Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-28
PAYMENT OF LOANS
HAS BEEN STEADY
Syndicate President Com
ments on Small Number Of
Delinquent Accounts.
BY JOHN F. SINCLAIR

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January 2S.-J. r.
Ridgway, president of the Investors
Syndicate, tells me that less than one
half of per cent Of all the payments
due on nearly $31,5Oo,OOO of mortgages
outstanding in his company are 90 days
or more in arrears-about the same
number that was in arrears in 1929.
This is remarkable, for this company
loans only on small homes occupied
by the owner. Asked how he was able
to maintain such a low record in times
like these, Mr.. Ridgway said:
"All our loans are made on a monthly
amortized basis and no officer, director
or agent receives any commission, d.
rectly or indirectly, from the negotia"
ton of these loans.
Agents on Salary Basis.
"All of our loan agents are on a
salary basis, and we are training one
man in each of our 81 loans offices to
take over new Offices as we need further
outlets for our money. I believe that
this has been great factor in keeping
our delinquencies down and in reducing
the amount of real estate we own to a
minimum"
do you believe it's better plan than
giving commissions for the making OF
loans?" asked
MY experience has been that regard
less of how honest man may be his
better judgment is sometimes influ-
enced by the commission he receives.
think am correct in making this
statement for the reason that the In
vestors' Syndicate has less real estate
and fewer delinquent loans than any
company, to my knowledge, doing busi-
ness on the North American continent,
with the same volume of money
loaned.k
us 1881 starting of well?" was my
next question.
while last year was a difficult year
for all business. our production in 1880
was $102, 000. 900 as against sos, 900, 900
in 1929" Mr.. Ridgway replied. while
the doubling of last years production
is rather an optimistic view, feel that
we can safely predict a production for
1881 Of $150.000, 900.
"One thing I can say from our re-
suits in the last few months, and that
is that the American public today is
Observation-Disclosures rather than spec
ulative minded
st believe further that the public
which has been buying on the INSTALL
ment basis (and this includes the ma
jority of our people,, is getting pretty
well caught up with these monthly OBJ
legations, and that 1881 will be very
much better buying year than $780,"
Gandhi's Ultimatum.
Gandhi back in Bombay sent the
shivers down the backs of Britishers
yesterday when he announced that he
would not be party to any peace
which would not satisfactorily solve
three questions: That of salt, foreign
clothes and of liquor.
/. Salt today is a monopoly-a Brit
ish monopoly-and a profitable one at
that. He wants that monopoly broken,
and put under the control of the people
of India.
2. Gandhi has always stood for the
individual spinning wheel as the saliva
ton Of Indian industrial life. This gives
no encouragement to the idle and hard
pressed spinners Of Manchester or
Lancashire, waiting anxiouSly for a
chance to sell their goods to India, as
in the past.
8. Gandhi is a prohibitionist. He
wants prohibition for India. He wants
the control of liquor put in the hands
of the Indians themselves, and not the
British government.
uuisites for Great Britain! Will Great
Britain submit to Gandhis program?
If she does, 1t will be the bitterest pill
she has yet taken In her struggle Tor
control of India.
And vet without Gandhi's support
the Britishers know they will have an
increasingly harder time to maintain
their control in that land Of 320, 000, 600
people.
Bonus Question.
The 3,50O,0OO soldiers bonus certifi-
Gates outstanding are really insurance
policies These certificates provide Tor
payments at maturity, within the next
is years, of $500, 100000 in amounts
from $3.50 to $500, with the average
amount around $1,000.
If Congress adopts the Garner plan
to pay an extra IS per cent over the
present cash surrender value most GER
tificates will be cashed Immediately.
What does that mean? 1t means that
the insurance feature OF these certih-
Gates will be destroyed.
If legislation is passed to cash these
certificates 1t should be done with the
distinct understanding that the cost
offsets pensions for such veterans OF
the Great War.
But If legislation goes through to
pay these certificates in cash, and the
matter Of future pensions is left more
or less obscure, pensions will become
a political foot ball for the next gen.
Grafton.
Unless this subject of future pensions
is clearly specified in detail in any
pending legislation, it would be better
to leave the matter alone. That Is, so
far as the taxpayer is concerned.
Proposed Paper Firm Merger.
Should the conference now on in
of the larger paper companies of Can
ada be successful 1t will result in bring
ing something like order out of chaos
in an industry that for several years
past has been marking time" to put
1t mildly.
It Is understood that the companies
involved are the Abitibi, the st. Law
renee, Backus-Brooks interests, Canada
Power g. Paper Corporation and the
Most of the hard work in the nego-
tiations is understood to be completed.
A few more days should iron out the
few problems remaining.
Whether the name of the company
is to be the Abitibi or not, is undecided,
but that the control of the proposed
$500, 100000 merger will remain in Can
ada may well be surmised.
For the master hand of Sir Herbert
Holt, president of the Royal Bank of
Canada, and the power behind the
movement, Is plainly seen in the pres
ent negotiations.
Collateral Loans.
Albert H. Wiggin, New York banker,
testifying before the Glass Committee,
made the statement that he believed
the collateral loans of the member
banks should be reduced to the level
reached In 1926-about $4,000, 000, 900.
This statement would seem to indi-
further defiation Of rs per cent in col
lateral loans of member banks. For
recent report showed the collateral
loans If S7 o00 mn nm nearly go nnn =