Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-08-22
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.
Financiering and financial Securities in

Financiering and Financial Securities In
the City Of Washington In no city Of equal
wealth and business is it so difficult a matter
| for the property holder to raise money as In
Washington. To raise money, on mortgage on
real estate is next to an impossibility; and, in
deed, upon any security whatever, except on the
part of persons in actual active business, it is
very doubtful, and possibly to a very Emitedex-
tent, tho time being rarely longer than ninety
days. Money in Washington is at all times
scarce; the reason, or achief cause, being, that
TO suit the tastes of our lenders other than the
banks, parties here import for sale stocks and
bonds from all quarters of the Union which be-
ing sold here the money is sent away to pay
for them. An engrossing stream of the money
of Washington capitalists is thus ceascleSsly
flowing out of the city, while the aggregate
active capital of all the banks is by no means
too large to cover the commercial paper seek
ing discounts. Capital here thus seeks, or,
rather, adopts these securities thus constantly
in the market, and by so doing drains active
business of its needed supplies. Capital ne
cessarily flows into this channel through the alb
sence of other permanent securities as good or
better. The same cause affiicts real estate, and
causes too great quantities TO be necessarily
forced on the market.
The general mode of sale has been by notes
secured by deeds of trust, the notes running
at six, twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four
months; thus precluding capital from the pos
sibility of permanent investment, and COM
pelling it to seek other channels. To say
nothing of very strong doubts-declared by
some Of the lawyers to be well founded-of the
legality OF the usual proc s:dings under leeds
Of trust, other inevitable and monstrous evils
attend the custom. At the maturity of each
note the party is liable to be sold out if pay
ment be not punctual, and when the first notes
become due no loan can be had upon the pro-
perty until the whole be paid off. The several
notes, too, may BIO in the hands OF separate
parties, and difficulties arise as to precedence
and right to order sale. The notes, in conse-
quence of their not being a permanent invest
mcnt, sell usually ut an exceeding discount,
adiStJ WV POA inv pei hhVhNu ioi tnt
whole period, be it as far as three years ex-
tended. This is a loss to both buyer and seller.
IT, instead of dt eds of trust, property should
be let out on ground rent, tIeR permanent Sc
curities Of the best chara :ter would always be
On hand to supply demand 1t would keep
the money here, and beyond doubt very
large amounts of stock would be SOLD out, and
the money brought back and inv ested in ground
rents to the advantage of the buyer and of
every real estat holder
Again: very great number of persons can
afford to build a house if they have not to pay
for the ground too; and when, by a ground
rent they can avoid darger of being sold out
for the ground, vast number would build
who would not otherwise. The market would
not be necessarily oppressed with sales forced
under the stringent terms of deed of trust
In Philadelphia and Baltimore, We can speak,
we think, within safe bounds, when say that
more than one hundred millions CT ground
rents have been created, their ow ners encoun-
tering little from the shocks so disastrous to
stocks and bonds; End as ground rents are
usually accompanied by policies of insur-
ance, they become a choice investment. 1t
requilcs only to have attention called to the
advantages of ground rents to secure their more
general adoption. We may refer to this here
after.
These remarks have been induced By an
advertisement in this days paper of &c Lots on
Ground Rent, " to whith we refer the reader;
and to the consideration Of the subject we call
the notice of all, as being one of great import
ance to the welfare Of the city, to property
holders and to capitalists. We know that
large capitalist of the District who has no in
elination for stock operations, is sending his
capital to Baltimore to be invested in ground
rents
The Republican Party in Washington
Some wag is surely quizzing the New York
Herald in sending over the wires such tele-
graphic dispatches as the following in that
journal Of the day before yesterday:
a..