The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-11-29
A MODERN SOUTH SEA HUBBLE.

When the late Phineas Barnum de-
clared it as his conviction that the Ameri
can public dearly loved to be fooled, he
was speaking with direct reference to the
show business. But there Is in the say
ing more far-reaching philosophy than
the great circus man may have con-
ceived Of
The operations of that temporarily
flourshing fiscal institution, the Frank
Ign syndicate, of New York, shows the
American fondness for folly, if 1t is only
presented to them in a serious and invit-
ing guise. 1t is hard to believe that any
but the merest addle-headed small specu-
lator could have been deceived by the
promise of 500 per cent on the invest
ment of his money. When the investment
is, moreover. made by proxy. and must
in the nature of things carry with it even
larger proportion of profit than that
paid to the investor, there is a case pre-
scented in which human credulity in this
materialist age reaches a truly extraor-
binary point
And yet the history of this great syn
dictate shows that in every walk of life
men and women could be found prepared
to follow this financial Will-o' -the-wisp
and entrust all their worldly possessions
in the voyage Ten per cent week!
That was the rate of profit guaranteed.
When man, and more especially a
woman, is guaranteed" anything, of
course it makes a difference Just what
guaranty is never even partially en-
tiers the mind of the average mortal who
is in pursuit of the reproduction five
times and over each successive year
of his money investment. But that
there is what he regards as a guaranty
places the thing usually In his under
standing beyond reach of failure This
consideration may explain the readiness
with which mature men, familiar to
a greater or less extent with business
transactions, went into this modern South
Sea bubble.
But, aside from this credulous class,
the story of the Franklin syndicate shows
that the spirit Of gambling, which is
such a feature of our daily life, had a
strong Influence. Men had put into the
hands of these financial wizards hundreds
of dollars, with the belief that, taking
it out week by week at the rate of 10 per
cent they would probably get their orig
fnal investment back before the
affair collapsed. Many Of such adven-
turous mortals had their expectations,
realized, and placidly gave the benefit Of
their shrewd foresight to those around
them, and it operated, strange to say,
as an inducement to hundreds of others
to take chances on not being among the
last Of the adventurous operators
There was no thought among such that
they were what the lawyers call particeps
crininis. 1t was no affair of theirs that
they were aiding in the desperate juggle,
and that the moneys they realized over
and above reasonable investment on
their capital represented nothing what
ever short of the proceeds of the deliber-
ate robbery Of the later victims.
When such operations as this are posi-
bic in our day, the question naturally
arises whether with all the keen bust
ness sense prevailing among US, and with
the opportunities open to every member
of American society to acquaint him
self with the essentials to an honest
and sensible investment, there is not I'M
DERIVING our commercial sense a spirit
which successfully challenges faith both
In our honesty and our good sense as a
people whose lives are given over in one
form or another at all times to business
transactions.