The record-union., 1897-07-29
The United States League Meets in
Convention at Detroit.
fIfty Delegates Were Present, Representing
Twenty States.

through What Was Thought
an Injudicious Reference of the
OF the President Regarding
Lower Tariffs and Free Trade.
DETROIT Mich) July 2S.-Politics
to-hSht cast a ripple of discord over
the annual convention of the limited
states League of Building and Loan
Associations. The disturbing element
| cIepI IN through what was considered
an lnJud1cious reference made in Presi-
oeht browns address, in which the
! PRESIDENT inferred that the lower far
| MS and free trade were a decided in
jury 10 the course of business. Re-
marks OF this character did not take
wen with those of Democratic faith
1hey SAID nothing about it during the
uay sessions, but shortly after the
evening session had begun the follow
ing resolution was offered by Delegate
f. l.. Peel of Jackson:
RESOLVED, That it is the sense of the
League that all matters relating to
| elther religion or politics be eliminated
from consideration, either in debate or
/ papers which may be read, and that
| the secretary is hereby requested not
| 70 print anything whatever of a. politi
cal or sectarian nature as a part of
/ Ihe proceedings of this League"
Ihere was a warm debate over 2. mo-
tlon to refer the resolution to the Com
mlttee on Resolutions
An amendment was offered to send
! the resolution to the committee, with
instructions to report the same at once.
out this was strongly opposed
MI. Schumay, who advocated the res
oiutioh. consented to it's withdrawal if
the political remarks it referred to
We're considered as not indorsed by the
convention. He said that only yester-
! day PRESIDENT Brown came before the
League with a tale of woe about the
/ lack of legislation for buildings asso-
Citations.
PRESIDENT Brown at this point ruled
| the discussion and the resolution ont Of
order. He said the Secretary could
not be properly authorized to cut out
| papers read
| A motion to table the resolution then
prevailed, and the discussion theron
/ was ordered expRrgated from the rec
ord, which closed the incident.
| The meeting was held in the Citv
Council chamber, with an attendance
of fifty delegates representing all the
States, about twenty in number, which
have State Leagues CT local Building
Associations.
President Michael ]. Brown of Phil
adelphia introduced Mayor Mayburv.
VINO welcomed the League to the city.
ana acclaimed Detroit as a city of
beautiful homes, more of which. he
said, were owned by their occupants
than in any other city in the country.
A mans home indicates his charac-
ter, said he, whether it be a palace
or hut. Men are led into habits of
thrlft and influenced to build and own
their homes by the system which your
league represents
President Brown appointed a Com
mittee on Credentials, with Irving B.
Rlch OF Michigan Chairman, and
| committee on Resolutions, with Judge
Seymour Dexter of New York Chair
man.
President Brown then delivered his
annual address. He said the motto sug-
gested by President Dexter. viz: THE
American home; the safeguard of
American liberties,'' had been adopted
by all the Leagues of the United States.
The President quoted a statement of
William George Jordan that Uncle
Sans people have II ,4S3.31S dwelling
houses which would make a double
avenue reaching round the globe with
considerable to spare.
Referring to the question of a Central
Bureau of Information as discussed at
the last annual meeting in Philadel-
phia, the President said that the diff
Guilty of securing necessary financial
support would render the scheme inn
practicable. He said the past year had
not been a home building, but rather
a mortgage creating period, in which
nearly all the people had had a hard
struggle. Wage -earners of the land
had sacrificed during the last few
years $1,000 000.0 600 or ten times as
much as the assets of all the building
societies of the United States.
The President urged that building as
sociations encourage only simple. con-
servative and economical methods. and
aid in all matters calculated to help the
wage Garner in saving money and pur-
chasing homes.
The Secretary, H. F. Cellaries of Gin
cinnati, presented a comprehensive re-
port 1t showed that the total assets of
the local building and loan associations
of the United States now amount to
S59S, 1888, ,695, an increase of SIS, go, $50
during the past year. The total num-
ber of local associations in the several
States is 4,716; the membership num-
bers $40, 800, an increase of 65,111
during the year The largest proper
tionate gains We're made in the Eastern
and Central States, where building as
sociation interests are greatest and the
States showing a loss in assets are all
located west of the Mississippi River.
except Illinois and Tennessee.
The Secretary submitted a summary
of laws enacted in the various States
affecting building and loan associations
which indicated more enactments ia
vorable to building associations the past
year than during any previous year.
Illinois. Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsyl-
vania, California Massachusetts, Ala
bama and Tennessee passed laws favor
able to the progress and permanence
of building societies.
Senator Foraker of Ohio spoke OF
building associations as prominent fac
tors in bringing about the prosperity
that everybody is expecting. They
come closer to the people, he said, than
any other factor in their effort to save.