, 1880-02-01
EASTERN MONEY AND. WESTERN H.
VESTMENTS ~.

The New York newspapers are untlr1ng II
their efforts to discourage the toaning .o1
Eastern capital upon Western real-estate
securities. The latest attempt in this di1ee
tion has been made By the New York Herald
which very unfairly takes some figures from
report Of a legislative Investigating com
| mittee OF 1677,-three years agu,-separates
them from the text Of the report and tha con,
clusions OF the Committee, and presents them
as proof that Western mortgages are unsafe
Us Investments for insurance and other cor
poration funds. These figures make 4 show"
ing on their face Of certain investments OF
the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Com
pany in Chicago mortgages amounting in the
aggregate to 81, ,956 on property which was
appraised in 1877 at 81 ,16o, GO, revealing, ap-
parently, q depreciation below the face Of the
mortgages of S611, 1856 4 similar report Oh
st. Louis Investments shows that IN an ag~
gregate Of 81, SIX, ,566 Of mortgn ges, the prop
erty was ut that time appraised at S992, ,405,
showing a depreciation below the actual
Investment Of $337.16t. Another general
list OF Western Investments sets down
miscellaneous Western property appraised
at S, ,643, ,o4o, on which the Insurance Com
pany's liens (ncluding loan and INTEREST,"
amount to S2,0s5,748, OF depreciation Of
sac, ,7os below the investment. The explana-
ton Of these differences Is to be found in the
facts that the appraisal was made by persons
who were making out special case to suit
the New York investigators; that at the time
when the property was valued the prices
were at the lowest and there was practically
no market TO. real estate, and that the lists
include only that proper ty which the owners
were forced to sacrifice because they
were unable to keep up their interest pay
n1euts. Such showing Is obviously unfair
for present information.
These figures were submitted to Col. Jacob
l.. Greene, President Of the Connecticut Mu-
tual, who made very complete answer to
put upon them. He showed that the real
estate panic was general throughout the
country, and TINT the depreciation in the real
estate Of New York City was more serious as
a11le than that Of Western cities; that there
was no means to ascertain the real value OF
real estate at the time the above figures were
made, because there WAS no market; that, In
nine out OF every. ten foreclosures. the Com
pany was the only bidder, 50 that the puf-
chase was in no sense gauge OF prices; that
many pieces Of property for which the Com
pany could get no offer fl 1877 have since
r-I 49,. ~ ~ .-uoou-e <4,u p.1a' %1G
ooneAnS las eteis 1e<1sou W oe s"ttsueu tnak
itinvested in Western mortgages, instead of
New York mortgages, to which the New
York insurance COMPANIES are limited by
3av ro1 Graena f,,rthor ;t1,,etr,tad tha mic.
}oa>s,,x ~ 1t.- - 49, as..,.o. ~ eo,,aa.
=. ~ eA"1oA w. w. "e "Aeo ~,
4ne'T e.u po Nv ~, no's.st 1eeuF4ts tuen TOM
sI1.1 eaao =. Is sonei"nS @ue ns. W ia14' oulr
iaen' " IL .ae !use W 1al1J' oeoause peo
pte ' oan set W Wneuf "''auue ouylne IT. taas1 -
tne -. plesens sIuauon. W. nase we, encounteteo
sne sleatest pAu" nnoMn slt'ce ioe'' anu We are
o - 1e h,s;,o.s -, ~ ~ t ntig a., n 1n
estato market hasn't felt it to a1y areat extant
yet. It will, Of course. History invariably 70.
peaa Itself and. as during the few years prior to
toia Mutations were overnight 70 In the past few
r,,ax yea.e .t, su1' ,, na'u poen eoafosposH 4ow.
r;ses. Thesa ao,,rrs Ennv not,nn ahe,,t r,n,. 1
sonally. They have been represented as the re-
port OF the Special Legislative Commission |
IT 1877. They are not the report Of that |
COMMISSION, M nor any part OF It. Il they repre-
1nth;nr ythay ora rors,r w. .n,'asa man 1nom
ror the Commission hv some ~ tna narsnne rs+e
whom they employed, and uere, I sunpose:
considered by them among other information
ND data oy which they reached: the conclusion