The Prescott daily news., 1920-03-17
MILLIONS IN U. s. OWN RAILROADS Waue Earners Directly and h. directly Affected by Roads
 Solvency.
DIVISION OF SECURITIES.
Mutual Savings Banks Owned Entire Iy by Depesitors Held Large
 Amount of Railway Bends. ~

Millions of thrifty Americans who have laid aside sensthing fer "isiny day" are directly or indirectly owners of railroad securities. This ewnsrsAip represents net snly individual invsst- meAt in the railroala, but holdingD ef rnIlread securities by life iAsufaAce companies, savings banks, Are and na- rins insurance cenpaAies. bensroaent associations, educational iHstitutSeas. trust companies and State and Natisn- al banks. A large part of the asssts of these institutions depend sn the ssl- vency of the railfsads.
 The ownership of railread securities among these people ii divided approx imately as follows:
 Individuals, Aunbering ever
 1.0oe.oo0, own outright absut $1e.-
 0OO, ,OoO ,eoO in railroad securities.
 Over coo, 900 arc stsckhslders with
 an average hslliAg of $1S.S66 Life insurance companies, with
 53,OOO, 900 policies iA force, ewn
 nearly $2,Uo0. .00v,0O0 Of railway
 securities.
 Savings banks, with 10000 900 j depssitors, own $s47. .oo0, 900.
 Fire and marine insurance cen-
 panies, casualty and surety com
 panies own . total of $o4o. .O00, 900.
 Benevolent associations, cel-
 leges, schools, charitable institu-
 tions, etc, own $35o, o,oo0, 900.
 Trust companies, State and Ma
 tional banks own $365, ,0o0, 900.
 According to statistics compiled for the Association of Life Insurance Pres idents in 1918, 27.65 per cent of life insurance companies assets were in- vested in railroad bonds, and during the first half of 1919 the percentage of railroad bonds held by the life insur- ance companies was 2625 of the total assets of these companies.
 Interest of Wage Farmers.
 In addition to this widespread own ership of equities of American rail- roads by the people of the United States every wage earner who puts money into the savings bank has a di- rect interest in the soundness of rail- road investment on account of the large part of the savings of men and women wage earners secured by the railroad bonds which are bought by the savings banks
 A great many of these institutions are mutual savings banks which have no capital stock, pay no dividends, earn no profits for stockholders, and their entire property belongs to tho de- positors. Every dollar that the bank earns beyond the actual cost of doing business also belongs to them.
 The report of the United States Comptroller of the Currency for 1918 shows that 625 of these savings banks operated on the'mutual plan had at the end of 1918 total deposits of A, 4,422,- O96,393.15 credited to 9,011, ,464 depos- itors, an average deposit of $490.72. These figures covered mutual savings banks in IS states of the Union.
 The Comptroller's report gives the amount of railroad bonds held by mu- tual savings banks In the six New Eng land states-Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut-a s4O6, PIP, ,166. The report of the State Superintendent of Banks of New York shows that the railroad bonds held by the mutual saw ings banks at the end of 1918 in New York amounted to s361711-334