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 BoERSANIER

N.IliArfANs'lt NOV LII LIlt ldAl IWO
months leading corporations-not notably
the Pennsylvania, New York Central
and the steel companies-have 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 II signal a general
ly robust optimism.
What it means is that the odd-lot
buyer is unConsciously pitting his IN
erring instinct against the erring rea-
son of big-lo spectators for the de-
cline. There is, and always has been,
a street deluslon that the public"
buys only on n falling market The
higher and more sensational the rise
the heavier the lay participation. This
IL valid as to the speculative public,
not the investment
1t is absolutely invalid ss applied
to the bargain hunter. large and
small. This element Is infallibly busy
in a quiet way-whenever a de-
preston is on markedly at what
might be the Anal months of q pro-
longed depression.
Poor at Selecting Stocks.
As rule bargain hunters, taken in
the mass, have the differentiation
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 n pessimistic period. re-
quires the assistance of collateral
qualities and advantages which are
not granted to the casual small in
weston; 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 sut-
f1Cient patience to carry him through
long periods during which his pur-
chases may still remain unappreCiat-
cd 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 SEES
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 a position 10 stand up to
the sings and arrows OF outrageous
fortune" without being obliged to
carry the contents of his tin box to
market
Low Priced Not Cheap.
Above all, and here ~ the most diff
flcult condition to the success of the
bargain hunters, he must know a
good stock when he sees it, and re-
fuse to he deceived by the error
which leads 80 many collectors OF all
kinds astrav, OF thinking that any
thing that ts low priced is cheap. and
that, because an issue has been
thrown on 10 the rubbish heap, il
must be worth carrying home.
An inexperienced treasure hunter
VINO is turned loose on a rubbish
heap will he almost certain to fill his
pockets with rubbish II is the
trained eve that finds the political
gems. Given the trained eve
and 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 20 affect the industry from which
II 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 u
cloud for reasons which have 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 brio -brac
he may now and then win a 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 were 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 insolvent is
sues can not be bought under 20 (and
| asse sment paid Jersey Central can
mon at S Finds OF that klnd-they
sound legendary to-day-are impos-
sihle "a
But content with taking stocks or
a higher price level the careful ex-
| plorer is likely TO be rewarded II his
| patience is as cumulative and quail
| itatiye as his courage and confidence
America, with all its troublesome
politicians ana their "isns" It's get
/ the millions quick" dnanciers IT'S
middle class discomfort is a progress.
/ slye country Every decade makes
/ for economic betterment for jucrea aed
/ wealth As the nation grows its Sc
| cnri'ies, collectively, become more