Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-10-04
HOW PARKS ENHANCE VALUE.

which thye enter. and is conference
HOW PARKS ENHANCE VALUE.
| The people are learning that city
parks are valuable from more than one
point OF view. AS breathing spots anc
places of pleasure their disturbances
is not questioned, and they have an
other value as indicated by NJ. o. Stone
in an article in the october Review o.
Reviews. on "Our Public Pleasure
[ Grounds who thinks that probably moi
one of the cities that did not take kind
lly to the creation of public parks Mher
| the agitation was at its height, but
| finally accepted the idea, would, If II
were possible part with its parks fol
| twice their total cost. 1t has beer
found in some cities that the parks
have earned money for the taxpayers
and from financial point of view are
good Investments. Attractive parks now
occupy large areas that for years We're
instructions to the extension and ma
terial prosperity of many cities; and
as these unsightly and waste places
were gradually improved and beautl-
fed the value of land in those neigh
borhoods soon began to rise. Twenty
two officials. representing parks IN
thirty-three cities, state that real es-
tate near their park territory has m
creased in valuation greatly beyond the
average increase in other parts OF their
cities. Ten years ago the board OF park
commissioners of Boston reported that
the increase in the value of lands near
the Back Bay" system had been over
am ner cent: during the same time the
value of lands in the rest OF the CITY
had increased in value but Is per cent
Land values have also risen enormous
lv near Central and other New YORK
parks; and everywhere. tho perhaps no'
to such an extent as in Boston and New
York. appreciation in the value of real
estate near parks has steadily in
creased, and must continue to do so as
parks are developed and grow more
beautiful. Many park systems are but
partially improved, and some years
may be necessary to show their value
in thtis direction.
The cities that buy tracts for park
purposes early in their history are those
which secure them at least cost and
profit most by them. For this reason
there ought to be general effort to Sc
cure them at the earliest moment.
ABOUT BANKS.
The recent furry in New York bank
ing circles which caused Secretary
Shaw TO come TO the relief of the banks
has attracted public interest and
caused many questions to be poured in
to the newspaper office which can best
be answered by turning to the business
of our local banks. What Shaw tried to
do was to release unnecessary reserves,
but this means nothing to ones UNDER
standing unless he knows something
about banking. Here in Marshalltown
loaned out TO various citizens of the
county, a little over s2,500,O0o. This
amount had been borrowed from the
banks by farmers who wanted to buy
cattle or land, and by merchants who
were buying goods. In nearly every
case the notes they gave We're signed by
two or more parties, making them per-
fectly safe, and the banks are sure to
get all, or at the worst, nearly all of 1t
back when the notes come due. Besides
this, the four banks had on hand in
their money drawers or in Chicago
banks in actual cash 1886, 900, and their
banking houses and other good real es-
tate was valued at 100000. In addition
to this, If any bank has to have the
money in times of trouble, the law
makes every person who holds bank
stock liable for the full amount of his
stock in addition to losing the banks
original capital SO that the banks of
Marshalltown could at any time call on
the richest business men and farmers
of this county for $35O,0O0 if a panic
should take place. Now all that the
four banks owed their depositors was
$2,S97 900, and by adding the above re-
sources together it will be seen that
they had resources of nearly $3,700,000
from which to pay less than $3,O00,000
to depositors, or three quaners of a
million more than all the depositors
would claim If every man took his mon
ey out of the bank.
However, this is not the main point.
Under the national banking law and the
state banking law there is no state,
what is more than able to pay all of its
depositors. The danger to banks
comes when everybody wants his mon
ey at the same time. The insurance
business is based upon the theory that
every policy holder will not die at once.
or every building will not burn at the
same time, hence by keeping a reserve
and striking an average those who do
die or burn can be paid. In the same
way banks are allowed to receive de-
posts of other peoples money, promis-