Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-10

= -e| information glean-
- - ed from these re-
ports is furnished
to and affects ma
teria1ly the business of some of the great
est investment banks and bankers and trust
and insurance companies in the country.
There is not an enterprising investor in any
of the large cities who pretends to do with
out the information condensed from these
reports and sent to them daily in type
written form.
The bankers, trust and insurance men
take these condensed summaries of the
official proceedings of the legislative bodies
named In order TO make purchases of entire
bond issues. They desire to be advised at
tine very earliest moment of any proposed
State, county, municipal, water works or
street railway bonds to be issued. 1t is of
the utmost Importance to large investors to
be early advised of the very inception of
such proposed loans, in order that they may
inform themselves of the financial condition
of the body corporate which is about to be-
come borrower, and as to the legality of
the proposed issue of bonds. Each of the
large investors has numerous clients or
customers who are looking for good securi-
ties to stow away in strong boxes as perma-
nent investments; and being informed in
time as to good loan about to be placed
the bankers take orders for fractional parts
of the proposed issue even before they bid
on it, delivery being conditioned, of course,
on their success in being awarded the
bonds.
How the Bonds Are Hunted Down.
f'To illustrate this idea," said deliver in
these uninteresting reports, 81 may cite
YOU an illustration. We issued bulletin
announcing that Messrs. Coffin & Stanton
had bought block of Wheeling bonds The
next day a telegram from Messrs Fisher s.
Shaw, prominent bankers of Baltimore,
asked US to learn at what price these bonds
could be had from the original purchasers,
Messrs. Coffin & Stanton, of New York
CITY, I went to the latter firm, also SUBJ
scribers to our service, and showed them the
telegram from Messrs. Fisher & Shaw.
Sorry, my boy said big and bluff and
hearty Mr.. Stanton, but your friends are
too late. We haven't got the bonds from
Wheeling yet, but they are all sold The
transactions were probably completed be-
fore Messrs. Coffin & Stanton knew that
they were the successful bidders"
"Before this system was invented by us,
several years ago, bankers who individu-
ally applied to city official for informa-
tion either got no reply or much delayed
response of an indefinite character. But
officials reply to US as representing a large
number of investors when they will not re-
ply to inquiries of a single firm. The
bankers had often to send special agents to
the distant places for the information de-
sired. The moment we learn from these of
fetal reports of proposed bond issue We
obtain at once an official report of the finan-
cial condition of that city or town. This we
send out in the bulletin issued by us the
day the information comes to hand, and the
investor knows that it is official and as full
as he could possibly get it if he spent hun
dreds of dollars in sending an agent to in
vestigate. We guarantee that the facts are
official, and that our report is fuller, be-
cause we ask questions not usually printed
in the annual reports"
Dapper Young Men Who Investigate.
When bond issue is ofgreat magnitude the
big investors, who have early information
of the intention of a city or of a railroad to
borrow largely, generally send man of ex-
| perience to examine critically into the va
| rious questions involved. These men,
though men of experience, are generally
youngsters recruited from college who pass
few years in bank or bankers Office and
| there learn how to investigate a loan. They
are to be seen in numbers about city halls
and controllers offices whenever there are
bids to be made or proposals to be opened.
| They are natty young fellows; prosperous
appearing and keen looking; and might pass
with those who do not know their mission
as lawyers or bankers clerks, but they are
really the advisers of investors of millions
| of money in important securities where a
mistake of an eighth of per cent premium
offered might result in considerable loss.
These men inquire very strictly into the
legality of an issue of bonds A short time
ago New York house found that an issue
of bonds by city in New York State was
| illegal because at the special election held
to vote on bonding the city only four ma
jority was given for the proposition, and
more than four of the persons voting were
found not to be taxpayers and therefore not
legal voters on purely financial PROPOSE
tion. The election had to be held over
again to legalize the issue. In the case of
an issue OF bridge bonds of Portland, Ore, 3,
to the amount of 81, 900 all bids were
declared off on the discovery that bids had
been invited for the same bonds at two
different rates of interest.
Looking Up d City's Reliability.
The legality of an issue being established
the young investment agent must find out
about the value of the security offered. He
must discover the previous bonded debt of
the proposed borrower; the probable float
ing debt; the probability of other issues
being offered before the present one could
be disposed of; the assessed valuation of a
city or town or the mortgaged value of a
railway; the tax rate levied; 6he price last
paid for the bonds OF the same city or road
its industrial resources; its growth and de-
velopment; and even the character and rep
utation at home of the local political ad-
ministration of its financial affairs. In fact,
the bankers agent is Bradstrest's inquirer
as to credit on a big scale, cities and rail-
way companies with him, not mere men and
commercial concerns, being the objects of
his scrutiny.
"Have there been many large municipal
loans lately?" was asked of a bond bulletin
maker.
ooh, yes, quite number" he said as he
took down file of the bulletin for the
three months of October, November and
December. ''You might make considera-
BILE list as call them off," and the writer
did SO until a halt was cried after getting
this table of
Some Recent Municipal Bond Sales.
Borrower. Amount. Purchaser.
Chicago, III; .....s5, 600 COO Unsold: