LABOUR BANKING.
The Economics department of Princeton University has been analyzing American Labour's experiments in banking. The labour unions began to establish banks about nine years ago. At one time there were thirty-six Labour banks in the country, but only twenty-five remain. Only four or five of the twenty-five are found to have made a return on their investment greater than might have been had from sound bonds, and the average return from all twenty-five is small. The survey concludes that there are advantages in the entry of the unions into banking, since this method of mobilizing Labour's resources .gives cohesion to the Labour movement, broadens the horizon of individual unionists who are stock- holders in the banks, and encourages ,a greater sense of responsibility in respect of industrial and economic problems. On the whole, the weaknesses in the experiments seem to have, been due to failure to recognize that, an excellent trade union organizer might be ill-equipped to-organize and conduct a bank without expert assistance. Where ,experieneed ,and competent banking experts have been employed and heededi the Labour banks appear to be successful.
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