The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-27
EPIDEMICS IN
 STOCK BUYING
Rx HOLLAND.

New York, May 5.-(SpeciaL) )-In l the days some years ago when reports ! came from the far west. especially from | the Rockey mountain region of discov' | cries of precious metals, and there were
 stories told of almost fabulous riches which came to the owners of stock in
 mining properties which at one time
 were deemed of little value, the Ameri- can public was seized with mania ! for speculating in shares of gold and silver companies. There was no diff | fculty in persuading the people to buy shares they being tempted by the fact | that the shares were offered at very ! low prices, sometimes as low as a dol | lar a share. Hundreds of millions of dollars in these stocks were taken from | the people. Not until there was wide | spread demonstration of the fact that | it was like throwing money away to | buy shares in these gold and silver mining companies did the American | people at last learn their lesson and re- | fuse longer to be tempted.
 An estimate was made of the amount of money which the people invested in | the shares of worthless gold and silver mining companies in the course of l few years The estimate showed that ! the aggregate amount of these losses
 was greater than the aggregate
 amount of gold and silver which had | been taken from rich mines.
 ] Today reports from many parts of the l country suggest that a mania cur- | ous mental speculative epedemic. is 1 spreading among the people, the symp- | tom of which is the purchase of stocks | in oil companies. So many have been l the romantic and almost awe-inspiring l stories of the sudden. development of 1 n1 ia1l in gions where a few years ago no one | dreamed that oil pools existed beneath | the surface. That many people seem to l have lost their heads, being easily | tempted to invest in stocks of oil com 1 panies. There appears to be no way
 by which this epidemic of oil specula- l tion can be stopped. It seems to be use less to tell the people that there is no
 necessity for marketing with the public | stock of oil companies which are real | izing large returns upon their invest
 ment. The owners of these companies are not compelled to peddle their stock. But in some parts of the country, es- pecfally in the northwest, also in the
 east, salesmen for oil companies, who are able to talk persuasively. are dis posing of many thousands of shares.
 Some day the public will awaken to the fact that speculation of this kind is
 not only pure gambling but gambling | With all or the chances 1aVorlng the | seller of the stock.
 Yesterday an estimate was made of the amount of money which the people have already invested in cheap oil | stocks. It amounts to many millions. The frenzy still prevails and it will not pass away until the people as a whole have learned their lesson, similar to that which was taught. when cheap gold and silver mining stocks were floated throughout the United States Nevertheless the outlook is for steady 1 increase of the wealth of the country through the discovery and development of new oil properties, an increase which
 in the aggregate may amount to hun
 dreds of millions.
 MILLIONS IN OIL
 Notwithstanding the eagerness and
 courage with which capital is develop
 ing new oil properties, there seems to
 be fear lest the annual production of
 oil will not be great enough to make it I unnecessary to draw upon the reserves