Building and Loan Associations Hold 37th Annual

The 1932 Convention of the United States League of Building and Loan Associations has been definitely secured for California and will be held in Los Angeles, according to delegates of the California Building-Loan League who attended the 37th annual conclave of the national organization held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Grand Rapids, Michigan, was selected as the site of the 1930 convention.

R. Holtby Myers, Secretary, Los Angeles Mutual Building and Loah Association, was named Vice-President for the ensuing year. This will result in a Californian heading the centennial celebration of the founding of the mov€ment to be held in Philadelphia in 1931, if the usual custom of elevating officers is followed. Ray Gillingham, of the Mutual Building and Loan Association of l.ong Beach, won first place in the national five minute speaking contest. California also received first honors in the Buildirrg and Loan Advertising contest, with entries by the various State Leagues.

Considerable interest developed at the convention over a revision of the constitution whicfr mainly concerned the management of the League's business. The Executive Committee'-under the-eonstitution, witrl consist of members of the Board of Directors, the State Vice-Presidents and the past League President. Tihis Committee will name twelve Directors, one from each of the Federal Reserve districts. This group under the new order will make up the administrative body of the League, and will meet four times during the year. A committee of seven was appointed to study taxation as it affects the home owner.

Declaring that in deposits the building and loan movement in the United States today had gone beyond the eight billion-dollar-mark, President Walter F. McDowell, predicted the movement would assume giant proportions within the next five years, with deposits easily totaling twentyfive billions of dollars.

At the opening of the second half of the year the nation had more than 13,000 building and loan associations, aEcording to a report to the convention by the National Secretary, H. F. Cellarius of Cincinnati. Total membership now exceeds twelve million, or a gain of 660,000 mem,bers during the past twelve months' period. Resources increased by 12 per cent to $8,016,034,327, of which sum 91.5 per cent is invested in mortgage loans on homes. The amount of mortgage loans during the year was about two billion dollars, or about the same as in the previous year, the National Secretary stated.

The following officers were installed to serve for the coming year: Ernest A. Hale, Boston, Mass., President; R. Holtby Myers, Los Angeles, First Vice-President; William E. Best, Pittsburgh, Pa., Second Vice-President, and Ward B. Whitlock, Springfield, Ills., Third Vice-President. Herman F. Cellarius, Cincinnati, Ohio, former Secretarl, becomes Secretarv-Treasurer.. -