E. D. McNelly to Charles W. Chesnutt, 20 November 1922
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THE STATE MORTGAGE
INVESTMENT COMPANY
BANGOR BUILDING
CLEVELAND, OHIO
FINANCIERS OF HOMES1
November 20, 1922.
Mr. Chas. Chesnutt, Attorney-at-law,
1106 Williamson Bldg.,
City.
Dear Sir:
Our Mr. Kline2 informed us of his conversation with you in regard to an investment in our Company.
There is one feature of this which we wish to call your particular attention. The opportunity of purchasing a share of common with every share of preferred in an established company is one that is very unusual.
The State Mortgage Investment Company has for its Executive Officers, men of wide experience in the mortgage business, which insures safety, as well as profit. The book value of the common stock at the present time is considerably in excess of the price to which it is offered, and there is no doubt but what this price will be raised in the near future.
We trust you will give this matter your careful consideration and we would be very glad indeed to have you make an investigation of our Company.
Trusting we may have the privilege of counting you one of our stockholders, we are
Yours very truly, THE STATE MORTGAGE INVESTMENT COMPANY E. D. McNelly Gen. Sales Mgr. EDMcN:cmCorrespondent: Edward Daniel McNelly (1877–1938) was a White man from the Dayton, Ohio, area who moved to the Cleveland area in the 1910s. Before beginning to work for the American Automobile Association in 1924, he was sales manager for the Cleveland-based State Mortgage Investment Company, which provided mortgage bonds, mortgages and construction loans starting in 1920, but was bankrupt by 1930.
1. For readability, the remainder of the State Mortgage Investment Company letterhead is not transcribed in the body of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. The letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "OFFICERS M. N. FOWLER, PRESIDENT H. A. WORMAN, VICE PRESIDENT W. F. McCANN, VICE PRESIDENT T. W. GARVIN, SECRETARY H. J. WEBSTER, TREASURER EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE H. A. WORMAN G. H. BUSCH W. F. McCANN J. G. TOMSON H. J. WEBSTER" [back]
2. Morris W. Kline (1892–1968) was a White Cleveland insurance broker who founded his own company, Morris W. Kline Co., in 1919. He was the agent for various other Cleveland insurance companies, and also dealt in bonds and investments. He is possibly the "Mr. Kline" who spoke to Chesnutt on behalf of the State Mortgage Investment Company, and was later Chesnutt's insurance broker, as documented in correspondence from 1930 to 1931. [back]
