Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-19

less than the amount withdrawn in the
year before.
Under the head of Legislation Re
CURED" the report says;
Attention is called to the fact that,
while heretofore a limited amount of
securities, taken to secure Indebtedness,
has been held by the banks, there is no
provision of statute which authorizes
the holding of any property Except real
estate so taken, nor is there any pro-
vision regarding its sale. 1t seems desir-
able, therefore, in view of the consider
able amount Of stocks, bonds, ETC., held
at present, that some legislation be
adopted which shall authorize the hold
ing and regulate the selling of securi-
ties so taken.
ut has been claimed in the case of one
railroad company that the payment Of
an annual dividend of one per cent for
two years would make the first mort
gage bonds Of that company a legal in
vestment for our savings banks; and a
strict Interpretation of the law might
warrant such a claim. 1t Is the opinion
of this board that, generally speaking,
when a railroad company is unable to
pay more than one per cent per annum
in dividends, its bonds, even though they
be secured by a mortgage on all its
property, can hardly be considered as
which the law intended that the deposits
of savings banks should be invested. We
desire to renew the suggestion made in
our last report. that law be enacted
prohibiting any bank hereafter incor-
porated from occupying rooms in COM
mon with another bank or trust COM
pany.
SIN accordance with the provisions of
section % of chapter 317, acts Of 1894, re-
turns have been made giving list of all
deposit accounts on which no deposits
or Withdrawals have been made within
the past twenty years; tn use returns will
be embodied in a supplementary report,
to be submitted in a few days"
Speaking of banks in the hands of re-
ceivers, the commission says that divi-
bends amounting to rs per cent of the
deposits have been declared in the case
of the Stockbridge Savings Bank, and
that final dividend will soon be made
and that a final dividend will soon be
paid in the case Of the Mills Savings
Bank. Little progress is reported in set
Ting the affairs of the Suffolk Trust
Company, which is in the hands of the
court.
The commissioners say: 1--WE think the
present an opportune time in which to
repeat, with added emphasis, the views
expressed in previous reports, and to
urge upon the investing boards OF the
several banks the necessity of extreme
caution in making loans; we would es-
pecially call attention to the danger OF
loaning upon property at distance
from the bank, as conditions affecting
the property or the borrower, may eX'
list, or afterwards arise, which, while
readily known in the locality where the
property is situated, are slow in coming
to the knowledge of parties at a dis.
lance. Such state of affairs was tounc
to exist in 1876 Tor thereabouts), when
some of the banks located outside Of
Boston had made loans on property IN
that city, some being ON unimproveo
land, having an inflated value, and
Others on estates which deprecated IN
value rapidly in consequence of changes
in the character Of the occupants.
This part of the report deals only with
1877 savings banks and institutions for
savings, with assets Of 5000, 973, 1874;
tfirty-four trust companies, with assets
of s134. 294, 2S7 10; two trust companies IN
hands of the courts, and four savings
banks in hands Of the courts The sec
ond part, dealing with cooperative
banks and loan companies, will be IS
sued later.