NEED FOR BROADER ACTION 147 



movement of the greater degree of utility and 

 public confidence brought about by the new 

 policy was that it developed with a rush. 

 Within two years 400 more village banks had 

 been formed. As, however, each new bank 

 naturally wanted a larger sum to start with 

 than it might need to borrow later on, the 

 officials of the county bank found it impossible 

 to provide sufficient capital to meet all require- 

 ments. 



Meanwhile applications were coming in from 

 other counties wanting to be organized on simi- 

 lar lines, and there were still those " congested 

 districts " in the North-east that stood in es- 

 pecial need of a helping hand. So from outside 

 the movement, the cry was raised, that private 

 effort, which had thus far struggled so manfully 

 with a task of such magnitude, must be supple- 

 mented by State aid; and in 1898 the Hungarian 

 Minister of Agriculture introduced and secured 

 the passing of a Bill for the creation of a 

 Central Co-operative Credit Bank which would 

 operate over the entire country. With this 

 Central Credit Bank all the local co-operative 

 credit banks that chose could become affiliated 

 by subscribing for shares, and various practical 

 benefits, in addition to the facilities for obtaining 

 advances, were offered to them so to do. The 



