Land Settlement Conference in Moscow Hears of New Institution
The question of the proposed Jewish autonomous republic within the Union of Soviet Republics which is being discussed at the land settlement conference of the with the announcement of the formation of the Agrokusbank.
The purpose of the new bank, which starts with an initial capital of $750,000, is to aid in the development of the Jewish republic. The bank will finance the agriculture and handicrafts of the colonists. It is not a State concern but a Joint Stock Company, of which part of the shares will be retained by the State Bank, the Industrial Bank and the Peasants’ Cooperative Bank, but a large block has already been allotted to private holders, it is declared.
The hope entertained here is that the scope and capital of the new organization will develop to the extent where it will become the first national bank of the Jewish autonomous republic.
The Agrokusbank will now start to handle the colonization funds from Russia and foreign sources and will also perform the work of transferring sums from the Jews abroad to their relatives here at reduced rates, according to the information given out.
It is believed that representatives of the Agrojoint and the Jewish Colonization Society (Ica) will be offered places on the Board of Directors of the Agrokusbank.
The Jewish community of Portsmouth, Va., launched a campaign for $2,000, its quota in the United Jewish Campaign, at a meeting last Sunday, at which Dr. J. W. Barenburg of Baltimore, who recently returned from Russia, was the principal speaker.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
