What is a Credit Union? By Morris Ziskind.

Ever since a group of active members of the Workmens Circle have organized a Workmens Circle Credit Union, many of the members have been asking the question "What is this thing - a Credit Union?"

Those, who are familiar with the European labor movement, know that there is no country in Europe where there is no Credit Union. The same is true of many states in this country. Among the Jewish labor masses there are private loan associations for the purpose of securing high rates of interest for the benefit of the few members.

A Credit Union, when organized by a labor organization, serves as a peoples bank to enable its members to save money, and it loans money at a normal rate of interest to its members when they are in need, as well as those organizations 2and institutions that serve the interests of the labor movement. The profit is, from time to time, partly divided among the members, and partly used to increase the activities of the Credit Union, and to help the labor movement. A Credit Union loans money to labor organizations for cooperative enterprises, to unions in time of strikes, and, naturally, every loan must be guaranteed. A Credit Union is a cooperative peoples bank, where the members save their money. They are the shareholders and they are the bosses, and they get interest on their saved money, that is loaned out to the depositors, and to labor organizations, which means that they are helping the individual members of the Credit Union. A Credit Union binds its members and creates more friendly relationship between them. It makes it possible to give credit to its members at easy payments. It teaches its members to be of self help or mutual help, and at the same time it teaches its members the business direction of the bank and makes some of their members, to a certain extent, independent.

The history of Credit Unions is very interesting and proves the many uses the labor masses have derived from the Credit Unions. The first Credit Union was 3established in Germany in 1840.- The United States sent a commission to Europe to study the Credit Unions, and received a very important report about the Credit Unions, which shows that in 1910 Germany had 14,993 Union Credit banks for farmers, with a membership list of 1,447,766, with outstanding loans amounting altogether to $452,749,961. Germany also had 1,051 Credit Union banks for workers with a membership of 671,589, with loans outstanding to the amount of $1,106,165.207.

In Italy they started organizing Credit Unions in 1868 and the commission reported 2,499 Credit Unions now existing in Italy. In Austria, the first Credit Union was organized in 1885, and in 1910 - Austria had 10,954 Credit Unions. Ireland has over 200 Credit Unions. France took up the idea in 1912, and in 1913, had 4,700 Credit Unions. Japan had 7,301 Credit Unions in 1912. In Russia, there are 11,000 local Credit Unions that are affiliated through a central cooperative bank in Moscow, with a membership of 6,000,000,000 people. In Canada the Credit Unions began developing in 1910, and now have over 300, and the success has been so great that not one dollar has been lost during their 4existence of over twelve years. In the United States this idea is leading to success. In nine states there are already laws, which the fur workers are making possible and they are agitating for the organizing of Credit Union banks.

In the following states there are laws for Credit Unions: Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota. The report of the banking commission of Massachusetts for 1919, shows that the Credit Unions of that state have a capital of $2,791,165, belonging to fifty-nine Credit Unions with 22,987 members. For the year 1919 these Credit Unions did business to the amount of $3,862,948. The superintendent of banks in New York reported that in the year 1919 the Credit Union banks had a capital of $1,153,000. In North Carolina the Credit banks, only three years old, have a capital of $90,000. According to statistics there are 65,000 Credit Union banks throughout the world having 15,000,000 members and a capital of $7,000,000,000.

It is true about the Union Credit banks in Europe as well as in this country, 5that they are the safest and surest institutions in the world, and the members are workers and farmers. Credit Unions are being organized as neighborhood organizations, or by members of a certain organization where workers belong, or members of one union, or, as is the case with the Credit bank of the Workmens Circle, which take in only members of the Workmens Circle, where the members know each other. In such cases the very start offers the feeling of confidence, friendship, equality and solidarity among the members and the relationship through the Credit Union, strengthens the friendship, and the unity becomes stronger, and this alone helps bring good results for the Credit Unions. The Credit Unions are cooperative organizations like all other cooperative enterprises. Their aim is that the members shall be able to help one another with the money that they all save. The workers can accomplish a great deal through Credit Union banks. The Credit Unions will serve as a cement to build a strong institution at the time when every member will enjoy the profits direct, or indirect, of his saved money, and assist one another when help is most needed.