Evening journal., 1913-12-05

useful as an agent for separating Americans from
their money than IL for the transmission Of mes
through space. We might SPEAK of the elastic
conscience OF "Heniquen" Armstrong. whose Interna-
tional Lumber and Development Company, with its
gttering promises, lured many thousands into the
fields Of rubber. hemp hardwood. most oe whom
nov would Ike the hemp nooses. the rubber
for shrouds, and the hardwood for caskets for the
promoters Of that l-starred and scheme.
Nor is one inclined to forget the suave and conrtly
Julian Hawthorne. who dragged honored name in
the mire that he might pull money from the pocket
OF The people; who CLOSELY attended guest of
the Federal Government in of ts institutions IN
Atlanta Who since his release has abused
that hospitality by spending most of his time criu-
cizng it-all OF which brings little comfort to the
thousands who dropped their money into holes in the
ground which he called mines. 1t might interest Mr..
Kirkus to know that victim of get-rich-quck
swinders has his library, walls and ceiling papered
with worthless stock certificates for which he paid
good money and the artistic arrangement Of the red
blue white. old gold, green and mauve squares Of
paper not only makes the place attractive but also
serves as constant warning to him not to permit
himself to be caught again.
When we say there has not been a big getrich-
quick scheme in recent years that has not numbered
Deawareans among It's victims we speak advsedly
Miller. Flower. Wilson, Armstrong and Hawthorne all
found rich picking in Wilmington and the rural sec
tions of our State. They and women whose
returns from speculative investments. We know Of
young who got in early on the Syndicate
Miller scheme, pulled out 32O per cent profits and
ended by stealing the entire capital stock and about
half Of the surplus Of a Delaware banl. We know
of another Delawarean who worked hard saved dill
gently an dropped about $4,000 Of his money into
the pockets Of "Henqren" Armstrong and his asso-
ciates We know OF woman, widow of nde-
pendent means, who practically all her private
fortune in Dr. Flowers schemes Nor did Christopher
Columbus wilson overlook Delaware in his explora-
tions in search Of suckers" There also are Della
warears who they look their cancelled checks
and lists OF securities view with only apathec inter-
est the stories told by Julian Hawthorne the
which convicts are treated in the Federal
prison in Atlanta Add TO the list OF those swndled
the list OF those who have gone Wall street and
pitted their jhhgment against the market we have
a large and hopeless army of disillusioned mpov-
erished and sorrowfu men and women We think in
vestigaton would reveal that Of them we're led
into the field of speculative investment by stories
oral written such that told, quite nnocently
Of by Mr. Krkus
We know something Of human nature We have
rubbed elbows with all and conditions of men,
We feel safe in saying that the first thought Of the
average man. child at hearing or reading
that story of the limousine and the s4625O OF mar
gina profit New Haven stock was ."Gee how
wish could make much, and as easily" We
feel warranted in saying that, because II would be
simple human nature to think it. Such an avaricous
thought merely would rep-esen the almost universal
desire rich; to become r. N easily and quickly
and to get something for nothing We felt warranted
IN calling attention to what we deemed to be the
harmfulness Of such pulpit story because while
act first and think afterward it is con-
ceded universally that with thought Is the
handspring Of action and that. in too many untoward
instances, it only is short step between thinking a
thing and doing it, attempting to do 1t.
We already have said that nine-tenths of those who
into Wall street for speculative purposes lose
That particularly true of marginal transac-
tions. in which the hazard is much greater than is
that in, oved in the outright purchase Of stock And
let it be borne in mind that the story the limousine
was based upon marginal transaction, next to
swndlug getrich-quick schemes perhaps the most
dangerous financial operation known
AS 1t is the most natural inclination of man to
gamble take cha e, so natural in fact that
stringent laws have to be enacted to repress it, it
TO that ii speculation stories are to be told
from the pulpit Il would be the part of Wisdom for
ho~e who wish to hold that inclination in repression
TO tell some Of the many weauthentcated stories of
speculative losses rather than of the fewer au-
thentcaed apocryphal stories OF speculative gains
AS we said before have no desire to enter into
a controversy with Nr. Kirkus We had no desire to
mention his name We disavow any and all purpose
Of attributng to him improper motive in incorpor-
ating the limousine story in his sermon We ac-
knowledge freely that he is a good man. doing good
work. But, after admitting all that we reserve to
ourselves the right to adhere to our opinion that he
made a mistake, and to add that he is by no means
the only preacher who recently has made such a mis-
take