Year: 1876

device was ever invented in the his
tory of worklngmen at once so ingen-
ious and beneficial to their interests. :"
1t is far in advance of the ordinary
savings bank, for the whole scheme
comes from the people, is managed by
them, and therefore shows an economy
unknown in our banks. 1t is also a
school where the members are being
necessarily trained in business habits,
particularly those habits which give
business success, viz: Economy, self
control and the custom of small saw
ings, and as the plan is based on the
principle of repeated turning over Of
small capital, these associations secure
much larger profit than our savings
banks could possibly earn" All this
has been made manifest repeatedly,
and should our individual efforts in
this direction result in a disastrous
failures, it will prove nothing
whatever against the benefcence and
wisdom of the system, but will show
decisively that as class Of working
men we lack the necessary modicum of
common sense. It will also show our
consequent inability to bring such
work as this to successful conclusion.


But to return to the subject. l
would ask you, Mr.. President, to bear
in mind that the condition of member
ship is that we must save and invest in
the society at least fifty cents per week
for each share we hold. You will
please note also that this condition is
absolute, for membership cannot be
retained unless this condition is COM
piled with. I would also ask you to
remember that this condition is equal
ly binding on all members without re-
gard to the circumstance of their hav-
ing borrowed, or ever intending to
borrow, money from the society.
When a person joins this society he
may not know whether or not it will
be to his interest and profit to borrow
money but if he is ignorant Of the fact
that he must absolutely pay to the
society fifty cents per week for each
share he holds, then I consider that
individual intellectually in most
deplorable condition.


Having briefly examined the condi-
tions of membership, let us now look
at the conditions upon which mem
bers can borrow money, should they SO
desire. r..


When member for his own inter
est and profit wishes to borrow money,
the conditions upon which he gets it
are ....


1, That he will give security by way of
mortgage upon real or leasehold estate;


2, That he will pay the legal rate of in
telest on the money he has borrowed; and


8, That he will regularly pay into the So
ciety his weekly dues, and fulfill all the Or
binary conditions of membership just the
same as if he had not borrowed cent.


Now, Mr.. President, it is an unde-
niable fact that quite a number of our
members (notably those who thought
it would be to their profit to have the
use Of the societys money! were be-
ginning to convince themselves that
the conditions I have just named were
very oppressive, and, indeed altogether
unjust. What seems remarkable to
me in this connection is that these in
dividuals did not make this vital dis
covery before they got the cash but
let that 60. Now, what intend to
show is that in the working of our Con-
stitution as it stands, all members are
treated with exact and equal justice ;
that nothing could be more fair and
equitable; that the man who does not
borrow can by no possibility $50 far as
our law is concerned,) get one cent
ahead of the man who does and fur
ther, l mean to demonstrate that the
chances and advantages are decidedly
favorable to the man who borrows. I
will not touch the matter of bonus
for I presume we all understand that
if each Of US were to purchase the right
ofredemption, paying the same amount
of bonus, it would be equivalent to
paying no bonus at all. To illustrate
my position | will take Mr.. A., who I
know was strongly in favor of the pro-
posed amendment, and who I also
know has and is using five shares of
$3.50 each of the society's money. Let
US suppose that Mr.. A. and I joined
the society on the same evening each
subscribed five shares; paid the en-
trance fees of SIS, and $3.50 for one