The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1913-02-07
The Pacific Building and Loan Co.

BullQlng q LOAN companies anu
other financial institutions print and
send broadcast several times during
the year statements purporting to
show their financial condition. The
Standard Building & Loan Co., of
Dallas, Texas, published statement
a short time before it failed last fall
owing its certificate holders millions
of dollars, Leavenworth people among
them, to the amount OF ten or
more thousand dollars. Its last pre-
vious financial statement showed the
company to be-solvent. The Mt. Yer
non, WASH, bank failed the latter part
of last summer, and it was rotten
failure, and yet less than three months
before it failed published statement
that on its face showed it was solvent.
About two years ago one OF the Van
couver, Wash, banks failed, and this,
too, was one Of the rottenest kind of
failures. Its affairs are not finally
wound up yet and it will not pay more
than 25 cents on the dollar. This bank
published statements right up to the
time its doors were closed. The
Dallas building and loan company
will probably not pay over 10 cents on
the dollar. Some years ago Mime
apolis Building & Loan Company failed
for five or ten million dollars, and
its statements always showed it to be in
prime condition. I had paid over $500
into this company and lost every cent
paid into it. These published finan-
cial statements may be all right but
are by no means conclusive evidence
of solvency. The Pacific Building &
Loan Co., of Tacoma, may be all right
but the financial statement is not
conclusive evidence. For all the
fine showing made in its last state
ment it may be nothing more
than a bladder, which pin prick
may cause to collapse. My rea-
son for having no faith in the Pacific
Building & Loan Co., is simply this:
I was induced to pay into the COM
pany nearly two hundred dollars on
the representations of its agent that I
could withdraw all my money inside of
six months, with interest added, and
he even stated that by dating my GER
tificate back three months l could
withdraw in three months. The same
agent made similar statements to other
responsible citizens in Leavenworth
and thereby induced them to take
stock in the Tacoma company. After
paying into the company nearly two
years was told by a man who has
made a study OF building and loan
companies that none Of the large COM
panies, of which there are several in
the state, would, or could make good
on the representations they are max
ing to the public. Whereupon, to test
the matter, I wrote to the Tacoma
concern in November last, asking the
value OF my certificate, and was blandly
told that I could borrow forty cents
of every dollar that I had paid into
the company. 1t struck me that one
dollar in good hard money, ought to
be good security for more than forty
cents il the company was run on
a business plan, as almost any COM
pany will loan up to 80 cents on
the dollar on cash deposits. Then I
wrote the manager, Mr.. Billings, that
l did not want to borrow money, that l
wanted to know what my certificate
was worth in the event l decided to
withdraw from the company. He re-
Piled that the loan value and the with
drawal value was exactly the same. +
then wrote to Mr.. Billings that il my
dollars shrunk from 100 cents to 40
cents in less than two years to send
me the 40 cents as quick as he could.
That was Dec. IA. He has not had
the courage or the courtesy to seknow-
ledge the receipt Of my letter. 1t is
possible that by calling public atten-