The Press., 1889-06-27
BOSTON DAILY ADyERTIsER-Aprll 9, 1889.
EDITORIAL.

EDITORIAL.
 The failure of crops in certain districts in the West and the lack of confidence caused by the falling off in railroad earn- ings has had serious effect upon the sta- bility of some of the mush- room companies which are selling Western farm mortgages in this vicinity. The companies which es- pecially suffer are those which confiue their operations to limited territory and. in the hope of making very large profits, have loan ed money on improper security. showing 8 large proportion of their profits in second mortgages on high rates of interest, which, now that the pinch is on, begin to show their insecurity by the large item of over- due interest which appear in their reports The troubles which have come to the weak companies have made the stronger ones stand out the more, as their strength shows that they are worthy of the conf dence which they have gained by long years of conservative business management. We do not wish to single out any one of them as possessing these qualities to the exclusion of the rest, but it is certainly within the limits to say that the Lombard Investment Go. today appears stronger and more secure than ever before, because the failures which affect less stable con- panies have no effect upon it. Indeed, a company with such men in it as this, of longtime experience and skill in their busi- ness, is one which is entitled to public con- fidence.
 It is now 38 years since MT. Benjamin Lombard, Jr., then lad 15 years of age, went from his fathers home on Cape Cod to the then young State of Illinois. En- tering a land office, he became thorough expert in the value of real estate and in land titles, and, making 8 special study of the latter, secured admission to the bar. As the result of his long experience, he is perhaps the best informed expert in Vest ern land titles in this country. After years of investment on rapidly increasing scale in an individual capacity, he enlarged his business into 8 company which had had a constant and successful growth until now it is the largest institution of the kind in America, with capital of 1,25O, ,O1O, a large surplus and doing business in 13 states and territories with 8 branch office in England and continental branch soon to be estab- lished under the direction of our late consul general at Vienna, the brother -in-law of Carl Schurz. MT. Lombard himself is still a man in the prime of life, whose success has not been unexpected, because he has deserved it. years past, the main Eastern office of the con- pany is in this city, with it's chief Western of fee at Kansas City, and with other branches throughout the orth-western States and Ter ritories, in nearly all of which the company is doing business. James l.. Lombard, first vice president, with headquarters at Kansas City, where he has force of about 70 clerks under his immediate care, is the general man. ager of the Western business. He is the presi- dent of the First National Bank of Kansas City, but the Lombard Go. claims almost his entire time and attention: He is brother-in- law of B. Lombard, IT,, is also largely inter- ested as stockholder in national banks, and is very wealthy and successful man.
 Early in his history, MT. Lombard laid the foundations of success deep and wide by associating himself with the leading financial men in the communities where he proposed to establish agencies for loaning money. It was with this broad and comprehensive purpose that he has become identified with more than loo national banks, as stockholder, in these sections of the country, and has thus secured connections personally which have been of in- estimable value in establishing the security of the company. Commencing in Iowa it's busi- ness has reached out through the splendid tier of central Western states, and two years ago was enlarged to embrace the garden of the county, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, so that no mere local setback to any commun- ity and nothing less than dire disaster to an empire can affect perceptibly the safety of it's securities or the volume of the company's business, which has increased, and is increase ing steadily, from the beginning.
 MT. Lombard makes practice of constant visits to the agencies in the territory where the company's business is transacted and probably has as good an idea of real estate values throughout the whole northwestern tier of our states as any one man. It is this close supervision personally made by 8 man of his long experience and shrewdness, which has rendered his company successful because conservative, and conservative be- cause successful.
 Recently the company instituted thor ough investigation of the South as field for profitable investment, and has decided to es- tablish branches at Chattanooga and Memphis. In both these places local banks have been established, in which the Lombards are large ly interested, and including in their own of- ficers leading fnanciers of both places which gives at once local character and insures careful supervision. The region covered by these two centres is looked upon as one of the most promising fields for financial operations in the country and the new departure is bound to be profitable one.
 The whole business of the company is conducted with lack of ostentation and display which can be traced directly te the president MT. Benjamin Lom- bard, whose record and financial standing are hardly appreciated, here where he lives. His life work has heen the cOmnanv which hoars his mama and