Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-30
GROWTH OF TRUST
BUSINESSES SHOWN
R. A. Lewis Discusses Impor-
lance of New Form of
Financial Service.

Reuben A. Lewis, secretary of the
trust company division of the American
Bankers Association, told the fiduciary
section of the District Bankers AssO-
citation at the Willard last night that
the trust business is the fastest growing
form of financial service. the idea
taking hold so fast as to have brought
about revolution in the Americans
frame of mind.
Touching on local conditions, Mr..
Lewis noted that Washington has an
unusually large amount of wealth cen
tered here, adding that in the country
at large only 45 people out of every
100 leave wills. In the Capital. how
ever, the average among those leaving
estates is 65 out of every 100. Mr..
Lewis further said:
While you are interested in know
ing that the trust business is growing
nationally, it is natural that your par
tlcular interest should be focused on
Washington. There are many reasons
why Washington should be a splendid
city for the development of trust busi-
ness. Foremost, there are a large num-
Der of residents who have stable es-
tates, as represented by real estate
and personal property. 1 am informed
that there are. a considerable number
of people owning large blocks of Sc
curities.
Standing of District.
1T may surprise you to know that
the Federal estate tax returns indicate
that there are only 10 States that have
as many wealthy people within their
boundaries as the District of Columbia.
The latest statistics show that there
pctofrc of
each and aggregating S37,285 COS, that
were passed on during the year of 1927.
These figures represent estates of the
older generations. but young men OF
wealth are coming along. and the pros
poets for even more large estates are
certainly bright.
The District has two other distinct
advantages. 1t has no inheritance tax
to impose on the estates of it's residents.
Only three other States offer similar
freedom from taxes-Alabama, Florida
and Nevada. This should prove to be a
real inducement to people of wealth,
particularly to those who have amassed
enough property to permit them to re-
tire, to locate in Washington.
Our records indicate that the resi-
dents of Washington are much more
highly educated to the value OF making
].
Based on returns from cities in 80 diff
ferent States. We have found that only
As out of 100 leaving estates die with
wills. In the District the returns for
the four years ending 1927 disclose that
IS out of 100 made wills The figures
are a tribute to the intelligence of the
residents of the District of Columbia,
who are sensible enough to provide for
the distribution of their property in &C.
cordance with their own wishes rather
than to let the hard and fast rule of
the statutes control this distribution
Since that time the trust companies
and banks of Washington have engaged
in a cooperative advertising campaign,
so the chances are that an even higher
percentage will make their wills in the
future.
Statistics on Wills.
"Such a state of will-consciousness is
bound to promote the trust business.
The figures for the four years are:
Number of wills Total number OF
bad fafa