Bisbee daily review., 1902-07-24
BUILDING AND LOAN
 ASSOCIATIONS
TENTH ANNUAL CONVENTION AT
 PUT-iN-BAY
Address and Report of General Secre. tary-Now in United States Over Five Thousand Local Building Associations

Put-in-Bay. O., July 23-Several hundred millions of dollars-every dollar of it the savings of the thrifty wage workers of the United States were represented in the assembly hall of the Hotel Victory today when the tenth annual convention of the United States League of Local Build ing and Loan associations was called to order by the national president, George H. Kostmayer of New Orleans It is one of the largest conventions in the history of the league. A major ity of the delegates are men promi- nent in the municipal affairs of their respective localities.
 The feature of the opening session was the address and report of Hon Herman F. Cellarius of Cincinnati. the general secretary, which was lis tened to with profound attention. Sec retary Cellarius said in part:
 "A slight increase in the total mem bership with a small decrease in the aggregate assets, is the showing made by the local building and loan assocl- ations of the United States during the past year. There are now In the United States 5,302 local building as .sociations. with a total membership of 1.39,593 and assets amounting to s565. .3S7, ,966. Tn most of the states these associations have about neio their own. although the reduction or the interest rate for the past lew wears has had tendency to bring back money loaned out by them at higher than existing rates, and associations nnable to make desirable loans nave returned some of the idle accumulateo funds to their stockholders, causing a decrease in their assets. Building and loan association supervisors III d number of states are agreed that tne associations were not sumclenlH nronpt in meeting the reduced inter est rate and that, as a result tneS have lost some profitable Dusiness. This is to be accounted for, possibly, under the theory that the associatlons were desirous of ascertaining II tne conditions favorable to reduction were temporary only, and. with tnelr usual conservatism, they were reiuc. tant 10 reduce interest charges until there was a reasonable assurance that cbean money had come to stay.
 "The situation in Illinois and Mis- souri has ben materially improved, al though these states still continue to show rather heavy decreases in as sets. Illinois having declined . httie over four million dollars and Missouri about two million dollars during the mast year. In Ohio several large building associations-one in Coium bus and another in Cleveland-reoi eanized as trust companies, and tneii assets. amounting to about four miii ion dollars, are not included in tne figures for that state. Ohio. therefore instead of having decreased in assets shout one hundred thousand doilarl as shown by the table. has as a mat ter of fact, increased nearly foui million dollars Substantial increases in assets were made last year in Ne" Jersey. Massachusetts and Nebraska-
 The legislative situation has peer one of great activity during the pas, wear. particularly in the states o Pennsvlvania. Ohio and New fork Many bills were introduced, as usual