Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-05
PAUL MORTON TALKS
Head Of Equitable Life Insur.
ance Company on Business.
PLENTY OF READY MONEY
Loans Made Outside New York
Check Speculation.
INVESTORS ARE CAUTIOUS NOW
Everybody Wanting It Can Get
Work Soon-James J. Hill
on the Outlook.
PLENTY OF READY MONEY
INVESTORS ARE CAUTIOUS NOW
BY WILLIAM F. TRTIS.

NEW YORK. December g. 1908.
Money is a drug In the market" said
Paul Morton. president Of the Equitable
Life Insurance Company in answer TO
my question. Call money loans may he
had for less than per cent. Time
money may be had for per cent for
ninety days and per cent for six months.
Gilt edged real estate loans in New York
are AZ and ) per cent The insurance
companies are making many loans at
these rates on similar property to that
{ they have been getting per cent for.
There is an abundance of money look
ing ont for investment. This abundance
is menace to prosperity, however, be
cause 1t Is apt to stimulate speculation
encourage booms and promote wildcat
enterprises. But there is very healthy
atmosphere in New York financial circles
just now. People are confident. but they
are cautious. There is good deal more
speculation than I care to see. and prices
| of stocks have gone up quite rapidly, but
think there is a justification for 1t in
the future and that prices will go con-
siderably higher before they go lower y
Western Money in Abundance.
Where does this abundance of money
come FROM
Much of IT comes from the west: from
the banks in which II has been deposit ed
by farmers who have no use for it: The
farmers are the richest portion of our
population today. They were buying pi-
amos and surveys a few years ago; now
they are buying automobiles. 1t Is Gus
tomary to hold automobile exposftions out
in the west. and they are attended by
thousands of farmers who come to buy
new machines trade their old ma
LII, ~ 1~k&
The crops this year are bigger than
ever. the prices are higher than ever and
the farmers will have more money than
ever They will deposit it in the local
banks, which will send 1t to New York
for Investment
;Much of the money that Is now seek
ing investment has come out of safety
deposit boxes. where it was locked up
year ago by people who were frightened
in the panic. IT is difficult to overesti
mate the amount of currency and gold
that was boarded last winter and lay
idle for nearly year, but now it is COM
ing out and seeking investment
Banks in Better Shape
Every bank has charged off it's bad
debts and gotten rid of poor securities.
The banks of New York-and ] presume
the same applies to other parts Of the
country-are cleaner and in better con-
cause of their recent experience Further
more, everybody is more careful and con-
scientious. The Roosevelt tactics have
been exaspera ting at times. but they have
done a great deal of good. There IL an
Improvement in commercial ethics which,
think, will last. People in charge of
trusts have a higher sense of their re-
sponsibilities and a higher standard Nof
| morals will prevail. especially among
| those who are acting In a fduciary capac-
81 r,f
the panic have been altogether whole
some, and although we may not soon re-
sumo the volume Of business that was
transacted Immediately preceding the
will soon get busy; there will be no un-
employed hands or unemployed money
very soon. and a more healthful and less
feverish condition will prevail.
Keeping Money Out Of New York.
How do the insurance companies han
die their loans"
THE policy of the Eauita able company
is to lend less money on Manhattan Is
land and more in other large cities of the
country. The total assets OF this COM
pany are about $50 600. 600 About % per
cent of that total is loaned on real es-
tate mortgages. and the proportion is in
creasing all the time. Our mortgages in
New York state decreased more than
a
responding degree in other states Of the
country. The present administratio of
the Equitable company is pledged to place
it's reserves in those sections of the
United States where 1t is doing business.
This plan has been adopted on account
of growing demand from our policy
holders and it is considered not only
right but advantageous. This winter. in
pursuance of this policy. we are scatter
ing our investments as well our loans
over larger areas than ever before. We
consider it good business as well as good
policy to invest the money of the COM
pany in the towns and cities where we
have the largest number of policy hold
ers provided we can do so advantageous
ly This practice has been very gener-
ally approved. / think I am safe in say
ing that ii has given general satisfaction
to the policy holders of the company
We recently loaned between four and five
million dollars on San Francisco real es-
tate, helping to rebuild that city.
Opposed to Loans on Policies.
| We have loaned about s56 600, 900 upon
our own policies. and are loaning about
| million dollars a month on such Sc
curity. We deprecate the idea of people
| borrowing their life insurance and
discourage it in every way We can. al
| though. when policy holder comes here
and tells us he has to borrow money and
| that his policy is the only security he
can give We would prefer to lend him
the money ourselves rather than have
| him so elsewhere to get it, II is. not
| good practice. however. and 7 hope some
| day it will be made impossible for any
man to reduce his life Insurance by an
tticlpating it's benefits i'll that way
| hope 1t will be made impossible for any
! man to borrow any more on life in
suranCe policy than is sufficient to nay
| years premium. because it n,lliies the
! purpose for which the policy was OBJ
tanned. 1t removes the protection that
was intended for himself and family
II looking to many of the
| patrons of this company who have Dor
| rowed money upon their policies come
| back and pay up The loans as soon as
prosperity is fully restored. During the
/ panic that was the only way people could
J raise money to tide them over the emer-
gency. They could not get it from the
banks and no other security except real
estate would he accepted. 1t was then
demonstrated that life insurance policy
| is considered safer collateral than bonds
! or bank stock. and some of the richest
men in New York were compelled to
offer their life insurance policies as col
lateral or place NOR. cages on their homes
to meet their obligations
Favors Railway Loans.
THE Equitable Society owns about
two hundred millions of American railway
securities. and we know of no manner in
which the money of poiicya1olders can be
invested so as to serve the public welfare
more generally than in furnishing funds