Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-06-25

SFuth-.
4 re the Editor Of the Free Press aua 2 -res
Chicago CANDLES in wheat ami corr. New
ork in gold and railroads. san Francisco in
mining stocks. Every man, woman and
child 10 this city almost. buys AMI sells
>tock~
The lady of the house takss her caan,es
IN Ophir and consolidated Virginia. which
are high priced stocks, and the cook 10 her
kitchen takes a Shy at Poarmon Leapari. Up
any Of the little stocks which cost only irom
- cents to $40 PER share If the stocks
% up. madam INDUCES in diam0nl- and
silks. and the kitchen girl Immediately
sports a new calico dress on her winning
ii they 70 down-weli. | don't know what
they DO in that ease. The way
STOCKS ARE wANIruAup
runs about this way. 4 mine Is discovered.
or rather location is taken which give,
promise IT mine. 1t Is named we Will say.
Goiconda, and company j. az once formed
TO develop it. The ownership is divided ia
to one hundred thousand shares and the par
yalue Of each share i made $1,000. or
these shares the original proprietors keep in
their own names, 10000, and place fneoO
on the market, the proceeds OF which are 10
be used in developing the property, which
means operins the mine and finding ID there
Is ore therein, and if 50, putting il all the
machinery necessary 70 the working of IT,
1t Will be observed that the original pro-
iect0rs have not put dollar Of their own
money in it. All CONES from the purchasers
Of the 10000 shares
Now, We will suppose that rich bed of
l.. 1f.- u
is put in the ore IS taken out, immense rr1-
fits are made, and the stock mounts 10
from SO, It's original value, to $50. SIS.
500 and in some cases $500 and $500.
and the fortunate holders of the 10 coo shares
dream golden dreams. But mind. the half
dozen originals hold majority Of the stock.
They form the board of directors, and smith
Is President, Jones Treasurer. and Thomr-
son, Secretary. When the stock Is m 10
the highest point it can be got, then comes
a change. The shipments Of ore decrease.
and finally stop altogether Rumors get
abroad that the vein has given out, and that
to prosecute the work an assessment will he
soon made, and the stock drops, till a panic
strikes it and it goes down by terrific leans
till it strikes the original $40, or perhaps
lower than that. OF course the original six
buy it all in. When it gets low enough ore
i found again, and up it goes. And this |
game they play over and over again. the de-
luded public being always the victim because |
the SIX controlling men hold the cards in |
their own hands. The value Of the stock I
depends ofcOurse entirely on the production |
they can make it produce or not, a. they /
choose.
Ophir Is Just now the football. and it is
being manipulated in the interest of the rim /
that has the Bank Of California for its cen /
tire. The par value of Ophir is S50-it has
been up within year to Si75. and down
to $l2. Sharon & Ralston who own il have
made millions out of the rise and fall Of the
stock, and to this day no one but Themselves
know whether it has any value or not
OF course just enough outsiders make
money in these things to encourage people to
keep continually going IN. Now and then
a man who buys at a dollar, has sense enough
to sell when it reaches ten, and the money
he made in operating is enough 10 set a
thousand wild. And this thousand are the
people the sharks are after, and they get
them every time
But the game goes ON just the same, every
body CANDLES in stock, men and women. II
has always been 50 from the time the mine,
were first stocked. In the East you hear
aides discussing books, pictures and music.
with occasional dasheS at the theatre and
opera. Here they discuss stocks. everybody
mas stock-list, and everybody has shares.
And everybody, but the rings that control
the stock, and the brokers who get their
ger cent for handling il, lose the money they
put in.