The Washington times., 1928-06-23
BUILDING LOANS
LAUDED BY
BANKER

DNwHAIH
one of the outstanding addresses
of the recent convention of the
United States League of Local
Building and Loan Associations.
held at Dallas, Tex, May % TO. %.
was by John f. Owens. of the Re-
public National Bank. of Dallas.
Mr.. Owens said in part: THE pro-
fession Of you gentlemen has my
profound respect, for you have
created a distinct department of
finance: aside from banking, differ
ent from mere loaning agencies.
You have correlated. by the most
intelligent process known to man,
the borrower and the lender the in
weston and the realty owner. The
saving instinct and the homing urge
meet in the offices of your institu-
tfons, and in the alchemy of n new
credit, turn out at one door a holder
OF a real estate bond and at an
.other the pleased possessor of a
home
"This is. what, mean when !
salute you as true creators
when you have created capitalist
and real estate owner1-then,
civiliztion has moved up a notch or
two. There has always been a GER
tain critical attitude on the part of
many banks to the building and
loan associations, because there has
always been drift from per cent
savings to the more profitable con.
tracts offered by your profession,
hut it has always seemed to me
that your line of procedure covers
an absolutely different field Of credit
operation.
Built On Long Notes
mo bank wants an amortized
note. running over long period
of time, and again it occurs to me
that this is the way that 80 per
cent of the homes must be built
The Federal Land Bank system has
seized on this principle of amort-
lied debt and this Is the outstand-
ing governmental contribution to
farm relief, making the latent credit
value of a piece of land marketable
in the large money markets of the
world, through the sale of bonds
sold by the Federal Land Banks, and
now with farms, as with city homes.
under the amortization principle the
debt declines instead OF increasing.
1t has been said that the Ameri-
can public has ceased to buy any
thing, and has sold everything. II
you gentlemen should cease selling
/ your stock TO the public and sit be-
hind your desks in dignified seclu.
sion, the savings accounts of the
nation would wane. To that express
sion that says: All things come TO
him who waits might be added
everything except that which he is
waiting for. Life is a continuous
aganda-a perpetual advertis-
ing scheme. Let the churches quit
advertising the value of a good life
1.-THE advantage of heaven--the in
conveniences of hell-and religion
I would drift like the shadow Of d
cloud.
Death Insurance
| II sometimes think that life in
surance should be called death in
| surance, and that building and loan
/ should be called life insurance. be-
! cause a man doesn't have to die to
/ win. ] had rather have a nice little
/ home worked out by building and
| loan here on earth, than to have a
claim to mansions in the skies-not
! that l do not aspire to mansions in
! the skies, but the little home here
| looks like a cinch and the mansion
/ in the sky seems a trifle specula-
! tive ! know of no better insurance
/ policy to leave the Wife and baby
than the home, and I think if you
| gentlemen will investigate, you win
! find hell full of apartment houses
and hotels.
"Some poetica1 fellow has said
| that home is where the heart is, but
! / have always had the sentiment
that a man would fight for his
hearthstone, who would not shed
gore for hotel radiator. When
we consider how many agencies are
seeking residence loans in the conn
! try, and that 40 per cent of them
are in building and loan associa-
| tions, then we understand that you
| have a distinct specialization-hom
| building.
"Home building is a splendid mis-
| sion, and when we understand the
millions and millions of dollars you
carry as investment, then we must
understand that the building and
loan idea is no longer A movement,
! but an institution, as much a part
Of our national life as the Federal
| Reserve system.
WelI-Balanced Estates
Every well-balanced estate should
have distribution in assets and a d.
versified investment. Therefore. I
/ note with pleasure the ever-growing
| group of men of larger affairs, who
| show building and loan stock as a
part Of their recorded wealth. The
| standard virtue of good bond is its