Opportunities and Obligations-Forward, March!

BY FRANK A. CHASE

Manager, Building and Loan Department Southwestern Lumbermen's Association, 501-4 R. A. Long Building, Kansas City, Mo.

The year 1921 has passed into history. What has been added to the record in behalf of the building and loan movement? Does it show a splendid increase, or merely the gain to be attributed to its own momentum? Continued apathy, or an awakened consciousness of opportunity and responsibility? What of the future? Such are some of the questions milling through my consciousness as I relax from the extended and intensive effort of my busiest year, and involuntarily, an inventory of the assets and liabilities of the movement is suggested; not in statistics primarily, except as these give weight or proof to facts of deeper significance, but more especially in human equations and fundamental economic principles, the right adjustment and application of which will insure the multiplications of the total benefits of the movement instead of the simple additions, with which too many of us have been self-complacently content.

True, the statistics we have all been glibly quoting are impressive and of great moment considered alone, for they visualize millions of thrifty citizens and happy homes, made possible through the unselfish service of scores of thousands of faithful directors and officers of local building and loan associations; but, when we consider the fact that a hundred million of our people are making no use of these institutions, the indictment resting upon those who are responsible for the situation is merely accentuated by a recital of the statistics involved.

With like reasoning, I submit that our own work during the past eleven months, is not to be mainly measured by the statement that I have organized about a score of new associations, with preliminary work in as many more towns which will, no doubt, result in an equal number of new associations, and besides have actively assisted sixty associations already established; that many additional people have thereby been provided with homes and thousands of new savings accounts opened; that our audiences in one hundred and seventy-one meetings have numbered approximately fifty thousand people. No! The vital facts that persist have to do with conditions and principles that are of general application-not limited to these Southwestern States-and not dependent upon any one individual or group for their proper and efficient application.

I trust what I have to say in this connection may not be misconstrued as carping criticism at any point. My sole purpose is to increase the effectiveness of the large army of building and loan workers, through whose untiring efforts untold good has been accomplished and within whom lie infinite possibilities of accomplishment, provided intelligent, persistent effort, more closely co-ordinated and of greater scope than in the past, may be brought into action. Many years of my life have been devoted to active building and loan association management, but within the year 1921, coming in contact with the problems of a hundred communities, I have developed such an intense enthusiasm regarding the potentialities of the movement in the solution of social and economic problems and the elevation of American civilization and American ideals, that I would be false to my own convictions if I failed to urge with the utmost earnestness, that our demonstrations of the value of uncommercialized effort, made possible through the generosity of the Southwestern Lumbermen's Association, should lead to unprecedented effort throughout the country to adequately cover the building and loan move

ment.

No individual and no group of men can handle the situation. Nothing less than the united efforts of all who believe in the gospel of building and loan can adequately solve the problems involved. Diagnosis must

always precede treatment if favorable results are to be expected and the diagnosis given by our Mr. J. R. Morehead, at your U. S. League Convention in 1920 still stands as the truth about the building and loan movement. He said in effect "Not a twentieth of our population have been 'sold' on the building and loan idea and of the hundred million pepole standing aloof, none are too old to continue to save and none too young to begin. What is needed are missionaries to spread the gospel, men to carry the message to Garcia' and then, as a good Presbyterian Elder, he quoted Romans 10:14-15: 'How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall they preach except they be sent?' He might have added two more scriptural quotations that are no less pertinent, as John 4:35 'Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries; for they are white already to the harvest,' and its correlative, Matthew 9:37 'The harvest indeed is great but the laborers are few'."

In plain English, concisely stated, we can agree that a hundred million people need the benefits of building and loan and most of them could be induced to use it, if properly presented by a sufficient number of properly trained workers, representing properly organized and properly conducted associations established at every point in the country where organization is feasible. Thousands of communities have no associations where conditions justify the organization of one. Others are inadequately served by existing associations because of limitations voluntarily or involuntarily imposed. A scarcity of trained workers is everywhere evident and no effort to meet the need. Publicity through advertising and reading matter is more meager than in any other line of human endeavor of one-half its importance.

No; this is not the Jeremiad of a pessimist nor an apology for some of our own retail lumbermen who still fail to rise to the occasion so greatly to their benefit. We are merely desirous of presenting a few facts and offering a few thoughts that may possibly invite such consideration and discussion of the entire movement as, conceivably, might result in positive action towards reaching, teaching, convincing and adequately serving the hundred million who represent the available "harvest" of our building and loan associations.

