The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-05-20

1t Is mostly Trustworthy. This class az
facts must be distinguished from rumoi
Rumor is, as q rule, contcinptible
and Enthusiastically. 1t has been com
pared to an animated thing that begins
it's career by being small and compact.
but as 1t stalks along it becomes
larger and less definite us TO forin
until at last it is like monstrous
cloud that has neither shape nor con
sistcnce, and finally disappears, no one
knows how or where. But to study
facts leads to generally quite accurate
conclusions; and accurate conclusions
are apt to lead to wise transactions.
Thus the facts Of large harvcsts in
the year 1891 in the United States.
coupled with the sacts of poor harvests
in Europe in the same year, led to the
conclusion that our grain would be in
demand for foreign shipment. and
that the earnings of our railroads
would be increased. The conclusions
were sound and the earnings were in.
creased, and judicious students of the
market bought stocks for rise Then
the fact that stock rose and kept on
rising, coupled with the fact
that the general public was n
buyer, and with the additional
fact that the public prefers to BE-
n buyer, and to buy at high prices. and
not to buy ut all unless prices arc high.
led these same judicious students to
sell the same stocks during the prcya-
lence of high prices; both the stocks
which they owned and large amounts
which they did not own. Again. the
study of facts led to wise conclusions.
and these ended in successful results.
Both as bulls and as bears the wise
students have Jared we'll The care
too late as bulls, found themselves at
last compelled to become unwilling sci
lers at greater or less losses; in some
cases so severe as to shatter households
and drive citizens to ruin, if not 10
crime.
The person who studies real values
must not be content with that. he
must also study the facts that in times
Of stress and storm real values often
huctuate as wildly in manner if not in
amount as the most fanciful in securi-
ties, and that no operation on margin
Is really safe unless the margin is
large beyond the ordinary run, and is
backed by equally large reserves
Some financial teachers lay it down
that your risks should not exceed TWEEN.
ty-hvc per cent. of your capital.
This is excessive prudence; but the
man who keeps half mile
away from the edge of cliff will
never fall off from it. One who has
studied the share market carefully has
eventually found that if he is able TO
pay onc-half the market price of his
holdings, he need have little fear rs to
the other half that is, on judcious
selections of properties. No mention
is made here of shares that sell in De-
ccmbcr at scventy-two and in March
at thirty. Whoever buys such gools
should pay for them and put them
away, and incubatc upon them with
the patience attributed to the hopeful
setting hen.
The student of the stock market at
the present period has no easy task be-
fore him. Imports are large. exports
are small. We sell to foreigners II mil
lion per week of cotton and buy from
them two millions rcr week OF coffee,
the cotton yielding lis smal II profit the
coffee yielding foreigners an immense
profit. Other nations do not seem to
banker greatly for our grains as against
those OF Russia and the cast The
United States is issuing currency based
on an estimate OF the value of bar
silver, which is not in accord with the
estimate entertained Ivy the rest of the
world; we haven't gold enough to go
around we don't seem to have currency
enough to go around; and the indebted
ness of corporations and individuals
acts as constant menace to tile
natural tendency of aggregations of
loose capital to lend themselves ont to
useful enterprises.
Yet AT the bottom OF al this turbu-
lent mass of facts there are natural
laws at work which, if we study
them out in relation to the objects
which they control. will be found to be
as sure in their operation as sunrise
The collapse of the iniqutous coal
combina ton, as cruel as combination
would be to raise the price OF water or
air, was the result of natural law. Ger
tain deep and wise students acted ac-
cordingly. The same class of laws are
busy to-day, and the facts are always
with MS. 1t is the business Of the dill.
gent to profit by them.
HENRY CLEws
\ Friiow-EeeiinS.
Detroit has n pODuIar. man 1yiO ;e