The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-12-31
New Secretary Of the Treasury
Plans Fight to End, Mu!cting
of Public by Profiteers Who
Buy Bonds for a Fraction Of
Their Market Value.
BY A. q, GELDUOF

Washington, Dec tableware the
Liberty bond shark!
In every important city i'll the coun-
try, unscrupulous men are taking f:1-
vantage of the public's need for money
to gouge working people out OF the
profits Of their Liberty bonds.
The new secretary of the treasury.
Carter Glass. is preparing vigorous
fight against these sharks. as one or
the first of his official activities. He
is planning 4 series of appeals to the
public to put the sharks out Of bust
ness. coupled with widespread public
ity through the federal reserve banks.
CASHES IN ON HOLIDAY NEEDS
The Liberty bond shark prcys upon
the common people. whose only knowl-
edge of government bond is that it
represents 500 they have loaned the
government to help win the war. Holt
day needs cause many to sell their
bonds to the loan shark for much less
than their market value.
Then the shark sells them through
4 bank or broker on the open market
at the market price. This has one OF
two results:
I. 1t places 4 vast amount in Lib
crty bonds in the hands of the veal
thy, or.
,. 1t forces tho government to buy
back more bonds than 1t can afford.
Either result defeats the purpose for
which Liberty bonds were issued.
we have received hundreds of COM
plants about these Liberty bond
sharks from all over the country said
ClarksOn Potter assistant war loan di-
rector of the treasury department.. an
every important city, men Of the type
Of the old-time loan sharks have gone
into the bond shark business. 49,
"Tlerc is no law to prcvent>any man
from buying a Liberty. bond at any
price We have placed the. matter in
The hands of the department. Of justice
however, and it's agents are Investigate
ing the sharks activities
I'VE have a report from Memphis
of a syndicate organized to buy bonds
Il number of men joined together tC
tlefraud the people out of the profits OF
their bonds.
DON'T PATRONIZE SHARKS
"Our only way Of combating the evil
| is by urging the federal reserve be. ks
the Liberty loan committees and the
press to combine in educating the pub
lie not to patronizc the sharks. If {
working man understood he could C
to any bank or broker. or even to his
employer, and receive the market price
for his bonds, he would not sell then
to a shark.
''We have requested all newspa per!
to refuse advertising for purchase 81
Liberty bonds. With a few exceptions
they have complied.
There is but one, way of catcllin,
these men legally. That is through thu
Espionage act.
Suppose Il man brings bond t.
one Of these grafterS and asks:
"'What is this bond WORTH
"And the shark replies:
1T is worth $780,
HE is asserting an untruth. TIL,
espionage act provides punishment TO
any one who makes a false statcmen
to obstruct then sale. "r
But if the shark is clever enough
to say. I will pay you $50 for You
bond he cannot be prosecuted
HOW LIBERTY BOND SHARK
GOUGES MANY VICTIMS
Here is how the Liberty bond sharl
works:
He starts with small capital-$5t
will do it. He inserts an advertise
ment in the ''personal' columns of tn,