The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1870-01-13
South Carolina Bonds and Wall Street
Stock Jobbing.


National Review, a paper devoted to the
interests of Insurance companies, contain
ing the following article in reference to
certain scheme OF our Radical Legisla-
ture: - ~ .. - ;.aim
The Legislature of South Carolina have
passed an act entitled, GA bill to better
protect holders of insurance policies inthis
State" 2ja e, 80 -
1t provides that no company or associa-
ton, now organized or that may be here
after organized In that State to carry on
the business of insurance, shall proceed
with the same until they. have deposited: :
with the Comptroller General of the State,
Bonds of the State ofSouth, Carolina equal
to the sum of fifty thousand dollars, par
value, for each life insurance company,
and twenty thousand dollars for each 9th
err insurace company or association. Insu.
surance companies foreign to the State are
required to make like deposit. Penal
ties are provided for those who violate the
act, and it is declared that the State shall
be responsible for the return Of the Bonds
deposited. This is the substance or mate
rial part of the bill we are informed that
it now awaits the signature of the Gov
ernor, and will doubtless become a.law as
soon as the sixty days expire which the
bill provides shall elapse before it takes
effect ..e a..a.is.. Z; 4
We pronounce the scheme A. WALL
STREET JOB, and advise respectable andre
sponsible companies. to beware of the trap
set for them by stock gamblers. "Touch
not, taste not, handle not" The whole
thing is begotten in sin and conceived in
iniquity. Its very title is lie and should
excite suspicion OF the honest intent of its
trainers. GA bill to better protect holders,
of insurance policies %
Has the question of the solvency of any
insurance company doing business in that
State ever been raised by one of her citi-
zens? Has any one Of her citizens ever
held worthless policv2 Has this protec
ton been asked for by any one of her citi:
zens? We reply, without fear of contra
diction, no. Again, the first section, in its
apparent fairness in requiring the same de-
posit from companies organized in that
State as is required of foreign insurance
companies, reveals to the intelligent'mind
the stockjobbing fraud contemplated by
the originators of the bill. 81, ,eH
Where are the State companies that are
required to make this deposit for the bet
ter protection Of her citizens? There isnot
one in existence, and no sensible man be-
ieves that one will be organized. The
Improbable nature ofrthe business and the
financial condition of her citizens both for
bid it. Why, then, has this bill been
framed and enacted into a law, at q time
when good policy requires that foreign
capital should shield the impoverished CIT
izen of the State from loss by any sudden
calamity, and when no legislative protec-
ton is asked for? We reply, simply to
enrich those who are gambling in her
stocks. Tile wire .pullcrs reside in Wall
street, their confederatcs are at present in
the Capital of South Carolina. The stocks
of the State have been bought by these
men at song. They have been inflated
by legislative action, and now nominally
bear a price that will yield an enormous
profit, If they can be sold If insurance
companies can be forced to become pur-
chasers, several hundred thousand dollars
can be disposed of by those who are inside
the ring, and large gains realized. Could!
their scheme be carried out, and the bonds
transferred from the pockets of the, specu:'
lators to the ownership of insurance com
panies. how long would the, present mar,
ket value be maintained {? Just SO long
as it might suit the interest of the, ring,
aud no longer. The same Wall street
schemers and their confederatcs can as
easily depress rs elevate, and depreciation
would be the game just SO soon as they
have sold out their present stock, and sell
short for future deliuery. These men are
known to us, and we have watched with
interest for some time past their schemes
for advancing the quotation of market
value of these bonds. The bonds arc not
all sold yet. Gudgeons are of but little
value and it has become necessary to catch
larger fish. We remind insurance compa.
nies not to trust the bait. Surely the pro-
fits of the business do not invite, and we
can conceive no full reason why you should
run the hazard of an investmentlcontrolled
bv stock gamblers, and which must end in
positive loss, and to secure imaginary good.
We close with these queries. Can the Of
ficers of life insurance companies invest
the funds of the widow and the orphan in 1
such securities and justify the act, and can
the officers of fire and inland companies
meet their stockholders with composure if
they invest in stocks that may become
worthlessp
AN ARAB SERMoN.-One morning Ed.
dyn Effendi assembled his pulpit to preach,
and, addressing his hearers, said: 30, be.
linuers know We what am crninr to Talk