The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-10-09
M
TO URGE A NEW LAW
A Building and Loan Assoc
citation Measure for Pro-
lection.
THE STATE LEAGUE CONVENTION
Effort Toward Conformity-Great
Sums Handled by the Jersey
Associations.

AACOOSlGt1VADs
OF much interest to building and loan
directors and officers just now is the
meeting of the State League of Building
and Loan Associations, which is to be
held at Trenton on Saturday next. The
great interest taken is due to the fact
that the proposed building and loan law
will be submitted to the convention, and
that body will be asked to approve it.
Everybody in building and loan associa-
ton circles is anxious to know what will
be done with the measure. An outline of
the proposed law was published in 1.-THE
News a few days ago, and every asso-
citation in the State has received full in
formation in a pamphlet issued by De
Witt Var Buskirk, president of the
league, and Jointly signed by him and
William B. Smith, chairman of the Ex-
ecutive Committee.
The amount of business transacted by
building and loan organizations in one
year and the sums of mbney that annu-
ally pass through the hands of the ofic-
ials are tremendous. There are in New
Jersey at the present time 301 building
and loan associations, with assets. of
$33, $4,000. The total number of shares
held is 634, 600, distributed among $500
shareholders, %, 800 of whom have bor-
rowed money of the associations either
to buy or build homes. Three of these
associations have assets of over half a
million dollars, 4S have assets of from
$500. 900 to S5OO,0OO, IA have assets from
S10o,00 to $200, 900, So are worth from $780,
900 to $l0G, 900 each, and 13 are rated at
from $1,000 to $50, 900.
nave over 10000 shares each outstanding,
thirteen have over 5000 Shares each,
~forty-six Vi over 5000 each. and 14i
have betWeen 200 and 5000 shares each.
The others are small societies with 1aGS
h 1000 shares each Some idea of the
Volume of business transacted by these
organizations may be gained when it is
stated, on the authority of Joseph
Fischer, the statistieian employed by the
State to prepare the annual report on
building and loan associations, that the
total amount of money received by them
during the past fiscal year was SIS, $50, 900.
fhis large sum of money was handled,
Investments made. and the affairs of
the organizations conducted at an ex-
2ense for the whole State of $3.50, 800, less
than one per cent. of the income. OF
this expense only $101, 900 was paid for
salaries by all the associations in the
State. Statistician Fischer also states
that 1882 homes were acquired through
loans made to shareholders during the
past year.
The magnitude of these societies., when
taken in the aggregate, is what has
Drought about the agitation in favor of
a codification of the statutes governing
them. The first enactment by the New
Jersey Legislature authorizing the incor-
l84S.
The officers of the League have for
some time been convinced tina the build
ing and loan associations should be put
on a more uniform basis so far as fines,
forfeitures, Withdrawals and other de-
talis OF management are concerned. One
Of the most active and persistent of the
league officers in advocating a complete
and thorough revision of the law re-
garding building and loan associations
Is Wlllam h. Smith the chairman of the
Executive Committee. To this commit
tee is committed the management of
sides at Park Ridge, one of the recently
created boroughs of Bergen County.
lie is a real estate and Insurance broker,
New York City.
The object of the proposed bill is to
clearly define the powers and duties of
the Boards Of Directors of building and
loan associations, and to secure reason
able uniformity in their management"
said Mr.. Smith" AT present the statutes
do not adequately provide for the con-
The original act of 184S has been amen
ded and supplemented at various times
so that the law is not a sort of patch
work. The Executive Committee be-
lieves that the time has come to straight
en- out, or rather codify, these various
statutes so as to make them conform
sociations during the past ten or fifteen
years, Indiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, New
York, Pennsylvania, Missouri and other
States have recently oodified their build
ing and loan laws n New Jersey must
not be behind in the march of pro-
gress.
THE uniformity contemplated by this
law is just as much desirable in building
n loan transactions as in other finan-.
cial matters to protect the unwary and
unskilled from the cupidity of the skilled
ance is yet new and but little understood
by the masses. An honestly conducted
association of this kind is of great bene-
fit to it's shareholders, enabling them to
secure homes and giving good interest
on their Investments, but designing men,
for their own selfish purposes, are using
as a shield behind which to organize
companies called by the name, but not
having the cooperative spirit of build
ing loans These associations are run
m the interest of their officers, who, by
means of premiums, heavy ex-
pense' accounts and other ways, manage
TO feather their own nests at the ex-
so-caIled building and loan associations
food the country with their ailuring
circulars, promising to mature shares in
ceiving the ignorant into parting with
their money: The Other associations
never pretend to do what some of these
so-called associations promise.
The League Executive. Committee, con-
siStS OF tWenty-one members from all
parts of the State.b They considered the
|41SoNtOH COIlSl LSQL W1dl6 Ine1r
associations and Voted that the proposed
law was peeded. isThe bill recommended
sehsg' radical and CONTAINS nc sweeping
e ehaRAg}es L is simply in n word,
eoEgnPre TYPE +g a bill with 50 many de-
vial be. precisely to the liking of every
single association in the State; but there
is scarcely any association that will cling
to- the Importance of its own peculiar
plans down to the most minute point,
so long n % tenaciously as to array
itself against an effort to advance in the
interest of the whole system.
w want to put a protecting fence
around building and loan associations.
The trouble is that many of US know too
little, and a few know too much. The
many are IN danger, the few in clover,
We have NO building and loan fences
now, and the eternal light is to Keep
the rascals out. This proposed law viii
do it"
Mr.. Smith looks for an animated dis
cussion at the league meeting next week,
but predicts that the law will be adopt
ed by he delegates with few changes.