The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-02-27
copyrIght, by Joseph B. Bowles.)

tent to advise them and in the face |
Of their own better judgment?
The obvious answer is: Because |
they expect to profit greatly by the in |
vestment-to get rich quick" as the
saying puts 1t. This is only
half the answer, and the other half
often the more powerful-is seldom
brought out
1t can be stated in one small word
Vanity.
This is not f1attering to the invest
ors who have defied the sober counsel
of experienced men of affairs and who
have stif1ed their own natural fore
bodings and sense of caution. but the
fact remains that vanity has, in hun
dreds of thousands of cases, been the
one factor which has turned the tables
against reason, Judgment and good
counsel and emptied the pockets of
the wage Garner and the salary worker
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
a thorough physical examination of
patient, pressing every part of the
body to locate the weak spots, so the
investment schemer applies all his
unnDiptr tn tho dicnoyorNy IF tho 1uoal-
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 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-
scfous-of the small investor to be
able incidentally to remark to his fell
lows: Tim interested in the Solid
Rock Investment company" or "T've
got TO lay off 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
ity of human nature the catch is al
most certain--and the cearness 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 sent out to lure
the dnwasy is full Of phrases like this:
why nOtE5ecome 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 see beyond the rim of a silver dol
lar and appreciate large opportunities,
men of constructive abilities who are
ment of one Of the greatest enter.
Drtses Of the present day. Your ad,
vice. influence and cooperation are
Iuore valuable to us than your money -
When this appeal is put to Il man
who has always worked under others
who has never been consulted by u
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.
fer. a mechanic working at his lathe
or bench, or 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 place and standing among the
men who pull the wires which move
the machinery of business. When such
man--and his kind Is legion--re
ceives one of these artful and insinu,
ating appeals to his vanity he is rare
ly poised and gifted with common
sense above his fellows IT he does not
feel that at last he has come into his
own: 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 neighbors, his familiar friends and
those under whom he works. The fiat
terry of this appeal Outweighs it's shal
low raWnesS and its obvious and cheap
insiDcerity. But the real cunning OF
this attack upon his vanity is the fact
that it, appeals to his independent
judgment ana classes MIN among the
men who see things shrewdly and in
a big way and who scorn timidity. II
he listens to this argnment--and gen
orally he does-he feels a new sense
nf self.importance and of independence
and corresponding Discrimination to
listen to the advice of those whose
familiarity with business and finance
would enable him to steer clear of the
rocks 0f disaster. His Judgment is
pittcd against theirs and he is aroused
to "A determination to SHOW them
that his OpiDiOn is better than theirs
This antagunism against the recep
ton of advice from men Of experience
is the one thing which the investment
sharper most desires to awaken in the
prospective victim, for it viii prevent
hir1b r1s,f nulv From, aAakinu S,1,uA an