The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-31
Such Will Probably BE the Report on
Mr.. StOtsenberG's Bill.

Inc speakers room was used yesterday
afternoon for the meeting of the committee
which has in charge Mr.. Stotsenberg's bill
to abolish the expense fund of building and
loan associations. The room not near
ly large enough to accommodate all who
wanted to hear what was said. The at
tendance and attention combined to show
the great interest taken in this subject.
Mr.. Merritt, of Lagrange, is chairman of
the committee and presided at the delibera-
tons. Mr. Stotsenberg sat at his left and
showed a thorough knowledge of the sub
ject in hand. 1t was distinctively the share
holders day, distinguished from the
inning the expense fund advocates, other
wise the official life of the associations, had
at the former meeting The chairman had
difficulty in preventing the applause that
followed the sharp thrusts at the expense
fund fellows, and the laughter that at
tended the confusion of speech and thought
which the defenders of the fund manifested
when driven to the corner by the other side,
which had a number of good debaters. AT
the beginning it was arranged motion
of Mr.. Terhune that sixty minutes should
tie allowed the friends of the bill and thirty
for the other'side but the former managed
to protract their time to twice that.
.. w. Anderson opened the argument
against the expense fund, saying it is bur-
ucuSOiuc 10 tHOSe tedSt dDle 10 COUlD0I IL.
IT is like a thief in the night, he said, which
in the gulse or a mercy nominal one-tenrn
OF per cent a month Tor expense, sue
ceeded in charging what amounts to high
rate OF interest tor handling the money. ne
charged that the handlers OF the expense
Iuna keep the proceedings secret from the
shareholders, and that when withdrawals
occur, the shareholder gets less money
tnan he put IN. Tne abonrlon OF the
pense fund would have no effect the
small associations, which SAID d
false plea OF the state Institutions to take
the fire OF investigation from themselves.
L. Ii. &. RoySe, OF the Mechanics Build
ing and Loan Association, OF Terre Haute,
said that while many OF the associations
of his city started with an expense fund.-
they had not used Ii, and many had abol-
ldsned it.. Several associa tons had recently
started without an expense fund, and were
paid out of earnings the association, he
said, ought to be wound up. The fund
comes out of the principal of the money
vested, and all otner corporations pay their
expenses out of their earnings. He lnstanced
the Fidelity company, which he said has an
taken up In paying the expenses of the
association.
Mr. c. Holler, of the committee said that
r.ch men should not put their money into
associations. He spoke earnestly against
the expense fund. saying that the asso-
cations with which he had been connected
never had one and did not need one. He
thought the practice of sending out
building and loan associations. The aboli-
ton, he said, of the fund would not inter-
1erG with the success association
which supports no soliciting agents.
j. d. johnson, of kokomo, argued in
much the same way. He maintained that
a fund of this kind is not essential to the
success of legitimate association. Mr..
Robb or clinton county, was opposed to
the expense fund, for reasons drawn from
long experience with local associations. In
1888 his association, he said, had transacted
q business of $4,000 at an expense of $6l2.l4
association had handled $4,000 at an ex-
pense of $54l. 1t took his association
seventy seven months TO mature tho stock.
He cited an instance of neighbor of his
who in the Fidelity, of this city, and.
desiring to draw out after having paid in
500, received only SOL. j. G. Conner, he said,
had paid in sos and withdrew $s3. Mr.. Mil
Ter, of Peru, said that two local associa-
tons of his town had prospered without an
expense fund and had paid all expenses
from the earnings of the associations He
quoted from a letter written by the Auditor
expense fund in vigorous language. Mr.
Corcoran, of Greenfield, denounced the ex-
pense fund from his own experience.
BUILDING ASSOCIATION STATISTICS
Practical assistance in reaching an UNI
derstanding of the matter was given the
committee by Mr.. Thompson, president of
the State league, and author of a work on
the subject of building and loan associa-
ton law. He said that he had sent out two
| hundred letters to associations all over the
| State and had received 125 replies, which
showed about nine-tenths opposed to the
| expense fund. THE strong fact shown by
| his figures was that 100 associations, other
than the State and national. hold over Sl0.-
| 100000 of capital stock, and are opposed 10
| the expense fund, while the eleven which
| are not opposed hold about $1,000 of CAPT
| tai. The number operating without ex-
| pense fund Is 10S: the number never having
an expense fund Is 100: six started with
such a fund and abolished IL. He said that
| at the very least the funds needed regula-
ton, but that personally he is Ia favor Of
| abollshing 1t. The association will do a