The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-21
HUNTING FOR THE GUILTY PAR
TIES.

| TIES.
There is much speculation as to why
| there are so many adjournments of
| the hearing in the case Of the United
States Shipbuilding Company. 1t was
expected that long before this Mr..
| Schwab, Mr.. Morgan, Mr.. Perkins of
the firm of ]. P. Morgan & Co., and
! John w. Gates would appear on the
witness stand and testify as to their
| knowledge of certain transactions that
| occurred in the companys affairs.
| suspicion has got abroad that no one
| Of these witnesses wants to tell what
he knows. The inference is of course
that their testimony wouldn't be credit
able to them.
One report Is that a settlement has
been reached, and that Mr. Schwab has
agreed that the first bondholders of
the shipbuilding company shall have
their claim allowed. 1t is by no means
certain, however, that this report is
well founded. 1t would cost Mr..
Schwab and those interested with him
in the shipbuilding deal a great deal
of money to make such a settlement.
Besides, it would only be putting off
the day when he and those who were
in the deal with him will have to go
on the witness stand.
There is another feature of the case
that appears to be worrying them, and
that is the inquiry that has been set
on foot by the New York Stock Elk
change. The exchange is trying to
find out how the Stock List Commit
tee of the exchange was induced to
permit the stock of the United States
Shipbuilding Company to be listed. 1t
is supposed that the committee is very
careful not to permit stocks or bonds
to be listed which are not shown to
rest upon a solid foundation. If the
committee had made careful inquiries
it would have found probably that the
stock of the United States Shipbuild-
ing Company wasn't just the kind of
security that the New York Stock Ex-
change ought to stamp with it's APP
prevail. OF course it is understood
that a stock that is listed on the eX-
change is supposed to have the guar
antee of that institution that it isn't
tainted with fraud. The exchange
doesn't say that it is worth the price at
which it is quoted or that it will have
greater value in the near future, but
it does say practically that there is
nothing wrong with it.
If the exchange finds the guilty par
ties the chances are that they will
be prosecuted. If it can be shown that
false representations were made to the
Stock List Committee there will like
ly be some action taken that will
cause d sensation in Wall street.
And the public would approve the
punishment of any of those who have
had listed stocks based upon false
representations, by which it had been
practically swindled out of hundreds
of millions of dollars within the last
year. There isn't much, if any, diff
ference, between the man who holds up
another on the highway and robs him
of his purse and watch and the man
who takes another's money by putting
on the market securities which he
knows to be practically of no value,
yet by false representations sells them
at a high price. If the laws were a
| little more severe against this class of
offenders the number of small inves-
| tors who are robbed of their savings
by millionaire promoters would be
much smaller than it is.