The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-03-20

Buying Worthless Oil and Mining Stock

Buying Worthless Oil and Mining Stock
If there was time in the history of this ma
ton that its people should be warned against in
vestments in worthless stocks and promotion en-
terprises that day has arrived.
Millions of dollars have been enticed from the
savings of unsophsticated persons by shrewd
and slick statesmen who have promised golden
returns from mines, oil wells, and inventions. In
thousands and thousands of cases the only return
which the investor received for his money was a
stock certificate which was not worth the paper
on which it was printed.
Promoters of securities of this kind are al
ways prolific of promises They tell their victims
that mines and oil wells near the property which
they control are returning tremendous dividends
to the stockholders. They point to the money a
Rockefeller made in the Standard Oil company, to
the fabulous riches which men have taken from
mines and step by step lead on their victims un-
til they picture themselves riding in automobiles
and spending money with the profligacy Of mil
lionsires in yellow-backed novel.
Usually these stock promoters operate far
from the property that contains the oil or miner
al. AS few of the men and women to whom they
are trying to sell stock personally investigate
the property, the statesmen can without fear OF
contradiction paint the most glowing and winning
picture, which the deluded victim accepts at face
value.
Secretary McAdoo is pleading with the Aneri-
can people to invest money in only those enter
prises which are absolutely necessary And yet,
stock statesmen have the audacity to ask patriots
to make investments in enterprises which are
highly speculative and in which they run every
chance of losing every dollar they have invested.
We believe patriots of this community will give
little heed to the deceptive inducements Of men
trying to take money out of Wayne county for
speculative purposes. Uncle Sam needs every
dollar which patriots of this community can give.
Let us invest our money in the cause of national
perpetuation and not in schemes that enrich out
siders and leave us holding the empty bag.
A blue sky" conference is in session in Chi
caso now. More than fifteen states have repre-
sentatives at the meeting which proposes to de-
wise methods to safeguard the public from dis
honest promoters" prevent "the flow of capital
into highly speculative and fake enterprises"
and direct it into channels in which it is most
needed to lend strength to the forces engaged in
war"
Capital is needed to win this war.
Every dollar paid for speculative oil and min
A promoter of a speculative oil or mining
company has unmitigated nerve and brazen i'm
pudence to come into community to sell his
stock when our government day after day. is
pleading with US to invest our money with him. 1t
borders perilously close on disloyalty.
The Palladium has an iron-clad ban against
the printing of advertisements of speculative Sc
curities. The national vigilance committee Of
the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World
has issued the following warning:
Investigation reveals that the advertise
ments of OIL PROMOTIONS which constitute
the bulk of the speculative securities offered the
public today are USUALLY MISLEADING.
Ultimately such advertising will prove to be an
IMPOSITION on the READERS of the publica-
tions in which the advertising appears
Newspapers have an especial opportunity to
serve our country in the face of the tremendous
responsibility to make success of the next Lib
erty Loan, by paying heed to the GOVERN
MENT'S appeal which has just been made public
by Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo.
The stand which the Government takes rela-
tive to securities which are not compatible with
the public interest may be seen in the earnest and
serious appeal for support Of public loans.
The following are extracts from Secretary
McAdoo's plea which has recently appeared in the
press:
1--WE must work and SAVE as never before in
our history
"The great financial operations of the Gov
eminent cannot be carried forward successfully
unless the people of the United States economize
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