THE WORLD OF BUSINESS (By "CAMBIST")

NZ Truth, Issue 998, 10 January 1925, Page 13

THE WORLD OF BUSINESS (By "CAMBIST")

NORTHERN CO-OPERATIVE TER MINATING BUILDING SOCIETY-

A Fine Position. | Co-operation is the Poor Man's Hope. "Cambist" some months before the above document was available wrote some commendations regarding the above successful terminating building society. His remarks were prompted by the small prospectus which the society had issued, and the tact that m a very short period of time the attempt of providing homes for the people was making wonderful progress m the city of Auckland. The m-st group of shares was. only put on otter on August 21, 1923, the second on the 2Srd of the same month, another on the 27th, two more groups m the following September, one group m.uc-, tober, 1923, yet another February 6, 1924, and the last, covered by the present balance-sheet, m- August, 1924. This kind of lightning speed m collecting working capital was just the soi t of thing to arrest his attention, a here had to be found some valid reason foi the position developed, pn going into the matter he soon concluded that there wore so many valuable ieatmos embodied m the constitution of this society and that its terms of business, and subscriptions were so tnougnttuuy set forth for the benflet of its members that . . A DISTINCT ADVANCE m the methods of this class of building society had been evolved. .In the first place, members could by 'Paying their subscriptions according to the rules of the society either obtain by ballot a .loan of £800 free of interest, repayable by instalments spread oyei a period of .11% years, or ■ they could, purchase by tender amongst , themselves the same amount* of accommodation—an appropriation, repayable m the same manner. These loans to members have to be secured by the mortgage of, property carefully Va i U f O o and ■ that a working limit of £800 would provide a decent home, as well as supply a fair average requirement for home buyers is a very important consideration indeed. The holder of four shares m the society entitles a borrower to the £800 margin of advance, though if a shareholder held ten shares ,the advance would be £2000 So far, there are not likely to be many persons who are willing to. invest savings to the extent' ot ten shillings per week, for, after all. it is the handsome though modest home ot £1200 m value that our enlightened middle class desire. Therefore, by placing m the capital funds of this society "four bob" every week -a /wise and thrifty act is accomplished and it brings within practical range the' bright hope of obtaining a- loan, of £800 either through a free ballot or an appropriation of . that amount through tendering m the usual manner. Thene. are at present some thousands of • THRIFTY PEOPLE m Auckland paying into this society, which has completed its .first year o. business. "Cambist 11 .has at times visited the , offide of the society, and it was delightful to observe how willingly the silver coins flowed over the counter and how pleased the frugal investors appeared when "shelling out" their dues. The subscriptions for the first year totalled £31,287 ss, and of that sum no less than £28,600 was authorised as loans to the fortunate investors. What a splendid achievement m so short a period of time! Tins' writer cannot recall any< thing to equal such a happy experience m the building society line finance, and he sincerely hopes that the same rate of progress will continue for the future; m fact, he is bound to hope that even better progress will mark the next balance-sheet, if only the present members will exercise their co-operative functions m a manner worthy of themselves and of their fine building society. The true cooperative instinct is not only selfhelp but also the helping of others. One of the unfortunate weaknesses of the co-operative movement m this country and elsewhere is the lack of thought for others. It is this selfish failing which cramps and retards progress towards a benign state where "all are brothers' lifting the load and pulling together." This reads like a "Happy .New Year," but as a matter of fact, it is merely the statement of a well-proved principle (unity), which would if put into operation mean nothing short of

CONTINUOUS HAPPY YEARS— as the Spaniard says, "Buenos anos" (good years). The balance-sheet is made up of the affairs of the eight groups which constitute the membership of the society. Each group clearly sets forth the position of its individuality. Profit arid loss accounts, also statement of x'eceipts and expenditure, accompany the several statements. This, while not an unusual method m any sense, is a very satisfactory method of informing the members of their exact position. Glancing through these accounts, one finds ' the sad feature of forfeitures, which seems to be inherent m affairs of this kindi No matter what care is taken to encourage prompt and regular' subscription payments, there aro unfortunately some members • who through carelessness or lack of knowledge get tired of paying .■ m their weekly contributions to s ±he funds— they 'forfeit all rather tharr continue to "add to their store" 'of saved moneys. The latter feature justly describes their foolishness, f of any person's forfeiting their rights or interests m an. investment of this nature are really guilty of a species of financial hari kari;. m other ,wprds, they are putting to cash suicide' the moneys they have thrown away. It must not be forgotten that all moneys invested, m the society earn good profits, and m that 'manner.', provide something more than savings bank interest. To jerk saved cash into, the region of lost money is bad enough, but to sacrifice the interest m addition is

■ A DOUBLE STUPIDITY, to say the least about it. \ The society shows that it has earned arid applied the handsome profit of £6605 3s lid m its first year to all of its' members, which is_ a memorable start of prosperity. This could not have been accomplished but for .the fact that the sums contributed by its members were so lai-ge : (£31,287). To show how profitable this has. been to the members one has only to look; at Che sums applied to each share. In group 1 the sum is lls 2d; No. 2, 10s 8d; No. 3, 13s 2d;,No. 4, Ss 9d; No. 5, 7s Sd; No. 6, 9s 6d; and, in group: No. 7 i:i 4s ,6d. It is not possible from the btilance-sheet to show m the proper manner what a fine proposition this is for the members, but at any rate these figures illuminate the picture' ,m. a very happy manner. One has to keep m mmd 1 that while the investment side of the financial proposition is extremely, good the other side of vit is vastly greater; that is, the effects upon the welfare of the members has already run into no less thaji £28,600 m the first year of their membership. The fortunate winners of . free ballots, together with the successful tenderers for loan appropriations, all of whom enjoy moneys advanced to them on the best possible terms, are deriving an amount of comfort which seems like . A FAIRY STORY ■■ rather than an' ordinary matter of' strict reality. "God bless their homes" and God bless this happy co-operative

method oC bringing 1 homes to so many is "Cambist's" way of expression m a case like this. ■ '

The rules of this society make it possible for membership to be acquired by any person m the Dominion. Its operations are not purely local, so others besides Aucklanders can avail themselves of the right of becoming investing shareholders. Since the society has balloted several free loans some members have sold these privileges at a handsome profit. The latter did not require to borrow so they sold out t0,., those who did. In these' respects the results have returned a splendid profit to the investors who chose that method) of acquiring honest gain. Other groups are m formation, and the secretary of the society will supply all information to inquirers wishing to become members. Thia •Avriter, m conclusion, has only to state . that the board' of directors are worthy citizens of Auckland, and that to them considerable credit is due for the good management- of the society and for the splendid conditions under which its constitution is laid down. But keep the co-operative spirit aqtive. That is the point. Help others to understand it. Co-operation can beat the Government or any other form of money lending institution connected with mortgage finance.