess Binga pronounced Bingay
by his group y smiled. Yea, he twin
kled-and said:
my greatest asset in business-I
won't say that it was altogether my
integrity. 1t was partly the DISPOSE
ton of the average white man to I'M
derestimate my knowledge of real
estate values. They wouldn't believe
that colored man could take alrr~>
any old bnil1'r" OVID ~'"'n il ...-
-hane'
Success LII SIX ie.,.,.
Success came in six years.
And with the requirement of his
competency came the recognition
which Binga had prophesied would
come to every man of his race who
acquired a CONFERENCE.-THE recogni-
ton that the man was competent Not
Binga, but white men who have dealt
with him gave me that testimony.
They would call up the First National
for "a line" on Binga and the reply
would be, You say it's Jesse Binga
who wants to negotiate that lease
with you? Well, you can't do better
than let him have anything he wants"
Integrity had won. Prejudice had
not beaten Binga, and lone of those
republics " in South America on which
he had kept a weather eye had lost
a useful citizen.
Binga required leaseholds until rent
ais flowed in at the rate of $4,000 a
month from one block of buildings and
$500 month from another.
His Bank Grows Steadily.
The bank, which had been founded
as a private institution in 1908, was
reorganiZed as a state bank in 1920.
Between October, 1921, and October,
1924, it's deposits increased from
100000 to $1,153,O 900.
Three years ago came the new bank
building of rich Ionic architecture,
with such lofty reaches of marble and
nd
and such mellow walnut panelings and
such subdued hangings as you would
expect to find in the loop but not in
the black belt Although the lot
on which the structure stands is only
"a feet wide a remarkable effect of
spaciousness was achieved.
think" said the banker, that
l have made every inch of space work
for u.s." I asked the cost. He re-
piled, 4 think 1 got out for between
hundred and eighteen and hundred
and twenty thousand dollars" The
man who knew materials and who
could talk to artisans as an artisan
must have made each of his dollars
do twice the work an uninformeG
mans dollar would have done.
Limits His Distraction.
While as banker he was keeping not
bankers hours but more than a work
ingman's hours, Binga avoided two
sources of preoccupation and distrac.
ton: He declined to allow race hatred
or hatred of his race-to eat his
heart out, or politics-that arena in
which many Negroes love to perform
to distract him.
OF race hatred he said:
The reason 1 refuse to let it destroy
my soul Is that know that it is in
large part the result Of the commercial.
izing of deadly passion by dishonor.
able and dishonest real estate dealers.
Hoodlums Of both races do the rest"
On politics: