The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-05-03
TO PROTECT THRIFT.

The Building Loan Commission and the
 Expert Accountant-How State Endow- ment is Used to Create Financial Bubbles The Financial Faliacy Which Ruined
 General Grant.
 To the Editor of the Journal and Courier:
 The committee on banks, having again reported favorably the bill creat- ing commissioner whose business it will be to examine the mutual building loan association of the state and the associations doing business in the state
 but with headquarters in other states. it is probable that the measure will pass.
 At the final hearing before the com mittee some weeks ago two kinds of as- sociations were represented. Nearly all the local associations-that is, those confntng their transactions within the county where organized, opposed the appointment of a commissioner because they did not wish to stand the expense
 of an examination.
 The several representative explained
 
 of business and the bookkeeping were
 so simple that representative of the
 banking department might, without an hours delay, examine their affairs and thus make the appointment of a com
 missioner unnecessary.
 On the other hand, the associations doing business all over the state argued In favor of the appointment of com missioner, being perfectly willing to
 stand any portion of the tax allotted. The last report of the bank commits sioners bluntly pointed out the reason for this. It is to get the opportunity to advertise the states indorsement of their business. This the purely local cooperative association has no interest in doing.
 Among those who appeared before the committee on banking, and who argued in favor of the appointment of a com
 missioner, was an expert building loan accountant so-called. His knowledge
 of figures is without doubt phenomenal. | He read off to the committee sixty or
 more different plans of figuring out profits by associations. True, these were all printed in the United States reports, but nevertheless he showed a most wonderful knowledge of figures, and even corrected member of the 1 banking committee in the matter of a sixteenth of one per cent. | In fact, he proved that if an expert accountant is necessary to fill the posi- 1 tion of commissioner the governor
 hasn't far to look when the appoint ment Is to be made.
 But strange as 1t may seem, all the trouble brought upon this world 1 through the operations of mutual build | ing loan associations, in various forms, has resulted through the brilliancy of
 the expert accountant. General Grant mastered the financial 1 problem of resumption, put down the rebellion, but fell a victim to the bril- | liant tactics of the expert accountant, | MT. Ward.
 i Figuring profits on paper! Most any
 body can do it, but it's only the expert
 accountant who can stand up fesrless- | ly before body of honest business 1en and demonstrate beyond question thbt, ! under the experts manipulation, twice 1 two make eight.
 Ana tnlS IS the problem the commits sioner whom Governor Cooke appoints
 must tackle.
 The association organized by the ex- pert accountant always blazons forth | the fact that the business is transacted
 under the supervision of the state This secures business for the associa-
 tion. For instance in New York state the superintendent of banks gives a l certificate to the concern in which he
 says: T do hereby authorize the said blank association to transact business,
 and certify that such business may be ] safely entrusted to it, etc"