The Portland daily press., 1893-01-23


In Portland despatch to the Lewis
ton Journal of Saturday we find this at
tributed to prominent Portland
banker:n
Il should saw. roughly estimating that about
one-lalf of the assets of Maine savings banks
consist OF municipal and water company boaos,
issued by little, struggling over-estlmatsu West-
ern cities and towns In rea lty the mos9 OF
these bonds are simple promises TO pay anu ~
times OF crisis or panic would be repudlated by
the bodies who have issued them.
We have not had opportunity to exam
inc the municipal bonds held by
Maine savings banks, but we have ex
amined the water company bonds held
by these banks. Out of investment of
some ISL, 100000 we find investments in
water bonds and loans on them
outside the state aggregating
about 5000, 900; and water bonds IN
side the state aggregating nearly $780,
900. The Struggling towns are such
places as Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with
1900 inhabitants, the populat on having
nearly doubled in ten years: Akron,
Ohio, with $1,000; Denver Colorado,
with 100000 Kansas City, Kansas,
with $4,000; birmingham, Mass,
The great majority of thu foreign bonds
held by the bank are held as collateral
simply, and there is personal security
in addition to them. The amount of
these bonds strictly owned by the bank
is very small indeed. Of the fifty-two
banks twenty-four hold not a dollar of
securities in water bonds outside the
state, and the holdings of many of the
others is Insignificant. To say that the
vaults of Maine savings banks are filled
up with, foreign water bonds OF ''strag-
CLING western cities and towns is to
state what is absurdly false
Our savings banks always have been
and still are managed with distinguished
ability and with the most scrupulous
honesty. AS their managers are fallible
human beings, mistakes will sometimes
be made. But as a rule the depositors
have no ground to complain of the con-
scientiousness of the managers or their
judgment. Neither have the people of
the state any ground for complaint on
account of any lack of patriotism or
pnblic spirit. The Hon. F. E. Richards
in his report in 1882 bore testimony to
these qualities when he said that the
accumulations in the savings banks twill
continue to contribute their full share
with the funds of the capitalist in pro-
ducing the magnificent results of
developing the resources and operat-
inc the business enterprises
of this state" If the legislature thinks
the savings banks should pay more taxes
the better way would be to increase the
tax without any discrimination, for the
discrimination will surely tend and, that
is manifestly the purpose of it, to give
the locality of the investment more con-
sideration than it deserves. and thus
detract from the very first essential of
savings bank investment, namely,
safety. But it seems PRETTY clear it
would do injustice and be bad policy to
increase the tax. The personal property
in the savings banks is paying undoubt-
eddy more taxes an the same amount
OF personal property OF the same descrip-
ton outside the banks. An increase of
tax would lower the interest, and lead
many depositors to take their funds out
and deposit them in the savings depart
ments of the national banks, where they
would escape taxation, or invest them on
their own account in securities that the
assessors would never find. So the ag-
gregate amount received by the state
would in all probability be no greater
than now.
COL. ROWlE4ANN IJS kNJEE