The Columbus journal., 1908-02-26
TURNING VANITY INTO MONEY
Bv JOHN X. THOMPSON
Treasurer Cook County. Illinois.

Copyright. b. Joseph b. Bowles.)
Why ID 1t that thousands OF inteln-
gent men working for salaries or for
wages r investing their savings in
the stocks Of wildcat companies
against the advice Of friends compe-
tent to advise them aud IN the face
Of their own better judgment?
The obvious answer IL: Because
they expect to profit greatly by the in
vestment-to get rich quick" ~ the
common saying puts It. This 10 only
half the answer. and the other half
often the more powerful-is seldom
brought out.
It can be stated in one small word
Vanity.
This is not hattering to the invest
ors who have defed the sober counsel
Of experienced men Of affairs and who
have stifed their own natural fore
b0dings and sense of caution. but the
fact remains that vanity has. in hum
dreds Of thousands Of cases. been the
q factor which has turned the tables
against reason. judgment and good
counsel and emptied the pockets of
the wage Garner and the salary worker
into the Golfers Of the fake investment
shark.
This trait Of human nature does not
occur to the general public Of honest
toilers. but the study Of human ma
ture is the everyday business Of the
man who is out after the savings of
the workers: like the surgeon making
q thorough physical examination of q
patient. pressing every part of the
body to locate the weak spots, so the
investment schemer applies all his
cunning to the discovery of the weak
spots in the sort of human nature
with which he has to deal. And he
has come to understand that there is
no weakness more common among
the men who have to work hard for
comparatively small returns than the
trait Of wishing TO have a part in the
management of the affairs of business
and. more particularly. to be looked
upon by their fellows and associates
as q man of affairs. with personal in
terests and personal influence in bust
ness councils. an administrator in the
internal affairs Of an industrial or
financial organization.
The desire-conscious or uncon-
sciOus-Of the small investor to be
able incidentally to remark to his fell
lows: I'm interested in the Solid
Rock Investment company" or I've
got to lay of tomorrow to attend the
stockholders meeting of the Sure
nough Securities corporation. in which
I'm interested" has landed quite as
many fairly hard-headed men of small
means in the net of the investment
schemes as has the simple desire to
make money without work. OF this l
am thoroughly convinced, although the
two appeals always go hand in hand.
When the bait thrown out is equally
attractive to the cupidity and the van
tty OF human nature the catch is al
most certain-and the ciearness with
which the latter human weakness is
understood by the -sharpers who lie
in wait for the surplus savings
of those who do the worlds hand
work. is evidenced by the fact
that the literature sem out t O lure
the unwary is full of phrases like this:
why not become an associate of
men who are doing things? We want
your influence in your community.
The men who are in this enterprise
are known In the business world and
they desire cooperation Of others who
are capable of broad and Independent
judgment. Of men like yourself who
can e beyond the rim of a silver dol
lar and appreciate large opportunities,
men Of constructive abilities who are
ready to take a hand in the develop
ment of n Of the greatest enter
prises of the present day. Your ad-
vice, influence and cooperation are
more valuable to us than your money"
When this appeal is put to a man
who has always worked under others.
who has never been consulted by a
business man. whose opinions on bust
ness matters have never been asked
by any person outside his own family
circle, the temptation to a new and
delightful feeling of self-importance is
almost inevitable. There is not a
clerk bending over a desk or a coun-
ter, a mechanic working at his lathe
OF bench, or a labOrer toiling in street
or field who has not at times felt that
he has had ideas about some feature
OF business worth considering. who
has not harbOred a secret longing to
have a place and standing among the
men who pull the wires which move
the machinery of business. When such
a man-and his kind is legion-rc-
ceives one of these artful and insinu-
ating appeals to his vanity he is rare
1y poised and gifted with common
sense above his fellows if he does not
that his abilities have finally
been appreciated and that the stran-
ger in the business world has under
stood him better than his associates.
his neighb0rs, his familiar friends and
those under whom he works. The fiat
terry of this appeal ~outweighs its shall |
low rawness and its obvious and cheap
insincerity. But the real cunning of
this attack upon his vanity is the fact
that it appeals to his independent
judgment" and classes him among the |
men who see things shrewdly and in
a big way and who sc0rn timidity. II
he listens to this argument-and gen.
orally he does-he feels a new sense
of self-importaEce and of independence
and a corresponding disinclination to
listen to the advice of those whose |
familiarity with business and finance |