Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-11-02
Lot Buyers Pick
Great Bargains Now
In Stock Exchanges
Big Corporations Notice Increase Of
Shareholders - Not All Small
Investors Shrewd.
BY 5OERSANIER.

CHICAGO, Nov. LIN the last two
months leading corporations notably
the Pennsylvania, New York Central
and the steel communicative had
accessions to their share rosters.
These lists now are longer than at
any time In the life of the compa-
MES The buying does not connote
precisely a defiant negation of eau
ton, neither does 1t signal q general
ly robust optimism
What il means is that tho odd lot
buyer is uncCns"iously p.tting his un-
erring instinct against the erring rea-
son Of big-lot spectators for the de-
cline. There is, and always has been,
street delusion that the public"
buys only on a falling market. The
higher and more sensational the rise
the heavier the lay participation. This
is valid as to the speculative public,
not the investment.
II is absolutely invalid re applied
to the bargain hunter, large and
small This element Is infaIlibly busy
in a quiet way-whenever a de-
preston Is on markedly at what
might be the final months OF a pro-
longed depression.
Poor at Selecting Stocks.
As a rule bargain hunters, taken In
the mass, have the INSTRUMENTATION
of tho crowd, They are unerring
enough in the matter of time to come
into the street, but in tho finer dis
elimination OF selecting stocks they
are, collectively, faulty. There are
OF course, noteworthy exceptions, es-
pecially among the longer pursed
To pick up genuine bargains. par
ticularly in q pessimstiC period. re-
qulres the assistance Of collateral
qualities and advantages which are
not granted to the casual small in
vestor: for the man who is bold
enough to indulge in an absolutely
independent investment and to be at
tracted to securities chiefly by the
fact that no one has n good word to
say for them, must be gifted by sur
fiCient patience to carry him through
long periods during which his pur-
Chases may still remain unappreciat-
ed by the crowd, whose verdict, after
all, decides the ultimate value of all
stocks
Part OF the essense Of his choice
lies in the fact that the purcha ses
which he selects are, for the time be-
ing, condemned and this quality in
his securities will cost him dear un-
less he is in n position TO stand up to
"the sings and arrows OF outrageous
carry the contents OF his tin box to
market
Low Priced Not Cheap.
Above all, and here ~ the most dit
flcult condition to the success Of the
bargain hunters he must know a
good stock when he sees IL. and re-
fuse to he deceived by the error
which leads so many collectors of all
kinds astray, OF thinking that any
thing that is low priced Is cheap, and
that. because an issue has been
thrown on to the rubbish heap, 1t
must be worth carrying home.
An inexperienced treasure hunter
who is turned loose on a rubbish
heap win he almost certain to fiji his
pockets with rubbish II is the
trained eve that finds the political
gems, Given the trained eye
ana the faculty for tracing
the history OF stock, testing the
financial methods OF a property. who
are responsible for its fortunes and
estimating the causes which are like
ly to affect the industry from which
Il derives its earning power the stock
exchange bargain hunter may inter-
est himself with pleasure and profit
by searching in the hyways OF mar
kets for securities which are under
tlouu LOT reasons WllCn nave no con-
nection with their intrinsic value
And II his scent is guided by sound
instincts and checked by half the
pains that men commonly bestow on
the search for artistic hric-a-brac,
he may now and then win prize FOR
his pains such as is beyond the
dreams OF the ordinary seeker after
investments which everyone else is
buving
Such prizes may not be as large
as they We're in the railroad recon-
struction period that ensued upon the
panic Of 1898, but they are almost
as numerous.
Union Pacific. Northern Pacific,
Atchison and other once lnsolvent Is
sues can not be bought under 90 (and
assessment paid Jersey Central can
not be picked up az Z. or Steel com
mon at s, Finds Of that kiud-thcy
sound legendary to-day-are lmpos-
sihle
But content with taking stocks on
a higher price level the careful ex-
plorer IS likely to be rewarded II his
patience is as cumulative and quail
ltatlve as his courage and confidence.
America, with all its troublesome
politicians and their "lwns" its get
the millions quick anancierS. its
middle class discomfort. "a a progres.
slNe country Tvpry decade makes
for economic bettcrmeut FOR Increased
wealth As The nation grows it's SEE
'ur'NeS, collectively become more
ya1uahiE