The Washington times., 1915-10-04
PERIL IN MARKET,
WARNS. UNTERMYER
Money Trust Investigator Sees
Pitfalls Yawning for Specu.
Iators.
CONTINUED from First Pase.)

CONTINUED from First Pase.)
to the point Of compelling Government
regulation Of the stock exchange that
will convert It into the great legitimate
and responsible security market OF the
cS'I country ,yN.sh which is Its high and honor
Untermyer's letter follows:
II ought. perhaps. to preface any
answers to your Inquiries by explaining
that have never bought stocks on
margin or credit. and have never beon
CONCERNED In q short sale or speculated
vestor and . lawyer. who for upward
OF thirty-fve years has been intimately
connected with the affairs OF corpora
tions and who Is familiar with the ma
chinerv OF the stock exchange, ] have
no hesitation In answering your first
question by saying that II IL worse than
hopeless for the average man to expect
to amass q fortune. or to make money
by dealing In the stock market.
Lose All In Time.
MY experience Is that In the end they
all lose. They do not lose al. the time.
but they do lose all In time.
my ADVICE to you is to urge them to
Keep as far away as possible from the
contaRion OF speculation. and especially
to warn them against the present fever
OF speculation. and at no time to buy
stocks except to the extent to which
they can pay for them In full! as an In
vestment. and then only after a thor
ough investigation OF the merits OF the
property based on normal conditions.
War Stocks Inflated.
above all things, I advise that In
making their investments they keep
away from the so-calied land in most
instances miscallcd) war stocks, most
OF which are selling at greatly inflated
nrtcaa nal
which are. greatly Exaggerated and &C.
other forms Of artificial activity.
In soWe Of the most prominent In
my judgment. besides these conditions.
feverish wave OF wild and senseless
SPECULATION that has seized the general
public. spreading like wildnre from
lie Will. as usual. pay dearly in the end.
Like all such movements II finds n
semblance Of justification sufficient to
hre the imaginations OF the novices and
arated from their hard earned money
by the bait OF easy money I'm exasger
ated tales OF the flood OF new business
Involving abnormal profits. and that is
nkely to end as Unexpectedly as It
Dreams Of Promoters.
Stocks that represent nothing beyond
that have been rightly regard, rs
little more thar waste paper have been
suddenly galvanized into life with tho
aid OF cunningly devised and widely
advertised rurnors and half truths from
unknown quarters and unloaded In
rcams upon the unfortunate public.
Never IN tho history OF the stock
exchange has the pIblic been threaten
which Is now wide open for its victims.
Much can and ought to be done to
mitigate such conditions. This latest
experience VIII not be In VAN. although
arouses pubic sentiment t. to sy the point nj Of II
compelling Government regulation OF
the stock exchange that wili conyer:
it into the great legitimate and re-
sponsible security market Of the coun-
function. Under Government regule-
ton we would know from month to
month. and almost from day to day,
when necessary for public protection.
on which prices are being boosted.
Gambling Debauch.
I'VE would not stop speculation. No
law can accomplish that. Beut we
would have honest speculation. II IL
dishonest speculation superinduced by
ment regulation. Laws against false
rumors and manipulation cannot now be
enforced because the guilty cannot be
detected unless we have the legal ma
chinery for delving into the books OF
the members Of the stock exchange.
III tho present craze should end In
disaster to the public. as likely It will
and as all past experiences have, per
haps we will have at least learned how
to protect ourselves against like future
gambling debauches.
'Ours is now the only country in
which there Is no public supervision
over the stock exchange. although we
are more In need OF 1t than all the
other countries combined.
'It would be a mistake to attempt to
abolish the stock exchange. 1t would
be a great misfortune. and would rem.
der large. legitimate business and fnan.
cial enterprises impossible. What we
should strive for IL to add to the use.
fulness OF the stock exchange as a pub-
lie security market by keeping 1t within
It's proper functions. That can only be
accomplished through Government SUI
perrision in some form"