hundred dollars or so. Fie would thus have an interest in real estate. 

 He would be more watchful to detect and more active to prevent municipal 

 mismanagement and extravagance. He would be likely to be a better 

 citizen. 



It may be urged that there is no necessity for providing for the 

 incorporation of land companies under general laws, for the reason that 

 the purposes of such companies can be well accomplished through the 

 instrumentality of real estate trusts. 



Since the case of Henry S. Howe et a/., Trustees, v. Charles W. 

 Morse et at. (174 Mass. 491) was decided in 1S99 by our Supreme Court, 

 these real estate trusts have been created with great rapidity. 



The following is an extract from the decision rendered by Mr. Justice 

 Barker in this case : 



" Such a trust for the convenience of an unincorporated association in 

 renting and selling land, under which the land is held for no other purpose, 

 and where the income is not accumulated, but is distributed as it accrues, and 

 where the land is to be sold free of trusts at the will of the association, and 

 where the whole equitable interest in the trust is at every moment vested abso- 

 lutely in those who at that moment are shareholders, and never can become 

 vested in any other persons save by act of the absolute owners or by operation 

 of law upon their property, and not by force of any limitation contained in the 

 deed of trust, the equitable interests so vested being also constantly vendible by 

 their several owners without let or hindrance, as well as subject to their debts 

 and passing like other property upon death by virtue not of the deed of trust 

 but of the general laws governing the disposition of the property of decedents, 

 withdraws no property from commerce, and is not within the reason or the terms 

 of what is called the rale against perpetuities. The trust involves no future 

 limitations, no restraint upon alienation, and no accumulation either of income 

 or of principal." 



In the list which is issued by Burroughs and DeBlois nearly sixty of 

 these real estate trusts, all holding property in Boston, are mentioned. 

 There are quite a number not mentioned in this list, their stock not having 

 been put upon the market. Those included in the list represent invest- 

 ments of over $60,000,000, or an average of about a million apiece. As 

 a result of their formation, grand buildings have been or are being erected, 

 especially in the heart of the city. The interest of a subscriber is repre- 

 sented by share certificates in the same way as the interest of a stock- 

 holder in a corporation is represented. The real estate is held by a title 

 as absolute and continuing as that by which a corporation holds. These 

 trusts seem to be open to all objections which can be raised against land 

 companies, and they are also open to some other and perhaps serious 

 objections. In the first place, there is no limit to the amount of capital 

 which these trusts can hold. If there is any objection to large consolida- 

 tions of capital, that objection obtains as against the possibilities of these 

 trusts. This must not be considered as an intimation that any such 

 objection is valid. Again, these trusts in the issue of their stock and in 

 their general management are not subject to any State supervision or 

 regulation. Again, each one of them is based upon its own peculiar deed 

 of trust. It is doubtful whether any two of these deeds are exactly alike 



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in their provisions. They are all lengthy documents. The rights of a 

 stockholder under one trust will be different from his rights under another, 

 and it will be a wise man, indeed, who after studying up one of these 

 trust indentures will know what his rights are ; and a man with extraor- 

 dinary memory who will be able the next week to state his conclusions. 



These deeds of trust contain provisions intended to protect the share- 

 holders from personal liability for debts contracted by, or damages caused 

 by the act or neglect of, the trustees. To what extent these intentions have 

 been successfully carried out will be determined from time to time by our 

 Courts. 



How much simpler and safer it would be if the properties now held 

 by these trustees had been conveyed to corporations organized under 

 general laws. There would be no declaration of trust, each sentence of 

 which may be the subject of a law suit. The law would determine the 

 method of organization, would by uniform regulations govern the methods 

 of administration, the powers of the corporation and the rights and liabili- 

 ties of the officers and stockholders. The capital stock would be limited 

 to such amount as the Legislature in its wisdom might deem necessary to 

 prevent any possible monopoly. The management would be subject to the 

 supervision of the State, and the stockholders would have the benefit of that 

 publicity which it is one of the chief objects of State supervision to secure. 



As before stated, the question of a revision of the laws relating to the 

 formation, conduct, and taxation of all corporations except municipal, 

 banking and public service corporations, is now being considered by the 

 Legislature. If the proscription which has hitherto existed against corpora- 

 tions for the buying and selling of real estate is not well founded, now is 

 a good opportunity, perhaps the best opportunity which will arise for 

 many years, to have the law changed. 



As a rule, desirable combinations of several estates and their proper 

 development and improvement can only be carried out by the use of large 

 amounts of capital. If carried out, they will promote the public welfare, 

 and they will increase the amount of taxable property. 



Shall these works be barred unless some Morgan sees fit to undertake 

 them? Shall they be left to the very rich as their special preserve, being 

 protected from the competition of the combined capital of poorer men by 

 ''this exclusion of the business of buying and selling real estate ? Shall 

 these works and the profit to be derived from them be reserved for the 

 very rich and for those who are able to secure a special charter from the 

 Legislature ? Or shall all our citizens have a chance at them under 

 general laws, catholic in their nature, granting no special and exclusive 

 privileges, but only those which all alike can avail of, and so creating no 

 monopoly, but permitting the men of small means, by combining their 

 capital, by union of their mites, to compete with and enjoy the same 

 opportunities as are now exclusively the opportunities of the rich and 

 those few who from time to time are favored by the Legislature with 

 grants of special privileges? 



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