Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-07-13

ket. When Keene was managing big
market campaigns il was nothing
unusual for him to buy 900 or z,oOs
shares of stock for the account OF
some friend who eounldn't buy 10
shares out of his own pocketbOok. A
thousand shares lof stock runs into
money rapidly in a big market
$4,000, $4,000, even $4,000 to
100000 some times, when speeula-
tor has the nerve and patience to
stick to a long rise or fall in a stock
When a promoter is bringing out
new company. whether it Is a copper
mine in Nevada. rubber plantation
In Mexico. or a mandatory in New
England, he becomes possessed. undex
our easy-going corporation laws, OF a
mass of common stock largely repre-
senting the capitalized hope for the
future success of the enterprise. When
public companies first came into
vogue, two or three centuries ago.
these shares were exactly what their
name implied. One share in a thou
sand-shares commercial venture meant
a onethousandth interest in the pro
fits. There were no dollar signs on
the share certificates. Whether a
venture had 10 shares or 1000 there
was no idea of watered capital. But
nowadays these shares have dollar
signs, and a promoter, when he forms
his company, issues sto,k certificates
with dollar signs to any amount that
his enthusiasm and cupidity carry
him. A company with only a few
thousand dollars OF real capital may
be capitalized in stock certificates up
in the millions
The dollar signs on the stock Ger.
tineates of new companies, therefore.
don't mean much. II is this careless
ness in doliar-marking new company
stock THAI brings into the weekly
records OF stock auction sales sucn
absurd items as these:
$4,000 Automatic Door, $3.50 the lot
When stock certificates OF marked
value OF 100000 bring no more at an
auction sale than enough to buy din.
ner in Broadway restaurant It is
plain chat the dollar sign on stock
certificates In new companies Is more
or less of a joke. Stock certificates
so easily manufactured are often care
ly distributed by the promoter in pay
ment for favors received or expected.
They tell story about Jay Gould
and minister. Gould had block of
stock OF a minor railroad He wanted
to sell II, but the market was very
thin. One day the preacher called to
see Could, and the Walt street opera.
tor incidentally suggested to the
preacher that there was an oppor.
tunity for him to make a good invest.
ment by bbuying some OF the stock
OF the little railroad
Gould told the preacher that he
would guarantee him against loss, bur
that be should regard the tip as conn.
DENTAL The minister went straight.
way 10 another friend In Wall street
and asked MIN TO buy for him some OF
the stock, telling the broker IN conn
denee where the tip came from. The
stock began to rise and the minister
conddentiaiiy told some very intimate
friends about Il. They went OF quiet
ly and bought as much as they could
afford TO- Very quietly the tip from
Gould went all through the congrega-
ton
But one day there was slump IN
the street and the Gould stock had
such a bad break that the minister.
instead Of having profit, faced
considerable loss He waited. expect.
ing that the loss would be recovered,
but the stock went sliding down
further Then he went TO Gould.
The inancier said he was sorry that
there had been bad turn In the mar
ket, otherwise the railroad stock
would have gone much higher He
asked the minister how much he had
lost, and on learning the amount
promptly gave him check as he had
promised.
The minister. having received the
tip in confidence. did not dare tell
Gould that many of his parishIoners
were out much more money than he.
nor did Gould think it necessary to
tell the minister that the aggregation
had made a market for a.. the stock
that he had been trying to sell for a
long time without success
naAa - nnarnIral