Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-06-08
A Brighter Future.


II the future policy Of the banks and bank
ers of Johnstown will be followed by the mer-
chants and manufacturers of the city the pros
poets of a magnificent city rising from the pres
ent ruins are of the brightest. JAS McMiIlen,
president Of the First National and Johnstown
| Savings banks, said tonight:
'The loss sustained by the First National bank
will be merely nominal. 1t did general COM
mercial business and very little investing in the
way of mortgages. When the food came the
| cash on hand and all our valuable securities
| and papers were locked in the safe, and were
| in no way affected by the water The damage
| to the building itself will be comparatively
small Our capital was 100000 while our
! surplus WAS upward of $4,000. The deposit
| tors of this bank are therefore, not Worrying
| themselves about our ability to meet all de-
mands that may be made upon US by them
| The bank will open up for business within a
few days as If nothing had happened
| AS to the Johnstown Savings bank il had
probably S2O0.O00 invested in mortgages on
| property in Johnstown. but the wisdom of our
! policy IN the past in making loans has proven
| OF great value to us in the present emergency.
| Since we first began business we have refused
| 10 make loans to parties on property where the
lot itself would not be of sufficient value to in
demnify us against loss in case of the destruc-
on OF the building. If a man owned a lot
worth $1,000 and had on ii building worth
100000 we would refuse to loan over the
$4,000 on the property. The result is that the
lots on which the buildings stood in Johns
town, on which 900. 900 Of our money is loaned
| are worth double the amount, probably, that
we have invested in them.
REAL-EsTATE BOOM LOOKED FOR.
''What will be the effect of the flood on the
value of lots in Johnstown proper? VIII in
stead of decreasing they have already advanced
in will 10
Johnstown and real-eState boom is bound to
follow in the wake of this destruction Al the
people want is an assurance that the banks are
safe and will open up for business at once
With that feeling they have started to work
with vim. We have in this bank 300 coo
invested in government bonds and other securi-
ties that can be converted into cash on an hours
notice. We propose to keep these things con-
stantly before our business men as a. impetus
to rebuilding our principal business blocks as
soon as possible"
MAKING THE coSEMAUGH BIGGER.
"What do you think of the idea projected
by Capt. W. r. Jones to dredge and lower the
river bed about 80 feet and add about 20 per
cent to its present width as precautionary
measure against future xashouts?"
Il not only heartily indorse that scheme but
have positive assurance from other leading
business men that the idea will be carried out
as it certainly should be. the moment the work
| OF clearing away the debris is completed. Be-
| side that scheme is on foot to get a charter
| for the city OF Johnstown which will embrace
| all the surrounding borouShs. In the event
of that being done. and am certain it will be.
| the plan OF the city will be entirely changed
| and made to correspond with the best laid-out
cities in the country. In ten years
Johnstown will be one of the pref
test and busiest cities in the world
and nothing can prevent it. The streets will
be widened and probably made to start from
| common center, something after the fashion of
Washington city, with little more regard for
| the value of property. With the Cambria iron
company, the Gautier steel works, and other
| manufactures, as well as yearly increasing
railroad facilities, Johnstown has "a start which
| viii grow in short time TO enormous proper
| tons. From a real-estate standpoint tile food
| has been a benefit beyond a doubt. Another
addition to the city will be made in the shape
OF an immense water main TO connect with a
magnificent reservoir of the finest water in the
world TO be located in the mountain up Stony
| creek for supplying the entire city. as contem-
plated in the proposed new charter THIS plan.
was well under way when the food came and
about $40, 900 had already been expended on it,
which has been lost"
Subscriptions Pour In.
Harrisburg special to the Phi ladelphia
Times says there is no abatement in the flow of
money into the hands of the governor for the
relief of the flood sufferers. San Francisco
| has aireauy sent sfo,VOo ana telegram re-
ceived to-day by the governor states that the
people of that city are alive to the situation and
| Will contribute more. Another California
town sent $1,000. which had been intended for
a Fourth of July celebration. The principal
contributions made to-day are: District of Co.
lumbia. 900; New York Business Associa-
| ton Of the United States, SO 900; San Fran
cisco, $4,000; Chattanooga. Tenn, I5OO;
Jersey City, 5000; New Orleans cotton ex-
change, $4,000; Savannah, Ga, $4,000. The
aggregate Of contributions reported to-day is
$50, 304.
! A London cable to the New York Hv-ad says
The following amounts have been sent to the
~ 49, A. "a