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SIGNATURE JOHN J. PILEGGI
TITLE TREASURER
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<CIK> 0000730004
<NAME> EMPIRE BUILDER TAX FREE BOND FUND
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<PAGE>
REPORT of INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
To the Shareholders and Trustees
The Empire Builder Tax Free Bond Fund:
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements and financial
highlights of The Empire Builder Tax Free Bond Fund for the year ended
February 29, 1996, we considered its internal control structure, including
procedures for safeguarding securities, in order to determine our auditing
procedures for the purposes of expressing our opinion on the financial
statements and financial highlights and to comply with the requirements of
Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on the internal control structure.
The management of The Empire Builder Tax Free Bond Fund is responsible for
establishing and maintaining an internal control structure. In fulfilling
this responsibility, estimates and judgments by management are required to
assess the expected benefits and related costs of internal control structure
policies and procedures. Two of the objectives of an internal control
structure are to provide management with reasonable, but not absolute,
assurance that assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or
disposition and that transactions are executed in accordance with management's
authorization and recorded properly to permit preparation of financial
statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of inherent limitations in any internal control structure, errors or
irregularities may occur and not be detected. Also, projection of any
evaluation of the structure to future periods is subject to the risk that it
may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the
effectiveness of the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control structure would not necessarily
disclose all matters in the internal control structure that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants. A material weakness is a condition in which the design or
operation of the specific internal control structure elements does not reduce
to a relatively low level the risk that errors or irregularities in amounts
that would be material in relation to the financial statements and financial
highlights information being audited may occur and not be detected within a
timely period by employees in the normal course of performing their assigned
functions. However, we noted no matters involving the internal control
structure, including procedures for safeguarding securities, that we consider
to be material weaknesses, as defined above, as of February 29, 1996.
<PAGE>
This report is intended solely for the information and use of management of
The Empire Builder Tax Free Bond Fund and the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
New York, New York
April 3, 1996.