Polish Government Gives Legal Status to 315 Jewish Loan Societies

Legal status has been granted by the Polish government to the greater part of the Jewish free loan societies established through the help of the Joint Distribution Committee. A report received by David A. Brown, National Chairman of the United Jewish campaign, from Dr. Bernhard Kahn, European Director of the Joint Distribution Committee, indicates that out of the total number of 520 Gemilath Chesed Kassas, loan societies, 315 have so far been “legalized.” Of this number 210 are in Congress, Poland; 58 in the district of Vilna; 45 in Western Galicia and 2 in Eastern Galicia.

In most instances the Government has placed no obstacles in the way of any of these societies becoming legalized. Only in the former Russian provinces of Podolia and Volynia where portions of the Jewish population have not yet been naturalized, the authorities have requested that a provision be embodied in the constitutions of these societies limiting the right to receive loans to citizens only. This difficuly has now been overcome and the loan societies are functioning in these provinces also.

According to the figures reported, the average monthly number of loans issued by these kassas throughout Poland was about 14,000; the laons amounting to about 1,400,000 Polish zlotys. The loans repaid in the same period amounted to about 1,300,000, thereby resulting in a monthly deficit of 100,000 zlotys which these kassas have had to face. Despite the support which some of these institutions have won from the Government and from the Jewish communities themselves they are, the report stated, for the present at least, not in a position to meet their requirements and to work prohtably and develop normally without some and from outside sources, such as the Joint Distribution Committee advances.