Evening journal., 1914-03-02
MONDAY. MAR. 2. 1914.
A MAGNIEIcENr SHOWING.

4 the fortunes Of the Wilmington Savings Fund
Society cannot fail TO be grahed by the showing made
by It in It's eighty-second annual statement for the
fiscal year ended December 81 last II is tangible and
rrefutabe evidence Of the business ability of the ON
GERS and others who been entrusted with the con-
duct Of the societys affairs. IL also reflects great
credit upon our city evidence Of the thrift Of its
people. In short it is a savings institution Of which
our community well may be proud
The assets Of the society," which has 26S6S deposit
tors aggregate S1O57366sl9 Of which S3,S97,7O1 is
represented by mortgages real estate; SOI2O0 by
loans on collateral security; $4,000 by tho value Of
the banking house, SS3,71449 by other real estate;
ses754ss by accrued interest; $340,2OS.i1 by cash
and $3.50 by miscellaneous items The remainder is
made up Of investments in the securities Of many
porations The liabilities Of the society consist Of
50 260 $780, money TO depositors, and S13l2SO3
90 carried to the surplus or contingent fund.
Tho debit side Of the statement for 1918 shows
eral interesting things Among them are that the
year opened with balance Of S304,25353; that the
deposits during the year aggregated S1Se52fl74
that the interest amounted to s463Ss757; that the
mortgage loans returned were s3S5436 the collateral
loans returned s29SoO; the corporation bonds sold
and redeemed S1G270O and rents and sundry
counts S6,72497 in short, tota' of S316754S31.
On the credit side we find Withdrawals $t,667,-
20S93; bond and mortgage loans, S697,225; corpora
tion bonds purchased SS966s9A6; interest on cor
curty loans. S24l0O real estate, s4,1O574; general
expenses s2521901; sundry expenses. S7.OOi19;
state, ci'y and county taxes, SS69451, and balance
December 81 last. S340,2OS.41 a total Of S3167-
543Sf It will be noticed that the balance at the end
1918 sS59isSS greater than that at the end of
1912
We congratulate the officers and members Of the
society upon the splendid condition revealed by the
statement scanning of the list of securities pur-
chased and held by the society shows however that
comparatively little of the millions of dollars saved by
thrifty Wilmingonians and placed in the treasury of
the institution has been invested in local securities.
The great bulk of the benefit of such money gone
TO other communities. We wonder II It would pay
the society to break away from this perhaps uncon-
scious attitude that nothing good in the security line
come out Of this Wilmington Nazareth? We won
der II It would not benefit the society and our CITY,
which supplies the money the society invests, TO put
more Of that Wilmington money IN high-grade local
securities and less Of it in outside securtiesg Our
bighg-ade local securities have shown a smaller de-
cline than the average hgh-grade first mortgage bonds
which are not local have shown during the last few
years and such high-grade local securities could have
been quidated at a smaller loss than the others II
excuse be made that the local market is not suai-
ciently active, It that the statement made
above, which susceptible Of vercaton by the mar
ket transactions here and elsewhere should consti-
tute conclusive answer
We also think that, the money which makes up
the fund Of the society is made in Wilmington and
saved by Wilmngtonians the society should patron.
ze local brokerage houses IN the purchase of securi
ties and not give to outside brokerage houses and in
oidentay to outside communities the benefit of such
purchases. The society buy securities lust as
cheaply and advantageously from local brokerage
houses as it from outside houses the prices com
missions and allowances being the same.
What we have said should not be construed as be-
ing unfriendy criticism Of the officials Of the VIII
mington Savings Fund Society There is no body of
men in the local financial field whom we esteem more
highly. We recognize, however. the fact that viii
mington is city Of almost 100000 inhabitants and
that it is industrial If II is to become
financial centre In the true the word it must
be a market for high-grade securities particularly
those Of local nature the fact must not be lost
sight Of that we have brokers here who can handle
such business just capably advantageously and
cheapy as can brokers in other trade centres in which
Wilmsngtonians should have a much less acute m
terest
For eghty-two years Wilmington has conserved
and built up the business Of the Wilmington Savings
Fund Society until it has reached magnificent propor-
nons Surely such an unremitting and friendly SER
vice calls for its qud pro quo. In other words the
Chamber Of Commerce slogan, DO it for Wilmington"
should not be meaningless phrase in the ears of the
capable officers Of the society.