Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1908-01-24
DRY STOCKS.
Government Should Fix MAXI
mum Price and Quantity of
Stock Sold to Public.

How to account LOT the Qepre-
citation in stocks the past six
months has puzzled many minds
tra,ned in sock negotiations.
The essential factor in a mar
! ket tor any stock, is confidence.
There must be an unfaltering be-
lief in the value of any stock, on
the part of its holders, to sustain
its market. When they lose
confidence they try to sell out.
AS a general loss of confidence
in speculative stocks results in
general desire to sell, the market
is soon flooded with all kinds Of
stock and prices fall. Falling
market values inspire distrust
generally and consequently all
stocks begin to weaken, whether
speculative or industrial, not
withstanding there may be no
diminished earnings, nor dimln-
ished values from the properties
upon which the stock are issued.
The rising value of stocks in
spires confidence. The falling
market produces distrust.
! Now the investing public are
themselves partly to blame for
this condition. There must be
some price at which stock repre-
sents the value of the property
upon which it is issued. If the
investing public would recognize
this intrinsic value, when the
market is rising, and stop at the
: intrinsic value, there would never
: be much of a decline, and con-
fdence would not be SO easily
+ shaken.
!, No one in business likes to
: have some one else ''butt in"
with suggestions how to run the
business. Nor tor employees to
combine and insist upon their
g own ideas of the value of their
=? services and the time they should
l. toll, and even less is the interfer-
ference of the government appre-
ciated; but Notwithstanding this
feeling among those who conduct
business enterprises, whether
a railroads, manufactures Or mines
: there ought to be govern men.
e tai inspection and appraisemen'
|e of every business concern in the
10 United States which offers its
. stock for sale to the public, anc
" :. maximum value fixed upor
= such stock to exceed Which sheulc
le become a crime. Under the
oI maximum let them sell for what
u ever they please, but over the
ct price at which the Government
~ appraises the value of the proper
Or ty upon which the stock is issued
s. let 10 one offer his stock for sale
to Misleading the public in regart
n to stock values has become
:. regular business among stool
49, manipulators.
lo The sudden collapse of minin!
IS stocks hailing from Nevada. las
OF August, is easily accounted for
o. Speculation in mining stocks ha
IL run wild. Promoters had adver
an :ised impossible results, promise'
e. dividends in three months, an
n sometimes less, and by Angus
or the time bad come in which
make good, and promoters taile
~. to do so. Consequently, man
~ H persons began to realize they ha
IL been deceived, or bad deceive
ey themselves, and down came tn
y. fictitious market. ..-...
it Every share of mining stoc
as- issued upon legitimate mlnin
ID prospect is intrinsically as val1
,st able as the day it was purchased
,s If the government had appraise
he the property and limited II
- quantity of stock to be sold, an
wv wv the price at which 1t could be Q
no fered, and made the quantity so.
Ae MOTTO exceed he immediate nece
eet stiles Of the mine, in its legiti
no mate improvement, then the
lr- would have been no collapse la
ed. August and every dollar whic
di- had been invested would ha,
ar been actually represented in tu
ac- nels, shafts and machinery. /
ro cidentally, the production of go
~ and silver would have much
I creased, and a floating army
'lie adventures, the kind who 'do