Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-01-28
Birds Of Prey.
WHAT FOOLS THESE MoRTALs BE"

/
(Hon John d. Long, Ex-Governor OF Maesachu
| setts and Ex-Secretary Of the Navy, In
| The Rollins Magazine9
Two things occurred In my early life
TIN only the FIRST of which had persona
experience, which were good lessons tt
me.
had saved three or four hundred dol
lars, and q friepd-it is always . "friend''
you know-esrnestly advised me to in
vest in q remote oil well, which was the
particular bait of that time. He said 1t
was such good sure thing. Such ex.
cellent men were investing In 1t. he
really didn't wish to part with any OF his
stock, but, as q special favor he would
| let me in. OF course the bait caught my
confiding gullet and he got the money
and got the experience.
have never seen him since, nor dol
lar of my investment, which was then Q
pretty serious thing to me. And yet ]
feel deep sense of gratitude to him, for
I never sfterward bought a bond or a
share of stock except through trust
worthy and responsible agencies whose
reputation is az stake and to whom any
misleading of their customers is ruinous
to their standing and business. I turn .
deaf ear to irresponsible promoters, aud
the flaming literature they send through
the mail goes into the waste-basket.
Later it came to my notice that one OF
the very prominent officials of the State,
high 10 political station, allowed himself
to become director in a mining corpor-
alton and to be advertised as such in its
proSpectuses and advertisements. He
was misled By fattering representations,
given some of the stock, and told that
there would be nothing to do but receive
bis dividends and the everlasting graft
tude of any stakeholder who was at
tracted by his distinguished title. he
was, no doubt, entirely innocent of any
improperly in letting himself be dunn
my, and good naturally yielded the use
of his name, not approaching that that
was all the promoters wanted OF him.
OF course the thing went to smash.
Then all his fellow citizens, and all his
old political and business friends who
had been bitten, Immediately claimed
that they had been led into the pit-fall
BY this unfortunate director, and that
but for his name and their confidence in
him they would not have made the In
ves.ment. His life was made wretched.
This object lesson showed me, for l
was just then starting into public life,
that any man who allows the use of his
name in connection with such specula-
ton, however perfunctory and however
innocent In other respects that connec-
ton may be, cannot escape responsible
ity and censure If the thing goes up in
smoke, as it usually does.
During the latter part Of my public
life, when was better known, the most
insidious and flatteripg offers we're often
made to me, and suppose the same is
true of other public men, of presidencies,
vice presidencies, general cnunselships
and directorships, with good fat salaries
and with good slices Of stock, in all sorts
of these speculation schemes, land
schemes, mining schemes, and the whole
list of gst-rich-quick schemes that the
of promoters can contrive, and
they are legion.
Taught by that old instance, my inva-
riable answer has been that million dol
lars could not tempt me to run tho risk
of having any man or woman, known or
unknown to me, say or write to me that
he or she had been induced by my name
AS would be claimed whether truth
fully or not to invest money and lose
it. 1 preferred to have my sleep undis-
iurbed.
Therefore, 1 think that you do we'll in
your magazine to keep clearly and con-
stantly before the public warning
against these financial perils and to urge
upon those whose savings !
are small-and which because small they :
are eager to increase-apd who thus be- |
come easy victims-the vital importance !
of investing their money only in safe So
CT rites, and in selecting these, to obtain !
the counsel Of conservative, responsible, |,
and disiuterested agencies and counsel !,
ors. A good rule is never to touch any
investment without consulting such |
sources and in no case to rely solely on
the representations of any visiting agent
Or any mailed circular.
1t is simply pathetic to think how
many, who cannot afford the loss, who
are as ignorant as children of the value
Of Investments, and who are exposed to !,
the glib tongue and highly colored mis- )
of the tempters, have
been ruined by them, and that millions
and millions of dollars have been flched
from the pockets of the people at large.
What sorry spectacle is that OF the
present group of victimized women who ,
have been taken in to the tune of hun
ireds of thousands by the De Luxe book .
frauds. Strange to say that IN almost
every instance these women have not ,
only not consulted anybody, but have
carried on their negotiations in almost :
secret communication with the devil that !
tempted them. And yet this spectacle
Is by no means so pathetic as that of the
loss by persons in limited circumstances
Of their hard earnings and their little i,
in the savings banks.
To return to my original illustrations,
let all these classes be on their guard,
first, against the "friends" who tempt |
them into tolls, and second, against put
ting confidence in the name of any con-
spicuous or high. up man in the list OF
the officials shown In prospectuses. For
the chances are that, however innocent
Of any intentional misleading he may be,
be is an unconscious stool pigeon and
hat the wires are pulled inside the cabi-
net by very different and dangerously
willy personages.
One would think that, after all the ex-
posures, this plague would correct itself
and that people would learn wisdom.
There are three difficulties in their way.
One is that being usually modest and
unfamiliar with sources of information
that are always open, they are shy of
svailipg themselves Of the counsel which
any good savings bank or reputable
is always ready and glad
10 give.
Another Ia that once in thousand
Zines the proposed scheme succeeds, the
mine or well or land operation turns out
profits by the thousands. As in lot
Iery ten Thousand individuals will risk
the price of ticket In the hope of being
The lucky Individual who scoops In the
total"
A third is the Unborn love In human
nature of the marvellous, the predisposi-
ton to see visions, the absolute liking to
be hallucinated into "grext expecta-
lions" 1t Is on these qualities that the
luack in every line Of life relies for bis
suppose the only way to meet these
difficulties is to keep up the warning
aud the preaching, and to expose, as our
press exposes, the frauds and cheats and
follies.
But these have done incalculabls mis-