Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-01-16

gathered In Waterville yesterday at the
ninth annual meeting of the Maine
LEAGUE of Loan and Building Associa-
tons. The associations represented
We're Auburn. Augusta. Bangor. Bath.
Brunswick. Deering. Dexter, Gardiner.
Hallowell, Lewiston. Mechanic Falls,
Foxcroft, Rockland, Sanford. Show
hogan, Portland, South Portland and
Waterville. The lately formed Lewis
ton Loan and Building Association was
admitted to membership.
The morning session was called to
order at 1920 o'clock at the Elmwood
hotel by Vice Pres, John ]. Frye Of
Portland, who presided, owing to the
absence of President Frank A. Nolin
of Skowhegan. who was reported as i'll.
The election of officers resulted as fol-
lows:
President. John ]. Frye of Portland;
vice Pres, James P. Hutchinson of Au-
burn; Sec. and Treas. Harry +.
Thompson of Brunswick: executive
committee. the above officers ~ and
Charles w. Tilden of Hallowel, Charles
A. Corliss of Bath, Frank c. Knight of
Rockland, Amos A. Springall Of Dex-
Vile.
The address of the day was by Hon.
William 7. Haines Of this city. who
was listened to by the delegates with
great attention. He said:
Hon. w. T. Haines of this city
addressed the convention on the SUBJ
1ect Saving and Investing" He
spoke as follows:
1t is an old saying that you can
go home when you can't go anywhere
else" In these times of financial
excitement and uncertainty, to put it
charitably, in large undertakings, most
of which are foreign or away from
home, to the average man it is a relief
to have chance to consider for a few
moments our own home institutions,
and particularly the one which we
have dedicated especially to home
building-the Maine Loan and Build
ing Association.
In connection with this subject, I
wish to offer few general considera-
tons about saving and investing.
am always pleased to talk about my
own State. A study of our finances
today, or those taken from the Bank
Examiners report for the year 1906
as l have not the report of 1907 Il,
hand-shows us to be people of
thrift and enterprise. This report
shows 81 savings banks with deposits
Of $89.6S1. 14472: SO trust companies
with deposits of $50, 542.I66.46; IS loan
and building associations with 1884,
1854; total s126,65S, 03S.12. This was
a gain Of $3.50. 600.99 over the year
1905, and / know of no reason to
doubt that the report Of 1907 will
show proportionate gain, although
that for 1906 was much larger than he
gain of any previous year-the total
gain in II years. from 1890 to 1906.
being s76,542.G 06.S6. The resources of
our national banks for the same year.
1906. are put down as $55,676,2S3.5O, a
gain over 1905 Of s3,170,751s2, or what
would seem to be total gain or 1906
over 1906 of all our bank resources of
$13.061, 352.81.
These figures show that some one has
been both earning and saving, and
necessarily there must have been some
invested. 1t appears that We had on
December 81. 1906. .6S7 depositors in
our savings banks alone. a gain in
that year of 1865. and that the average
amount deposited by each depositOr
was s376.2s as against s367.7 for the
previous year of 1905. and that the
average rate paid iepositors was 800
per cent, and the total dividends dis
trihuted were 52.702. SS7.37.
Another very pertinent fact is found
In that 1920 depositors have $500 or
lese on deposit. and that only 229 de-
positors have over $4,000 on deposit.
Now this shows that these large saw
ings are made In small amounts by 4
great number of people. 1t is a good
indication Of the kind of people we
are. 1t certainly shows that we are
thrifty. And there IL no wonder that
the schemer from New York. Chicago,
or Boston. when he looks at our saw
ings banks report. packs his grip and
Immediately starts for Maine for funds
for all kinds of promotion schemes.
How is this money invested? The
average depositor goes to the savings
bank and leaves his money with the
treasurer and goes away. This is the
last he knows OF it. He thinks and
speaks of his money as lin the bank
Wnen IN 1aCC IL is not IN tne OdnK at
all: but the bank is in his money and
his money is in an investment of some
kind.
OF the $S9.6s1 14472 resources of our
savings banks, | find table of "a
kinds Of investments. 1t would be too
long a list to repeat here. You can
find it on Page 9 of the savings banks
report for 1905. sl0.073. 1858 of it is
loaned en- real estate mortgages: ST.
9I6.SS3.15 on railroad bonds in Maine,
and 1881 ,5S3.07 on railroad bonds out
of Maine. or nearly one-half of the
total is in railroad bonds either in or
out of Maine. We have some would
be statesmen who propose that the
government own and operate the rail-
roads. If you will examine the reports
of savings institutions including the
life insurance companies in other states
as we'll as ours. l think you VIII find
that the people already come very near
owning the railroads.
panic like what we have just pass
| ed through, with its consequent decline
IN railroad stocks and the frequent re-
ceiverships of railroads. calls our at
tention quite sharply to the fact that
the railroad bond is the only interest
! IN the railroad that the average man,