1914. 
i'HB KUKAU NKW-TORKEK 
701 
LAND BANK OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 
System of Mortgage Credits Explained. 
Part II. 
PREPARING FOR BUSINESS.—When the Super¬ 
intendent of Banks has issued a certificate of authority 
and approved the by-laws, the association is then ready 
for business, and the first payment on shares is due. 
These payments are usually called dues. None of this 
money, which is called capital, can be paid out for ex¬ 
penses; and for this reason some associations think it 
well to require each member to pay an initial fee of 
from 25 cents to one dollar as required to pay organi¬ 
zation expenses. In other cases, the necessary ex¬ 
penses are advanced by one or more of the members, 
and this is repaid later out of the earnings. 
HANDLING CAPITAL.—The amount to be paid 
on shares may be arranged under the provisions of the 
law to suit local conditions and desires of members. 
Arrangements may be made to have “dues” paid weekly, 
monthly, or annually. The shares on loans may be 
made to mature at any time from 10 to 40 years. In¬ 
stallment shares in a savings and loan association are 
not paid up in full in one or two payments, as shares 
are paid in a business corporation. Heretofore the 
dues have usually been paid monthly, and the plan has 
been to mature them in about 10 to 12 years. On this 
plan a member subscribes for one share that will be 
worth $100 when it matures or “runs out.” lie pays 
50 cents monthly or $6 per year. If loans are made 
at six per cent, interest, the shares will mature in a 
little less than 12 years. The member will have paid 
in in monthly cash installments a total of nearly $70. 
The profits are added yearly to his credits and he 
draws out $100, or the face value of his share. If he 
is a borrower, he must take one share for every $100 
borrowed, and besides paying his regular installments 
he must also pay the annual interest on the loan. 
These monthly methods of payment have been popular 
in towns and cities where the members have a steady 
salary income. It was desirable to make the payments 
large enough to mature the shares or liquidate the 
mortgage in about 10 to 12 years. 
METHOD OF PAYMENT—With the advantages 
of the Land Bank to furnish cash as needed, there 
will not be the need of large payments nor of maturity 
of stock or liquidation of mortgages in so short a 
time. With farmers the monthly payments might in 
some cases he embarrassing, so under the new plans, 
payments will probably be made quarterly or semi¬ 
annually, and the shares and mortgages will mature 
any time short of 40 years. To do this the annual pay¬ 
ments will be only one per cent, of the principal in ad¬ 
dition to the interest. If the interest rate at the Land 
Bank is 4*4 per cent, annually, then a yearly payment 
of 5*4 Per cent, of the loan will leave the farm free 
and clear in about 40 years. Of course, any or all of 
the mortgage may be paid at any time, and the pay¬ 
ments reduced accordingly; but the payment cannot 
be demanded until the mortgage matures, provided the 
payments are made regularly. Of course, the same 
advantage accrues to the member who does not bor¬ 
row. lie or she makes the payments regularly. The 
amount to his or her credit including the profits from 
year to year, may be all withdrawn at any time. If 
the payments are continued to maturity, the face of 
the shares is all withdrawn at one time. 
MEMBERSHIP.—Members of a savings and loan 
association are those persons to whom shares have 
been issued or transferred. Guardians holding shares 
for others have all the privileges of members except the 
right to vote. Juvenile shares may be issued to minors 
and dividends paid on same, but the owners of such 
shares do not have the right to vote. Members of sav¬ 
ings and loan associations are divided into three quite 
distinct classes. 
First we have persons who have a steady income who 
have no wish to borrow, but who wish to save a definite 
portion of their earnings as it comes in. When they 
subscribe for installment shares they provide to make 
regular payments at definite times. They have an ab¬ 
solutely safe investment and the money begins to draw 
profit as soon as deposited. The enforced payments en¬ 
courage saving and thrift. In this class of members we 
always have a number of public-spirited men and women 
who are influenced neither by the profit or the privileges 
of making a loan, but who take shares and membership 
because they wish to be identified with a worthy pub¬ 
lic enterprise and desire to encourage it. They also 
find the investment safe and the profit satisfactory. 
