The spectator., 1919-11-14
INTESTINE ENTS T0
 YIELD FABULOUS
 RETURNS SCARCE
OIL, A NECESSITY, OFFERS FIELD FOR UNScRUPULOUS PERsONo TO UNLOAD WoRTHLEoo
 STOCKS.
PUBLIC IS EASILY "GNLED''
Company With Four Billion Capital and 337.60 Working Capital Proved Attractive YeArs
 Age.

After every war in which thl
 United States has participated, the people of the country have lined ur waiting for opportunity to plunge into the current of inconsidered specula tion All that vas necessary was an assurance that the waters nne" to send them in
 The majority never again got their financial heads above the surface Hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost in these unwise ventures in the past and millions arc being lost to investors in the proes0 ceaso for stock gambling
 It apparently makes httle difference that these speculations may be based on industries which have been proved profitable and legitimate Tho pre- duction of oil is one of tho baAoe h. dustrial operations. yet moro feet0aos have been lost in oil stocks and oN lands than in any other speculation. Crude petroleum is . necessity, 1t com mands staple price, its production is legitimate business. yet investors in oil stock risk more langers than beset Livingston r Africa
 The first oil boom occurred in the early sos, just after Edwin L. Drake and his driller Uncle Billy" Smith brought in ths first drilled we'll in Pennsylvania. With the news of Drake's success. people from all over the nation hock, d to Cenango county in the hope of "strikfnx oil" and mak- ing . fortune over nisht.
 Land in favorable localities cold readily for from s8,0o0 to $7,00c an acre and farms brought rom $500. 900 to $l. .OO0, 900 each Speculation of every possible sort among all classes went on to such an unbridled extent that it amounted to sheer madness 4 plot of two acres sold for half . mil. Hon, and s40o0,0 was refused for So ceres, which had been traded for yoke of e1en less than . year before.
 Hundreds Of w1lis were put down but their owasrs. without adequate capital or equipment. saw their means vanish and poverty approach as q re- suit of the interruptions and merciless dealings of the land spectators.
 Then came the first of the gushers. In . year. oil was almost as cheap as water and prices almos' ceased to exist sales bAtng made as low as 10 cents . barrel. More fortunes were lost. but demand was gradually stimu- lated and prices increased unal the close of the Civil War, the country was ripe for another stampede.
 The rush to the P1thole region fol. lowed AAd with that rush came the extensive operation of sO-callsd stock companias. In these companies. peo- pie from all over the country were deeced of their earnings and specula ton in such shares was tremendous It is estimated that the companies in Pennsylvania alone at this period had combined capital issue of ever )6O0,- O0O. .0OV.
 Then tho bubble burst again Floods and fires sweU1 the Aelcs Produc- uoA was not Da1ntained and the wild cat companies tOpplsd over right and left like . row of bricks. carrying down to ruin thousands who had in vested their entire capital.
 Drake, the inventor of modern drill ing methods. who kns~ oil as few men knew 1t, was among tAsn He lost all his property in speculation and his family was reduced to actual want. His former AssOciAtes made up . purse to relieve hts nece ssities Sub seQuently the state granted him pension of Sl.5 5eO year fer the ssrv- ices he had rendered the country.
 This nation is facing a similar era of speculation at present. Tho meth ods of frsdulent promoters in selling stock have been somewhat refined, but the dangers of getrich-Quick invest ments are not lese than af,er the Civil War.
 Repeated proof Of the dangers Of stock speculation he3 been given The @0s. seCUce protection 2gaia tho ll"e ts ~loh ,Hysstme5.ts is careful ard c"GFc ,@nt 0us saving and regular. safe and secure invest:le.t ;a government s as,ties: War Savings Stamps. ''ce@s Irg S2Y.rgs Ger dcates and Lib CT. Ponds Thev Co rot guarantee ''.r.d .ds semtda''y except aunday." &ut 'ar. to 5;!1rau 1n security against los, coupled v.th sure profit.
 'Heoesn-y Savings Certificates and S>yiS ss S,aails hay the advantas se oi S!N.ys being cas..ahie fol more 4Aae was reid for hem
 
 Liher;y Bonds at present prices. of sar aa inve ;aeni pportunlty that w.il rot he equallad ain probably. .a this generation. Financial authori ties unite in predicting that all issues will sell above par a. two are now