Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-09-16
NOW MY IDEA IS THIS
Daily Talks With Thinking Phadepians Subjects They
KnoU Best
KnOW Best

control, such as Illness, long periods OF un.
forcseen Unemployment, etc, 1t became i'm
possible for him 10 continue his payments.
In these cases, II n member had reasonable
equity in the property, the loan was read
justed.
THE last thing in the world which a
building and loan association wants is to
acquire real estate. This forms no part OF
the plan of the association and it is not in
any manner equipped for handling it.
1T is true that in some rare cases the
association has been imposed upon in its
zeal TO aid worthy members, but as the
associations confne their loans to actual
purchasers of homes, it is seldom that this
occurs.
1T would be a highly different matter il
the associations loaned their resources for
speculative purposes. The specuator gets
out the instant there is a pinch, but the
real home buyer will sacrifice anything
prospects, business or almost anything else
before he will part with his partly paid for
home.
Are Honestly Administered
There is another remarkable phase in
connection with the building and loan asso-
Citations, and that is the scrupulous honesty
with which their affairs are administered.
In the State of Pennsylvania there is be-
tween $500, 100000 and $400 200 in
vested in building and loan organizations, Of
dephia. In the handling Of this large sum
Of money only II small fraction Of per cent
has ever been lost due to the mishandling or
misappropriation on the part of the en-
ploycs or directors. This fact testifes more
plainly than words can to the caliber of the
men who have their affairs in charge. The
losses to the associations are comparatively
nothing.
In spite of the vast number of men now
out Of employment, due to the business de-
preston which has raCked the country for
months past, there have been no abnormal de-
Itn11 hut Nl,n
which the associations are founded is
largely responsible for this unusual and sat
isfactory condition.
An association which was originally
formed for the encouragement of thrift in n
large industrial plant, for example might find
itself in an abnormal situation II the plant
shut down, and have many Withdrawals. But
the home owner Is usually good workman
and thrifty as well he is thrifty because he Is
| n good workman, and he is to some extent a
good workman because he Is thrifty. The
| two go together. Therefore in slack times
he Is one or the last men to be laid off, and
as result he is able to keep up his pay
ments. The great life insurance companies
admit that the caliber Of the members of the
building and loan associations is far above
that Of the average mechanic.
| Inc OBJECTS of the associations are
| clearly set forth In the preambes of all the
pest organizations. They state that the OBJ
Ject Is the accumulation of a fund nv neri
1
Der OF months necessary to make each share
| OF the stock worth its par value.
| VI course, IN such an organization we
| have to have large number Of investors to
| take care OF the much smaller number Of
| borrowers. The very first association was
a small group of men, none Of whom had
| money enough to build his own home They
| agreed TO pay In regular sum each paw
| ment day, and then drew lots for the first
70 nave his home built, continuing until ali
had had their own houses built and paid for.
| rms cooperative principle remains as the
| tounaatlon stone of the associations today,
| Inc number OF associations Is amazing
In the last compiled reports C017) there
We're IN the State of Pennsylvania 2OS0
| buliuihg and loan associations, with a total
membership of 877,011 persons, who owned
o,ooo'3oo shares, an average Of about eight
to the member. In one year the number of
homes built or purchased was 27 ,3OS.
| During the last couple of years tbIs
| hgure has been equaed in Philadelnbia
alone; The demand has been tremendous
and the only reason that the figures were nor
larger was because we couldn't get the
| money. '"'
I'm every revenue bill of the Federal Gov.
ernment for the last five years there bos
been provision taxing building and lonn
shares But when the tremendous worI, nf
the associations was shown to the Govern
ment the proposed tax was taken ouf of
the law In committee and was never even
reported. In the Liberty Loans the Govern'
ment simply adopted the building and loan
principle and applied II to Asale of JJnited
States bonds. ~ '''u