Second, we have persons with a small but steady in¬ 
come, such as clerks, farm hands and renters, who have 
an ambition to own a home or a farm, but who have 
not enough saved to make the first payment. These 
persons accumulate steadily on installment shares. 
Their saving is safe, and every dollar is earning profits 
as soon as paid in. When they have enough saved up 
to make the first payment on a home or farm, they have 
established a reputation for sobriety and thrift, and 
the association is willing to take a mortgage for the 
balance of the purchase money. 
Third, we have the man who has enough money to 
make the first payment on a home or farm; or who 
already owns a place and wants to improve it with 
buildings, fences, drainage or otherwise, and wants to 
place a mortgage to complete the purchase price, or to 
meet the cost of repairs. He may already have a 
mortgage expiring, which he wishes to renew on bet¬ 
ter terms. He gets the advantage of a long time loau 
at-favorable rates, and with the privilege of amortizing 
the loan in small annual payments. 
SAVING AND ACCUMULATION SHARES.—In 
addition to the above classification, an association may, 
if it so provides to do in its by-laws, issue “saving 
shares” upon which payments are made from time to 
time as the member may elect; or it may issue “ac¬ 
cumulation prepaid shares,” on which a payment of 
$50 or more is made at the time of subscription. The 
earnings are added to this until the share matures and 
is worth $100; or “income shares” which are paid for 
in advance at face value at the time of subscription. 
The dividends on these shares are paid in cash. J. j. d. 
A VERDICT OF SIX CENTS. 
Is This the Value of “ Reputation ? ” 
“ Sky Farm ” Brought Down to Earth! 
Last week the libel suit of Frederick O. Groesbeck, 
the poultry dealer, of Hartford, Conn., against The 
Rural New-Yorker was tried in the Federal Court in 
New York City. The complaint was based on an article 
published in the paper on Oct. 9, 1909, reading as 
follows: 
Mr. F. O. Groesbeck, Secretary of the Hartford Show 
Association, of Hartford, Conn., whatever that may 
be. is one of the most impudent and contemptible de¬ 
faulters that has yet come to our attention. One of 
our subscribers accepted his notes in payment of ac¬ 
counts that should have been paid in cash. When the 
notes became due they were protested for nonpayment 
at the bank, and protest fees added to the account. 
After exhausting every other peaceable means to collect 
on them the notes were sent to us. Mr. Groesbeck first 
attempted to discredit his creditor; but when finally 
confronted with the facts flatly refused to meet his ob¬ 
ligations. lie did not even have the decency to do it 
in respectable language. We believe him utterly un¬ 
worthy of confidence or credit. 
To justify the publication The R. N.-Y. showed that 
Groesbeck conveyed his 12-acre poultry farm at Ver¬ 
non. Conn., to his mother; that in the year 1908 he 
was being sued for debts, and at that time assigned the 
chattels of his Hartford store to his father; and made 
a bill of sale also of his poultry to a man named Trout; 
that two judgments were entered against him imme¬ 
diately afterwards; and that neither of them has been 
paid. One of these judgments was in favor of an em¬ 
ployee who sued for a balance of wages after four 
years’ service. The contention was that these con¬ 
veyances were made to escape the payment of just debts. 
It was shown that several other claims were against 
him, and returned uncollectable. Lawyers in Hartford 
had reported that he was execution proof, and conse¬ 
quently that the claims could not be collected. 
It was further shown that he advertised himself as the 
owner of farms when in truth he owned no land or farms. 
One source of amusement to the court and jury was his 
alleged ownership of “Sky Farm.” After much hesi¬ 
tation he admitted that this was a backyard attached 
to the house he rented at $35 a month in the city of 
Hartford, and that he had some cats there. He ad¬ 
vertised himself as the president and treasurer of the 
Hartford Supply Company, and solicited orders and 
remittances, but was forced to admit that there never 
was any company by that name. It was further shown 
that he printed several pictures of his neighbor’s large 
poultry farm and birds and represented them to be 
his own. He represented his birds as bred from a spe¬ 
cial line of ancestry for 15 years, and solicited orders 
for birds and eggs on this basis, but the 5.000 birds that 
he claimed as his belonged to his neighbor; and he 
bought birds and eggs from farmers to fill orders. He 
brought several character witnesses who swore that his 
reputation was good; but they admitted on cross-ex¬ 
amination that they knew nothing of the above record. 
