fluences him to a great extent in selecting such company to handle his estate after his death.

The financial departmnet of the trust company is benefited in many ways by the real-estate department. For instance, when money is easy and the financial department has a surplus of idle cash on hand, the real-estate department can be called on to procure for its investments in the form of real-estate loans; and as these loans are made only on a conservative basis, after the property has been inspected by men experienced in that line, and approved by the officers in charge of the real-estate department, they can again be disposed of through that department without any difficulty, in case it becomes necessary or desirable to do so.

The real-estate department is also the medium through which the financial department secures a number of depositors. Take the case of an individual whose property is sold through the realestate department. He comes into the office to close up the transaction, and the consideration is paid to him in cash, or part cash, and the remainder by deed of trust and notes. It is frequently only necessary to make the suggestion to him that he open an account with the company with the proceeds of the transaction, and it is very seldom that one will leave the office without doing so. It is not an uncommon occurrence in the real-estate department for a buyer to make the cash payment on a real-estate deal by a check drawn on the company, and for the seller to open an account with the company by depositing the same check, the company thereby making a commission on the sale of the real estate and securing a new depositor on the same transaction.

If, however, the person desires to convert the proceeds of a real-estate sale into an investment other than real estate, he is referred to the bond department, where he will undoubtedly invest the money in securities which that department offers. Thus the bond department is provided with a new client, who, if it were not for his dealings with the real-estate department, might never have transacted business of any character with the company. The deposits of a successful real-estate department are in themselves a considerable item, if it has a large rent roll.

In 90 per cent. of all real-estate transactions only a part of the consideration is actually paid in cash, the balance being secured

by deed of trust and notes on the property sold. The seller, therefore, after the sale has been consummated, has on hand a number of valuable papers, which he will desire to place in a safe repository, and as the safe-deposit department of the company is so convenient, he is certain to rent a safe-deposit box from that department. As the notes become due they are placed with the collection department and the proceeds deposited to his account. In this manner the customer is enabled to transact all the details of a real-estate deal with one company, making it convenient for him and profitable for the company.

Then again a large number of people have occasion to visit the real-estate department. Some of them come in to rent a house, others to pay rent or purchase property, and some to inquire about real estate. Many of them may not transact any business at the time, but there is a possibility of each person becoming a customer at a later date, by reason of his remembering his former visit. Again, if one takes into consideration its value from an advertising standpoint, one can readily see how beneficial it is to an institution to have a great many people constantly entering and leaving its building.

The trust company is also benefited from an advertising standpoint by continually keeping the name of the company before the public, through the medium of the newspapers, sign-boards, and rentbills which are scattered throughout the city. In the case of the Mercantile Trust Company (I mention this company because of my knowledge of its affairs), one cannot visit any portion of the city of St. Louis without seeing its name on some sign announcing property for sale or lease, and every day in the year its name will be found in the newspaper for a like purpose. It is needless for me to comment on the advantages of such extensive publicity, as it brings the company in touch with every man, woman, and child in the community who may sometimes have occasion to transact business with a trust company.

It may not be out of place here to say that the real-estate department, besides being advantageous to the company of which it is a part, contributes in a manner to the prosperity of the city in which it is located, by promoting syndicates for the conducting of large real-estate enterprises. The real-estate department of the

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company with which I am connected has organized corporations and promoted deals aggregating millions of dollars. For all of these corporations it simply acted as agent, not being interested in any of them as a stockholder. In other words, in the promotion of the syndicates the real-estate department, or the trust company, has no direct interest whatever in the corporations, apart from acting as agent for the sale of property owned by them for collecting rents on the same, or performing the duties of manager of construction of office buildings or commercial structures being erected by the syndicate, for which services it receives commissions and fees. In addition to this, it has the placing of insurance, letting of repairs, and payment of taxes on all such buildings, making it necessary to handle large sums of money and transact business with a great many people; and as a result of these dealings a large portion of these individuals subsequently become regular patrons of the institution.

