The National tribune., 1903-10-29
BUSINESS RoTrENNEss.

The alleged grating in public Offices
pales into insiSnifcance in comparison
with the enormous grating by reputable
mony in the ship-building Trust wreckage
is utterly ruinous to the reputation and
business methods Of number Of men who
have stood very high in financial circles
They seem to be absolutely constituencies
in their dealings with one another, and
the public and do not hesitate at any
scheme which will bring profit to them
selves, regardless Of the damage to others
The testimony Of Mr.. Dresser showed that
Mr.. Schwab. who has hitherto stood very
high, managed to get such a hold of the
bodybuilding trust as to force it into bank
ruptcy while Mr.. Schwab grated up for
himself huge increment Of profit. There
was a sad story of the dummy" direct
ors-bOys. clerks and others absolutely
without bank accounts, without any bust
ness standing or association. whose names
were used as directors though they did
not have single share of stock. They
did not even know what the properties
were, or where located, yet they vote'
on properties worth millions, and issued
more than $1GO.000,00O worth of stock.
porator of the Franklin Syndicate. which
promised to pay 10 per cent. month on
deposits, and which resulted in two of the
managers being sent to Sing Sing. A larg
proportion of the transac tions wera such
as to make the buRco men and the thmble-
rigger seem respectable. Properties sr
water-logged as to be worthless were
transferred from one syndicate to another
given fictitious value by bogus sales and
palmed off on the public at fancy prices
the promoters being careful to sell their
holdings first. md let the dear pub ic mako
what they could ont OF the rest. The in.
vestors had hardly as much chance as
bnnco man gives his victim. They Ger
tainly did not have anything like the
chance of men who play the skin" games
of faro and keno. There-though the
gamblers have a large percentage againsr
the players-the players hare certain
proportion of chances Of winning. while
those who bought the stocks had absolute.
ly none.
OF course. a severe punishment has
come upon a number OF leading ''promo-
tiers" and "6nancers" who are made as
bankrupt in reputation as they have made
their dupes In cash, and this must be
extreme punishment to men whose career
depends upon their standing in "the mar
ket"
Still. We can not let the matter 20 with
the ruin and disgrace of the pretentiouS
capitalists who lnred so many people into
severe losses. The situation requires law
making of the highest order The business
conditions of the world require great cor
pOrati0ns, and the public good demands
that the shares should be held in small;
lots by the great public. Therefore. prop
erty in them should be regarded as sacred
as property in land. buildings and farm
ing stock. Swindling by so-callrd "cap,
itaiists" and 'financiers' in the manage
ment of corporations must be made as
criminal as in anything else, and the
swinder should as certainly go to the
penitentiary as the man who steals horse
or burns a house. This is the most ur-
gent need to-day of our condition of so.
ciety and it requires the greatest thought
Of the men who make our laws.