Several other witnesses testified that his reputation was 
decidedly bad, and when questioned gave intelligent in¬ 
stances to prove it. 
In the Spring of 190S, Groesbeck bought chicks from 
X. O. Ward, West Willington, Conn., to the amount 
of $113. He did not pay for them, and Ward sued and 
took an attachment on the Vernon place. A settlement 
was then made by Groesbeck paying $50 in cash and 
balance in three notes. Two of these notes went to pro¬ 
test, and after trying in vain to get the money on them 
they were sent to The R. N.-Y. Groesbeck refused to 
pay and the warning followed. Then for the first time 
Groesbeck set up the claim that the chicks were not to 
be paid for unless he sold them at a profit above ex¬ 
pense, and that the notes were not to be paid unless he 
made profit to do so. Ward denied this, and the Groes¬ 
beck letters corroborated Ward, The jury evidently 
refused to believe this absurd story. 
The trial took three days and a half. The case was 
clearly against Groesbeck, and it was expected that the 
jury would not be out more than 15 to 20 minutes. 
Later it was rumored from the jury room that 11 
jurors were in favor of a verdict for The R. N.-Y. and 
one in favor of Groesbeck. The jury remained out all 
the afternoon. The court expressed the opinion that 
they should come to an agreement, if possible; and 
finally they came in for a verdict of six cents for 
Groesbeck. This is really a more humiliating 
result for Groesbeck than if the 11 jurors had suc¬ 
ceeded in their demands for a verdict for The 
R. N.-Y. The verdict for the paper might result be¬ 
cause the jury did not think the libel serious enough 
to be of any account. Such a verdict might be entered 
against a man of the highest reputation and character. 
But as this verdict now stands the article is held to 
be libelous, per se, but that Groesbeck’s reputation and 
character were such that the article could not injure his 
feelings, his reputation and his business in excess of six 
cents. 
It was shown that The R. N.-Y. acted solely in the 
interest of its subscribers and the public and frankly 
assumed the responsibility and expense of its position ; 
that no prudent man knowing the facts would send 
Groesbeck a remittance by mail, and for this reason it 
was necessary for Groesbeck to deceive the public in 
order to get orders and remittances by mail. The court 
made it plain in the charge to the jury that a paper 
protecting the interests of its readers in exposing wrong 
doing was performing a meritorious public service. 
New York State News. 
NO MORE LAWS JUST NOW.—The bills passed 
by i In' last Legislature that were left in the hands of 
the Governor have now been disposed of, the 30-day 
period having expired on April 27. There were about 
700 bills left with the Governor, all but 105 of which 
were acted upon by him. These became automatically 
vetoed with the expiration of the 30-day period. The 
Governor has used the pruning knife on the appropria¬ 
tion measures and the total of appropriations will n<>t 
exceed $39,000,000. which is a new minimum mark for 
recent years. It is $11,000,000 less than was appro¬ 
priated last year for similar purposes and less by $(!.- 
000,000 than the amount for 1912. This is the first 
time since 1909 that the appropriations for current 
expenses have been less than the indirect revenues. 
The comptroller estimates that the State’s revenues to 
meet these expenditures of $39,000,000 will be $42,- 
000.000. The inheritance tax from an unusually large 
number of estates of very wealthy men has accounted 
for the large revenue from indirect sources. In all 522 
new laws were enacted this year, which is the lowest 
since 1S91, when 389 laws were placed on the statute 
books. Last year 838 was the total number. The 
largest number of new laws in any one year was in 1895 
when the total was 1.034. 
ORGANIZED LABOR.—In a special bulletin issued 
by the Department of Labor a few days ago it was an¬ 
nounced that organized labor in the State has a great' r 
total of members than at any time in our history. The 
total membership on September 30. 1913 was 005,248, 
of which 78,522 were women. - The membership in¬ 
crease during the year was 138.570 or 20.3 per cent. 
New York City has 29 per cent, of the organizations 
and 74 per cent of the membership. The city’s total 
membership is 491.793. 