The paramount need is men; trained men, enthusiastic men, men with a vision, able men, practical men, broadminded men, men who are willing to see others prosper while they increase their own prosperity; charitable men who follow the principle that the greatest charity is to provide another with a chance to help himself and who are likewise willing to grant the possibility that the differing methods of associations may not be per se objectionable; men to serve as directors and managers of associations, men to do general field work for the movement, men to reach the public through oral and written address; men to train men, to teach the subject in our schools of commerce and higher learning.

Several associations projected in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, in recent months are withholding applications for charter until a suitable secretary can be found. Ten calls for our services from as many associations in one state in one day's mail is an indication that our work the past year in demonstration of Mr. Moorehead's great idea has awakened some interest, and it is simply impossible to adequately cover the situation in a national way until a large corps of competent workers has been recruited and trained. Why not a college course?

Under what auspices should this work be conducted? I can conceive of but one organization of suitable scope and sufficient potential resources and that is, the United States League of Building and Loan Associations. I am not now speaking of the work in individual localities in organizing and in increasing the efficiency of associations for such work may be and should be, effectively handled by the various state leagues, with local workers familiar with local laws, conditions and customs. But as we view the matter there are two distinct fields of

work that must be covered, the general or national, and the local or state, and in the former we have to do with problems common to all sections, such as the determination and dissemination of the principles of the general building and loan movement; the guidance of federal legislation and giving any needed assistance to state leagues in local legislative problems; the organization of a bureau of competent speakers who are capable of actual organization work on call from any locality; also a publicity bureau and an educational bureau.

The outstanding accomplishment of the United States league, to my mind, is in the field of national legislation and other activities of its legislative committee, now so ably guided by Hon. Chas. O'Connor Hennessy, whose devotion to the movement is not less ardent than his grasp of its fundamentals is profound. We would not minimize the benefits and pleasures derived from the periodical assembling of representatives in the annual meetings of the league, with discussions, interchange of ideas, and congenial social amenities, but who, that has been incurably bitten by the building and loan bug, can avoid an occasional question (probably secretly exterminated as heresy if not treason), whether there are not possibly other, and present day, Neros, who fiddle while Rome burns. True, a number of loyal, able workers have heretofore urged intensive effort but, until appeal results in action, concerted, intensive action, national in scope and adequately financed, who can feel that mental assent is sufficient, and performance unnecessary?

Why not adopt a real programme and put it into effect? From the favorable trend of letters received from building and loan workers from New York to California, from South Carolina to the state of Washington, and here and there throughout the country, we are encouraged to believe that action need not be further delayed. Special activities in state leagues, notably Kansas, Illinois, Ohio and New Jersey are an indication of the favorable trend of united association effort. Deserving of special mention is the joint campaign by the Kansas City league whose advertising appropriation alone for the year amounts to a sum several times as great as the annual income of the United States League. Note R. Holtby Myers' recent outline of practical suggestions, and the work of K. V. Haymaker in recent times, all tending toward the solution of our common desires.

To mention the service of Secretary Cellarius and the inestimable value of Bro. Rosenthal's AMERICAN BUILDING ASSOCIATION NEWS, is not to deprecate the value of the efforts of all league officials, past and present, for, I am sure, no equal list of faithful devoted public servants is elsewhere available and the least return one can render them is that of grateful acknowledgement. But the present incumbents should be given active support and constructive suggestions from the field and I, therefore, submit the following:

SUGGESTED PROGRAMME FOR UNITED STATES LEAGUE

Creation of four special departments, viz: Legislative, Education, Promotion (and publicity), Organization. a-The Legislative Department: To handle such problems as have heretofore been so ably handled by the Legislative Committee, together with assistance to various state leagues in handling legislative problems affecting their membership as also legal advice in court actions due to varying interpretations of general laws. b-The Department of Education: To prepare and disseminate standard text books covering the ideals of the building and loan movement, its history and development, its fundamental principles, proper organization and management of local associations, general statutes affecting all, local laws, conditions and customs, benefits available to individual savings member, benefits to the borrower, influence on character and citizenship, effect on general business prosperity, effect on local real estate values, etc., etc. To secure endowments for scholarships and chairs on building

and loan in colleges and universities. To provide lecture courses and lectures. To conduct institutes and schools for training building and loan workers. To produce attractive moving pictures covering building and loan.

