The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-07-17
FRANK H. GOULD President of the State Building
and Loan Association Commission.

we'll as notoriety. with national under
writer's, who make a grave charge
against him.
He is accused of unlawfully altering
an official report Of his board by dis
torting the facts, the said distortion be-
ing of great benefit in an advertising
way to his friend w. G. Murdoch of
the Pacific Coast Savings Society,
whose Office is in the Flood building.
Gould and Murdoch admit that the
report of the board was changed after
it had been made, but they say that the
alteration was for the purpose Of cor
recting an error made by the secretary
of the board, James L. Fields.
A short time ago the National Under
writer, a periodical published in New
York and Baltimore, contained a ca ls-
tic article on the subject, from which
the following extracts are taken:
When the report Of the Building and Loan
Commissioners was printed and came from the
press some time ago 1t stirred up good sized
sensation in building and loan circles. The
figures. as they had first been given out by
the Commissioners. and as they finally left the
Commissioners hands. were two vastly differ
ent things. The results displayed by the
the final report are entirely different The
first report OF the Commissioners. the correct
one, showed that those associations classed a.
nationals earned Ill per cent of net profits
for the year. and that those classed as CO.
operative banks earned 657 per cent for the
same time. But some was hurt. and when
the final production of the office of the Board
forth 1t decreased the showing of the nationals
by ~ per cent and increased on the
figures of cooperative banks by over 8 per
cent. like transformation took place in the
figures of expense which are made by the Com
missioners. The expense per share of the
nationals was first given out correctly at .914
and the cooperative banks at LASS. But sec
ond thought seemed better thought to some
one who was in position to alter the figures.
creased by .122, while the expenses of the CO.
operative banks were reduced to l0S6, being
q reduction of just one-third The figures of
the associations classed as locals remain I'M
changed; It takes but very simple PROPOSE
t tUn sets ln S os 1res is fase The snTes
themselves have not been falsifed; 1t is simply
by far the better record, and the locals suf-
fered by comparison with them; The cooper
alive banks show comparatively a very bad
report Hence If the figures of the co-opera
tive banks and the nationals be combined. it
will reduce the nationals to level something
nearer the others. will very considerably raise
the showing of the cooperative banks and en-
able the locals to compare much more favor
ably with the nationals-and the general pub
lie would not realize the manipulation.
1t is thus clear who instigated the manipu-
lation The report as It appears ears, has been
and that office has attempted to explain away
the source of the manipulation. Hence the re-
sponsibility for these perversions of truth must
rest upon that office, either collectively upon
one or more of the members individually. with
or without the acquiescence OF the others in
power at that place. 1t is evident that
bination of the locals and the cooperative
banks or at least one of tn them. has s brought
to the end that the report might be doctored
to serve their political purposes without regard
to the justice or honesty or the ngures as they
finally appear. and as they are finally given
out by the Commissioners for general circu-
lation.
At the time that the report Of the
Commissioners was ready to be made
public the State Printing Office was
closed and it was necessary to have the
report printed by private subscription.
The national associations contributed
literally to the fund, for the good
which the publication would do them
If truthfully made. The printing was
done by George W. Blum Of the Journal
of Investment of this city. 1t is alleged
by Mr.. Blum that the first and correct
report was sent to Governor Budd and
that a revised edition of the report was
printed afterward by order Of Presi-
dent Gould for general circulation.
Therefore the report published by
Gould's order for general circulation is
not the official report as filed with the
Governor.
Mr.. Gould was asked yesterday to
give a statement regarding his action