The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-12-30
THE INVESTORS IN RAILWAY
SECURITIES.

There are two kinds OF corporations
which are the chief mediums OF TINS
secondary Investment OF the people In
the railways - insurance companies
and savings banks Assessment and
fratornal companies being excepted.
tho people who take out life and hre
insurance-retcrring now TO the 80
called working classes-undoubte
represent q class somewhat better on
than the group OF savings bank de-
positors. But they are practically
Identical In kind. is unfortunate
that the insurance returns do not
summarize the corporate investment
In railways so as TO give a measure
OF the railway interest OF the policy
holders. Still, from the latest re-
turns available. one may direct at
tention 20 tho 1880 ,294.0 OF assets
OF the mutual life insurance corpora
tions with their 25.S52 .40G policy hold
ers; 60 the $122.606, ,iG0 assets and
S,5S9,711 membership of the assess
ment companies; to the $6l1 1896. .763
OF assets OF the mutual and stock fire
companies. besides the large assets
OF the accident, surety and other cor
porations In the minor insurance com
TO what proportion of them are rail.
way securities becomes difficult, but
a rough approximation moy be reach
ed. Under date Of January Is, 1909.
the Insurance Department OF New
York State gives list OF all securities
held by life, fire and casualty COM
panies doing business In New York
State and Massachusetts,. The sets
of securities are some 10000 In mum
Der, counting the different sets ls-
sued by the same corporations. in
Guiding the municipalities. or these
the railway securities form about one
nth Applying that ratio 10 all the
insurance companies, total railway
investment Of about $900000,000 is
indicated This is undoubtedly too low
Il is very much too low for the great
vested insurance interests. for exam
pie. of Connecticut; moreover, the gen
eral returns for the company are In
complete. But the minimum figure
is big enough to suggest the absolute
vastness Of the policy holders indirect
railway interest Coming to the saw
ings banks, the returns are more
definite, though not so recent as we
could wish The figures OF the
United States Treasurer for 1909 give
total resources of the mutual savings
banks of the country az SS, 1894, ,926 0O5,
with $743,425,S93 invested In railway
bonds alone, and with 7,20i,579 depos-
itors. About % per cent Of the re-
sources were thus In railway bonds.
The returns of the Controller OF the
Currency for the previous year for
savings banks of all kinds give the
smaller percentage of somewhat more
than 16 per cent in railway holdings,
and S,0SS S6G depositors, In the case
OF deDositors In all savings banks re-
turns IL must. of course, be remem-
beTed that each deposit In a separate
bank counts as 'dcpositor,' which
thus, In the case of multiple deposits
by q single depositor, increases the
total number. In the comparative re-
turns OF the Controller of the Cur
rency may be noted the increase of
savings banks investments In the rail
ways from 1921 ,97S ,055 to s61S,I93.415
N five years Railway investments
considerably more than doubled.
while the resources OF the savings
banks increased only about one-fifth
The total of railway investments
held as security for savings bank de-
posltors and insurance policy hold.
ers thus by one rough (but, In such
large figures, approximately correct)
computation amounts in round num-
bers to l,643. 100000 Beyond lie the
great investments in railways by the
trust companies and by institutions
OF education and charity. About half
for example, Of Yale Unlyersity's to-
tai Investment of some 1900 900 is In
railway securities. Beyond stIll are
the large holdings of individual inyes.
tors. But. excluding these, the in
direct railway investments Of the peo.
pie in the various Intermediary hold.
Ing corporations probably amount to
$1,000. 100000 as a minimum. or, say,
10 per cent of all steam railway stock
and bonds outstanding, and about sc
per cent of the outstanding railway
bonds alone.-Railway Age Gazette.