STATE DRAINAGE LAW—Gov. Glynn has signed 
the bill making radical changes in the State drainage 
laws. It makes practically a new law similar to the 
drainage laws of Michigan and Illinois. It provides 
for the drainage of swamp lands in two or more 
counties as well as in a single county. It creates drain¬ 
age districts, so that the lands benefited by the drain¬ 
age may all be in a district and bonds may be issued 
by that district, instead of the towns issuing the bonds 
and charging back upon the lands benefited, which has 
heretofore resulted in trouble and confusion. 
CAYUGA FARM BUREAU.—Cayuga County falls 
into line with a Farm Bureau, of which W. B. Avery 
of Aurora has been elected president. E. B. Rounds of 
New Hope vice-president, and Ernest Tabor of Meri¬ 
dian secretary. The meeting for organization was at¬ 
tended by about 100 farmers, and an organization was 
perfected after an address by M. C. Burritt, Superin¬ 
tendent of Farm Bureaus of the State. J. Robert Teall 
is manager of the bureau and farm agent. 
GOOD SUGGESTION.—“Plant a thousand trees on 
waste land Arbor Day instead of setting out two or 
three on school grounds.” This sentiment was ex¬ 
pressed recently by Dean Baker of the Syracuse School 
of Forestry. As an example of Arbor Day interest 
worth while. Dean Baker directs attention to the fact 
that the Jamestown high school has a tract of many 
acres on which it proposes to set out a young forest. 
He will participate in the exercises of Arbor Day there. 
Ten students are now setting out a tract of over 100 
acres with 20.000 trees, at the Chittenango Forest 
Station. 
HIGHWAY OFFICIALS GO FREE.—The Albany 
County grand jury, after a long investigation of the 
charges made by James W. Osborne, special graft in¬ 
vestigator, against State Engineer Bensel, Duncan W, 
Peek. C. Gordon Reel and Charles F. Foley, failed to 
find an indictment against them, and so reported on 
April 28. The inquiry involved the letting of 26 con¬ 
tracts involving $3,000,000 by Deputy Commissioner 
Foley, and their approval by the entire commission, 
Bensel. Peck and Reel. The entire batch of contracts 
was said to have been approved in an hour’s time, ac¬ 
cording to Commissioner Osborne. 
VARY SURPRISED.—State Master W. II. Vary 
was tendered a surprise at his home on April 27. at 
Watertown, the occasion being the anniversary of his 
birthday. About 60 members of the Watertown Grange 
were present, who left with the State Master a valu¬ 
able traveling bag as a memento of the occasion. Mr. 
Vary was assured, according to the report, that bis 
Watertown friends confidently looked forward to his 
elevation to the office of National Grange Master. 
$10,000,000 FOR ROADS.—Gov. Glynn has signed 
the bill appropriating $10,000,000 of the second refer¬ 
endum fund for the construction of new highways. He. 
however, declined to approve the companion bill appro¬ 
priating $675,000 for interest on highway bonds issued 
under the new referendum. The attorney general has 
given the opinion that the appropriation did not affect 
the interest provision in the referendum itself and 
therefore this interest need not be raised at this time. 
The Governor’s approval of the bill will make it possi¬ 
ble to advertise all the roads for which plans and spe¬ 
cifications have been prepared, and it will also allow the 
highway engineers to design, this Summer, the most 
important roads for the completion of a great trunk¬ 
line in time for advertising the same in the Fall. 
STATE FAIR FINANCES.—At the meeting of the 
State Fair Commission in Syracuse on April 28, it 
was reported that the treasury was without funds 
owing to the fact that the Legislature failed to pass the 
annual supply bill. It is believed, however, that this 
condition of things will be remedied when the Legisla¬ 
ture meets in extraordinary session May 4. Among 
the items in the supply bill which failed to get through 
were these: $45,000 for premiums at the next Strite 
Fair; $12,500 for printing and advertising and $15.- 
000 for maintenance of grounds. C. D. Porter of Al¬ 
bion was reappointed superintendent of the fruit de¬ 
partment of the fair. The commission has decided t<> 
offer a special premium of $175 for the best display of 
roses, consisting of 500 blossoms of 12 varieties. 
j. w. D. 
