St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-15
A WARM WHIkL.
Building and Loan Associations
Not Liked.


Ell. f. 156, relating to building, loan
and savings societies, came on at this
point. Its author, Mr.. Blocker, said
he did not desire to consume the time
of the house, as the bill had been thor
oughly discussed already. He there
fore moved that it be recommended to
pass.
Mr.. Fletcher thought it would be be-
ginning at the wrong end to interfere
with building and loan associations as
proposed by the bill. He would be in
favor of giving the public examiner
power to supervise their business more
closely than at present.
Judge Fleming made a lengthy and
powerful argument in favor Of the bill.
His experience had convinced him. he
said, that these building and loan asso-
Citations were immense aggregatlonS OF
cheek, of constituencies gall. He went
into their origin and history at some
length, also reviewing the efforts OF the
legislature OF four years ago to pass
law that would in some measure regu-
Mr.. Fleming gave the associations was
a caution. He spoke earnestly and evil
IDENTITY with knowledge, claiming their
circulars were misleading, their agents
deceptive, their dupeS almost number
less and their officers as noggish as the
law would allow. Their stock could not
possibly mature in the stipulated time
could never mature, for that matter
and while officers, counsel, agents, and
hangers on lived luxuriously on big
salaries, tine stockholders kept On pay
ing in money without even getting any
out. He thought the bill not half
stringent enough; it should wipe such
associations off the face of the earth.
Mr.. Abbott Endorsed Judge Jennings
remarks, and incidentally took center
shot at Col. Hans Mattson's long suit,
the science of and longing for Office
holding. He held the legislature can
and should regulate fees and salaries of
these corporations. He said the bill did
not go far enough, and Mr.. Bleecker
was given dig in the ribs for losing his
nerve and offering to raise the Ii NIT to
$500. The cunning stories of agents
had duped thousands Of credulOuS peo-
pie into their net.
Mr.. Turreli protested against what he
called the effort to create the impress
sion that the officers OF building and
loan associations are all thieves and
robbers. He argued that the men at
the head OF these associations are as up
right as any other class Of business men,
and are operating legitimate, honora-
Die business. They were entitled to
and should receive fair treatment.
Mr.. Holmberg also spoke against the
bill as ill-adviSed and wrong in princi-
pie.
Mr.. Markham offered an amendment
to make the limit of any salary $4,000
per year.
Mr.. Ives quoted a case within his own
knowledge where an old woman had
borrowed $3.50, paid $500 in interest, and
then, with the braZenneSS of robbers,
they insisted that she still owed over
$500 besides the original loan.
Judge Fleming again took up the cud-
gels, quoting from report of Public
Examiner Kenyon to show that tire
mendous percentage Of all money re-
ceived is used for salaries, sundrles, Of
flee expenses, etc. In response to a
question by Mr.. Turrell as to the amount
of money handled and loaned, Judge
Fleming said in his own sarcastic way
that enough was left after the officers
were cared for to make few loauS and
appear to do business.
MIR. Cole, OF Hennepin, who had been
fretting under the invective and SAT-
casm in Judge Fleming's speech, Of
fered prOviSo that such associations
should never employ in any capacity a
man less or more than six feet high.
The proviso didn't go, but Markham's
amendment did, being adopted with a
hurrah.
Then MIR. Turrell moved that the bill
be recommended for indefinite post
ponement. This was voted down.
Mr.. Ives moved to reconsider the vote
by which the S2.00U provision was
adopted. He feared it would leopard
ize the bill. but the house took no heed
OF the plea, and would not reconsider.
Mr.. Bleecker's motion to recommend
the bill for passage was adopted.
When the committee rose S. +. II, to-
gether with S. F. 81, was excepted from
thesreport. and Mr.. Wacek then moved
that S. f. II be placed on the calendar.
On this motion the rollwas called and
the vote stood 46 for, II against. Then
the report of the committee was adopt
ed; and the resolution will be heard of
no more forever.
The same course was adopted in the
case OF S. +. 81, OH which the vote was
fifty-one for the recommendation to
pass. thirty-six against. SO the add-
tional 100000 is secure.