c-The Department of Promotion and Publicity: To do for the whole country what Mr. Moorehead has attempted to do for these Southwestern states in answering the questions propounded by himself with scriptural authority as above stated, by "sending" the "preacher" that all might "hear" and "believe" and "call on" the building and loan association and as a result of which, thousands have literally been added to the membership rolls of the various associations in these states without expense to them or any fee to our organization. In other words, this department should maintain a speakers' bureau and provide speakers and publicity material through which the public may be interested, informed and convinced; should conduct a campaign of national advertising, supplemented by attractive publicity matter-rightly handled we have proven that free space can be secured, of greater actual value than would be represented by our entire expenditure for all purposes. A special work of this department should be directed to the securing of concerted action by all civic groups, especially those whose activities cover a wide area, as International Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, American Federation of Labor and affiliated groups, United States Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Women's Clubs, Manufacturers' Association and all commercial groups. In this connection permit me to state that this plan has already been tried in a great many cases in our own work without a single unfavorable outcome. d-The Department of Organization: To provide organizers, adaptable to local laws and customs, capable of determining on brief inspection whether conditions in a given community are such as to justify the organization of a local association and, if so, to interest the entire community as far as possible and complete the organization in such form as to secure approval from the state authorities. In our own work, this department has been necessarily merged with that of promotion and publicity and, in any event, to be effective, the work of these departments should be free from any taint of commercialism. The workers are entitled to compensation according to their ability and training but not at the expense of an infant association or its members.

Right here let me state that the greatest hindrance to building and loan development is found in the attitude of officers and members in the matter of appropriation of funds for advertising and support of league activities, and their disapproval is usually due to shortsightedness. In financial returns, the indirect dividends actually accruing to the individual savings member are usually in excess of the direct percentages in dividends apportioned from earnings - they are received by him through increase of business and profits resulting from association activities in his town, if he is in business, and in the increased value of real estate, if he is a property-owner. These indirect dividends are grossly disproportionate to the trifling reduction in his book dividends which might result from reasonable contribution to promote the growth of his own association, or of the movement in general, but in any case his dividends are the result of sacrifices on the part of those who organized and maintained his own association and surely no one who is fairminded can object to reasonable participation in so great a work.

I have not elaborated the scope and method of suggestions which may well be considered by the various state leagues in co-ordination with the possible extension of activities by the National League, but I feel I have already severely taxed your time and attention and can only plead an intense desire to see the whole country blessed with a maximum

development of the movement and I see no possibility in that direction except as herein outlined.

How does it strike you? Let's have your ideas, amendments, suggestions, criticisms. Our ideas are not patented nor are they presented in a dogmatic spirit. What we want are results. Does the subject justify the appointment of a special committee of the United States League to study, analyze and report at our meeting in Maine next summer on the feasibility of some such work and the financing of same? If so, write the president and executive committee urging the appointment of such committee. Let's rise to our opportunities and meet our obligations.

What They are Saying in California About the Own-Your-Home Idea.

(Collected for the NEWS by FREMONT WOOD.)

As I write, I am wondering if California is "putting one over" on the East. The press of San Francisco is literally "slopping over," to use a phrase of the street, with building and loan propaganda, some of it so pertinent and good, that I cannot resist the temptation to quote it here, believing it ought to have the publicity that only the NEWS can give it. I believe it will be an inspiration to the workers in the building and loan field, and intensely suggestive to the dweller in the modern apartment house. Take this for instance:

At a recent meeting of San Francisco club women, the question was discussed: "What has become of the well-known American home, the American home-girl, who used to entertain in the family parlor, and the much-vaunted American home influence?"

These club women want to know, and they are instituting an "open-door of the home" campaign to turn San Francisco young men and women from the jazzy expensive pleasures that have taken the place of wholesome home pleasures. Here in brief is what some of these club women have to say on the subject:

Mrs. H. M. Tenny, president of the San Francisco District Federation of Women's Clubs:

"The time has come when club women, the world over, must make the home the paramount consideration. The only way to combat the evils of today is in a return to home life.

"We are getting too far away from the fireside in our zeal to master many outside influences.

"Unless we turn our attention back to the home we shall have wasted our energies, we shall have lost sight of the real purposes for which we, as club women, are organized.

"It does not necessarily mean that we are not to be interested in anything outside of the home. But it does mean, emphatically, that we must make the home the goal of our highest and loftiest ambitions.

"A better home life makes for a better community, a better national life. The 'home is the backbone of the nation,' and the better the home, the greater and more powerful will be the nation."

Mrs. Agnes Appel, war mother and secretary of the San Francisco chapter:

"The old-time idea of inviting friends to call informally would be a saving grace. Not telephone calls, with elaborate preparations preceding