In the affairs of a community the real-estate agent ranks next in business importance to the banker. Real estate from time immemorial has been the foundation of all values, and has furnished more business for different lines of trade than any other commodity. The iron foundries, brick manufacturers, lumber merchants, certain professions, and all mechanics are prosperous when the real-estate business is good. The real-estate agent is the herald of progress, the maker of villages, towns, and cities, and his efforts mark the advancement and progress of municipalities; and any trust company is indeed fortunate to have among its departments a well-equipped and properly conducted real-estate department.

In order to be valuable, a real-estate department must be progressive must be competent to cope with and carry to successful issue the enterprises and deals of any magnitude. To do this, it must necessarily attract capitalists and capital seeking this avenue of investment; and it is a well-known fact that many of the most prosperous citizens of large cities invest only in real estate. Real estate is the investment which is sought by many who have made their money in other channels, and who, desiring to convert their funds into an investment which they know to be safe and which will net them a good return, naturally turn their thoughts to real estate. The trust company, by reason of its prominence and re

liability, having attracted their attention, it is through it that they make investments of this character, if the company has a real-estate department, and it thus secures a class of investors it would not otherwise have obtained.

In summing up the advantages accruing to the trust company from a real-estate department, I would say that it not only benefits all other departments, but is in itself profitable. As an individual department, the real-estate department of the Mercantile Trust Company is operated as a separate and distinct branch-that is, it pays for all its own advertising, pays the salaries of the officers of the trust company who have charge of the department, as well as of all the employees connected with the department, and defrays all the other expenses incurred in the conduct of the department. It also makes a monthly statement to the company, at the same time turning over to it the net results of the month's business, which, in the case of the institution with which I am associated, has always been of such a satisfactory nature that I am inclined to believe that the real-estate department is one of its most valuable assets, as it is not only unnecessary for the company to invest any of its capital in any of the transactions of that department, but that it is self-sustaining and profitable. In my opinion, no trust company is complete without a real-estate department, because the object of a trust company should be to take care of everything that comes its way. In other words, it should let nothing escape that may result in a commission or a fee; and it is my firm belief that a company is not in a position to do this unless it has a real-estate department as one of its departments. Therefore, I unhesitatingly say that every trust company should have a real-estate department, if for no other reason than that it will pay, if properly conducted.

THE SAVING DEPARTMENT OF A TRUST COMPANY

ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THORNTON COOKE, TREASURER OF THE FIDELITY TRUST COMPANY OF KANSAS CITY, MO., BEFORE THE AMERICAN BANKERS' ASSOCIATION, AT ST. LOUIS, OCTOBER, 1906.

ONE of the interesting features of American finance in this generation has been the development of trust companies. The trust company has assumed the varied duties of many separate institutions, and of different persons. It performs the functions of a commercial bank, the real estate agent, and the fiscal agent. It acts as trustee, guardian, curator, executor, administrator, receiver and attorney; so doing many things formerly undertaken only by individual business men and by lawyers. Trust companies frequently have savings departments, and these are generally considered identical with independent savings banks. Forms, methods, and results are indeed nearly equivalent, but there are differences, and we can well spend a few minutes in comparing the organization, investments, reserves and rules of trust company savings departments with those of savings banks.

A word upon some of the advantages of trust company savings departments may precede the comparison. Like other economic aggregations of the time, trust companies are remarkable for economy. They facilitate the transaction of business between what would formerly have been separate business houses, lawyers and banks. They concentrate under a single administration the resources of many classes of clients, depositors, legatees, wards, and those who trust, utilizing these resources to the fullest extent, and so deriving the maximum of profit from the entire clientele. The contribution of one department to the general assets of the company may be a modest one, but each department enjoys the advantage inherent in large resources, and the advantage of the company's administrative skill.

The savings deposits of a trust company can be invested with economy and to great advantage, and the savings department is a constant feeder to the other departments.

The organization of a savings department in an old or a new trust company is a matter of no difficulty, and at first additional help is not usually needed. The forms adopted will be those in use in savings banks, and should be selected from the compilation of this