Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-15
LAWSON ISSUES A Def
DECLARES THAT HIS WAR ON
STOCKS HAS ONLY BEGUN.

To appreciate the extraordinary charac-
ter of Thomas w. Lawson, whose revela-
tons of "Frenzed Finance" have sent
Wall street staggering. one should have seen
him at his desk in Boston yesterday after
noon while a multitude gathered before the
old state house, under the windows of his
office, to witness the arrival of Col Bill
Greene with his four-notched revolver.
OF course, the colonel did not come, al
though the Boston newspapers had their
war correspondents and artists on the
ground, and photographers were perched in
all the on-locking windows. But the gilded
lion and unicorn on the roof of the veneer
able state house were not the only calm
creatures in the tumultuous neighborhood.
Behind the drawn shades not more than
a hundred feet from the center of the
crowd. sat the master of the fight against
Standard Oil and it's enmillioned allies, a
bunch of fresh pansies in his button-hole a
cigar in his mouth, apparently the least
disturbed man in Boston.
Only Cloud That Foretells Storm.
This is only the cloud that foretells the
Storm" he said. "They ran prices up this
morning, only to unload this afternoon.
bought some Amalgamated stock today to
test the situation again. and the moment
any real money appeared the Standard Oil
cloWu was SO anxious TO get out that its
offerings broke the market. A man has
but to offer to buy in any quantity to send
prices downward
Has No Selfish Motive in Warfare.
We are now witnessing a demonstration
of the power of publicity against the power
of secrecy. The demonstration is approach
ing its end. The roof will fall with the
walls Make no mistake, 1 have no selfish
motive save the desire to earn the graft
tude of the people in whose interests l am
working. l have ambition too great to
be satisfied by dollars.
Public Money Used to Initiate Prices
Whose money is it that is flung forth
to initiate the prices of watered securi
ties SO that they may be sold to the public?
The money of the people, trust money. You
won't find Mr.. Rogers or Mr.. Rockefeller
buying at such prices with their own dol
lars. They have invented new kind of
finance which saves them from personal
risk
Have you ever stopped to consider why
these periods of disaster in the stock mar
ket are coming closer and closer? They
used to be fifteen years apart then ten,
then seven and now only three or four
years apart 1t is simply because human
invention and human energy create wealth
more rapidly now and because the system
which milks the people by sending prices
UP and down is more perfect and more pow
erful. The cream rises to the surface more
quickly and the skimming apparatus has
been improved.
A Few Simple Laws Needed to Stop 1t.
"A few simple laws will put an end to
this sort of thing
1T is said that this crumbling of prices
is bringing ruin and misery to a good many
people. But it is nothing compared to the
ruin that would have come if 1 had not
spoken l have been honest and open.
warned the public to get out and warn it
again. l was never more in earnest in my
life.
THE war has only begun. l have no Sc
cret tips to give. What l say / say to the
whole country. Let the losses come to the
system when the final crash occurs.
Il made fair test a few days ago when
the Standard Oil interests approached me-
l said to Mr.. Rogers lawyer that if they
would give the public a square chance once
and put Amalgamated stock back to 500 a
share, at which they sold it, l would accept
that as a victory for the people. 1t was
then he confessed that they had discovered
that the stock was worth only $45 share.
They We're ready to unload on the public
again at $50 a share. Great God. What sort
Of man would l have been if l had not
shouted out in the street as did? Look at
the market now. Will the system buy even
at these prices? Every time I offer a few
thousand dollars of real money they reach
for 1t so quick that the market breaks. The
situation does not depend on my word now.
1t rests upon actual demonstra ton. My one
desire is that the honest public shall not be
hurt when the final blow is struck.