The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-20

longer.
 MT. Spraggins-It seems to me that the purpose of the minority report is not to destroy Building and Loan As sociations, but to bring them down to | the position where they will enjoy only the same privileges as individuals. The Building and Loan Associations of Phil | adelpfrfa that have made Philadelphia | do not charge F per cent. interest as the Building and Loan Associations in the State of Alabama are allowed to | charge. It is true, MT. President, that the Legislature could control the mat ter of interest charged by the Building and Loan Associations in this State, but after the Supreme Court decided that they were charging usurious in- terest they went to the Legislature of this State and had q law enacted au- thorizing them to charge usurious rates of interest and making such rates of in terest lawful. They have undoubtedly been favored by the Legislature of Alabama instead of being controlled | by that body. Every citizen of | the State of Alabama and ev- ! cry other corporation, except the Building and Loan Associations, pay tSzes to the State, county and city in which they may reside upon any money that is loaned. By special enactment the Legislature oe Alabama exempts Building and Loan Associations, they are ex smpted from paying these taxes. I admit, Mir. President. that the prin- cipal stated in that enactment would be the true solution of the taxing power, | to allow a man credit fof every dollar that he pays and charge him up with every dollar that he owes, but the wis., dom of the State has kept us from the | difficulties that such an enactment would produce because of the fear the tax payer when ne showed his debit and credit side of the ledger, he would owe so much that no taxes would be due from him to the State. Now what | good reason Is there that a Building and Loan Association should be allowed 10 deduct from their assets, their tax able assets which is the stock and the money paid in, all the money which they have loaned out on mortgage? h. stead of charging, as the Building and | Loan of Birmingham, of which my | friend MT, Howze has spoken, 9 and 60-100 per cent. interest, they could charge per cent, instead of making per cent, they could make 6 per cent, as other individuals in this State with less capital are now contenting them selves with. It is no. matter of de- | fense to the report of the minority to | lative detail, because the Legislature has had this thing in their power for many years and instead of controlling and restraining they have added to and enlarged the powers of these cor porations. While it Is true that the Legislature could do these things, 1t is not objectionable I contend for this Convention to set down the principle that no Building and Loan Association nor any corporation of any character should charge in premium or dues or whatever name 1t may be given, any greater rate of interest than per cent, that per cent. which is allowed to ev- cry man, and every other corporation in the State of Alabama to charge, and no more.
 MT. Bulger--I move that the privi- leges of the floor of this Convention be extended to the Hon. Benjamin Huey of Perry.
 Upon a vote being taken the motion was adopted.
 Mr. Walker-There is no doubt that iE Alabama certain Building and Loan Associations which have operated in this State have been guilty of some abuses. and that some people have had the misfortune to lose money by con meeting themselvs with institutions that were planned imr roperly or were i'm properly managed. In this respect a good many people in Alabama have had | an experience similar to the experience of great many people in Alabama in the years immediately after the war in reference to life insurance. If the Con- vention of 1875 had yielded upon the subject of life insurance to the repre- sentations that might have been made to that Convention as to the losses that 1koAA @A Alabama, and had yielded to 1t to such an extent as to prohibit in the State o1 Alabama the future carrying on of life insurance 1t would have done as fool ish a thing, in my opinion, as this Convention would do by yielding tc the representation of few people 1T reference to losses in mismanaged Building and Loan Associations, to tht extent of prohibiting in the future tho carrying on in Alabama of that kind of business, one would have been as great a folly as the other. It had beer demonstrated in the world up to thal time, that life insurance was a gooC thing, and it was. a good thing, al though in the Southern States after the war the country was infested witt number Of life insurance companies presided over by distinguished soldiers of the Confederate army who had beer inveigled into those mismanaged in stitutions and vast losses had been in cured by the people of this country Was that any reason for prohibiting 1T the future the carrying on of life in. surance which was a system of saving the wisdom of which had been demon, strated all over the world, because q humber of insurance companies in tho Southern States particularly presided over by gentlemen distinguished in the service of the Confederacy, from lief. ferson Davis dowtl. had been unsuccess full, and the people of this country hat lost vast sums of money in those com panies. Now it has been demonstrated over the world that Building and LoaI Associations properly managed are a! great agencies of thrift and home ac quirlng as have been developed in tht experience of commercial countries Look at England, look at the continent al countries. look at the old established communities of this country and yol will find that the greatest agency O. thrift and independent home acquisition that exists in those communities art the Building anu Loan Association. properly managed. Are we now il Alabama to strike dowr the possibility of institutions properly managed beine conducted upon that plan in the future because the people in thi. State in the past have haC the misfortune to connect them selves with some improperly man aged institutions. Now that is tn whole question. The utility and tn great benefit to the common people O Building and Loan Associations man