The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-04-08
|AfIEn Tic fAKIkN
Bank Commissioners DOlley's
Plan Getting Results.
He Has Established Bureau of
Information.
ON STOCK COMPANIES.
State Flooded With Promoters
of Worthless Companies.
Bank Commissioners in Position
to Identify the ''GOld Bricks"


state bank commissioner, in estab-
4 fishing bureau of information in
connection with his office regarding
financial and industrial schemes for
which stock is being placed on the
Kansas markets by the ton is much
more important than might be sup
| posed at first thought. Mr.. DoIley
| only announced this new departure
the latter part of last week, but to-
| day he had an even dozen letters of
inquiry on his desk from prospective
investors and from companies with
stock to sell.
Now Mr.. Dolley does not pretend
to give advice as regards the wisdom
| of an investment. He is not posing
as wiseacre who can pick the invest
mentS that will succeed and that will
fail. Nothing of the sort. What he
| expects to do is to be able to give
the investor a run for his money. In
! other words he believes that in his
position and with his experience and
the means of information at his COM
mand he can pick out the fakirs and
frauds and short change propositions.
He can brand the blue sky companies
where the investor has no possible
chance to realize on the money in
vested He can prevent in this way
hundreds of thousands of dollars from
being taken out of the state without
any return whatever in the shape OF
moment contemplate the idea of pick
ing out the companies that will be
sure to succeed. All he would expect
to do would be able to assure the In
vestor that the company offering him
stock for his hard money was a de-
cent company, organized along sane
lines, with real money invested, with
good backing and with an honest ef-
fort behind it to develop something
of value That company might fail
and the investor lose his money, but
he would have had a fair run for 1t
in the commercial race. He would
have had some kind of chance Tor
return. He would not have been golo
bricked by some fakir who had invest
ed nothing in the scheme himself ex-
cept his wits and his nerve rms is
the idea of the new investment IN
formation bureau which has now
been made a department of the bank
commissioners office.
"Of the letters I received TO-DAY,
said Mr.. Dolley, seven contained m
companies that had agents In the neld
offering stock for sale. In the case OF
every one of these companies can
give exact and authentic Information
about their financial standing and their
Investments and their general charac-
ter. If there IS a fake company among
them I can oick 1t OUT ana VIII 90 SO
and inform the investor OF my opln-
ion in plain words. or course can
not and would not pretend to advise
about the wisdom of making an invest
ment in any reputable company: me
company may win and pay good OWL
dends and again it may not. All
want is that the Kansas farmer or
workman who invests his money in
an, stock company gets fair and
square run for that money That ne
will have a chance to win.
ssKansas at this time is a fak1r
paradise. The people are prosperous;
there is a lot of idle money in every
section of the state and the snort
change artists are after that money.
THESE men who sell stock are smooth
as silk. They know every trick OF
their trade and tn i can make their
schemes look as good as governmenI
bond. They trick many shrewd and
hard-headed farmers who know moth
ing of the wIles of the commercial
world 1 have reliable information
from my bank examiners that the siate
is flooded with these frauds and they
are carrying money out of the state in
suit cases. I want to stop that practice
if I can and ] will be able to do so,
if the people will only apply 70 my de-
partment for advice before they BUY
stock from strangers Ill companies that
thev know nothing about.
ST think that this proposed bureau
is directly in line with the duties or
bank commissioner. This office is sup
posed to protect depositors and also
to protect the people along any line OF
finance. We are in close touch with
get in touch with any financial institu-
tion in the country. We have access
to financial aud Industrial information
of all kinds and know just where to
go to get in touch with anv company
that is promoting something. If the
is doing business on the
square and making an honest effort to
do something. and putting good money
into the undertaking, we can find out !
about it. 7 nope the people of the |
state will take me at my word and |
ask nv department for information
before they buy stock. I think it is an |
outrage for a Kansas farmer to be |
talked into paying So 900 for a hand |
full of stock certificates and then have |
the incident close right there When !
he handed over his money to the |
stranger he parted company with 1t |
forever He might use the certificates |
for wall paper. but they would be of |
no other value to him.
s4Then again / received several let
ters today from companies that are |
selling stock and that claim to be |
legitimate. They commend my course |
and wish me success. They declare /
that so many frauds are in the Kansas !
market now that it is very hard for |
an honest company to float stock in a |
good business undertaking. These |
invited inspection of their |
affairs and gave me Information as to |
where and how I could verify their |
claims
81 believe that the longer this bu-
reau is in existence the wider its scope
of influence for good will become. |
believe that With the help of the peo-
pie of the state we can drive the fakirs |
out or Kansas in snort time. If
find that a company is fraud I shall |
notify its officials of my findings and |
warn them to leave the state. If they
do not do so I will advertise them /
There is no state law to cover these
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