Hermanner Volksblatt. [volume] (Hermann, Mo.) 1875-1928, 1919-12-05
LAMBS SHOWN ON
WALL STREET IN
LATE. sHEARIhG
FOUNDATIONS FOR MANY FOR
TUNES ToPPLE WHEN TRAoERo
GET GOOD AND READY.
SUCKER BORN EACH SECOND
Fellows on the Outside With Their
Exclusive Tips" Come to Grief
and Hold the Bag.

Just how many Missourians, Ar
kansans and Kentuckians were caught
In that collapse Of industrial securities
when Wall Street went wild recently
and their investments In speculative
securities were swept into the discard.
without a vestige Of value left for
consolation, will probably never be
known.
The newspapers are prone to pub.
fish lengthy articles about men who
invade the bulls and bears dens on
Wall Street and wrest fortunes from
those wise old gamblers. The men
who win these fortunes are never SO
modest about letting the world know
Of their good fortune Is they try to
appear, and the story is seldom slight
ed in telling. In other words, one may
safely discount the amount alleged
to have been won, and then leave a
safe margin for the Imagination Of
But losers hold their heads down in
shame and are silent as long as pos
sihle.
OF course there Is legitimate trad,
ing" in New York and the other large
financial centers. Then there is a
great volume that bereft OF the techni-
cal terms means Just gambling, pure
and simple. And It was this class that
were swept of their feet in the recent
Wall Street furry.
Tn fhiC 1afnSt cn1Ianon hnu,aunr
were several entirely new elements.
Chief among them was the entry into
| the New York speculative whirl of a
| brand new crop of millionaires. These
gentlemen acquired untold wealth in
! supplying war materials, or in the un-
| p~recedented advance in all commodity
values during and since the war. Being
ambitious to further augment their
| gains, they addressed themselves to
speculation in stocks, and for a time
it was all cold turkey" with them.
Much of the values indicated in the
quotations of many of the stocks were
| fictitious. The prosperity was build
ed on a fimsy base, and the collapse
was inevitable. And, as usual, it was
| the small fry" the investor In the
provinces" as New Workers term all
the rest of the country not contained
in Manhattan Island, that bore the
| brunt of the eruption. The old.timers,
| and the men with experience and
| money enough to carry them through
their planned campaigns, did not lose
their all, like those poor fellows who.
| successful in their own environment,
pitted their wits and their dollars
against the wits and the dollars Of
that remorseless gang of Wall Street
and are left holding the bag.
There was a warning issued long
ago by the men at the head Of the
Federal Reserve System. The in
formation disseminated by the agen-
cies of the United States Treasury
Department issued warning after
warning. But those who went down
in the financial maelstrom would not
heed. The bankers withdrew their
support. Call money went up to 80
per cent, and thus money to complete
the transactions became prohibitive.
The outcome has developed the fact
that It is perfectly well and right to
invest in well-seasoned standard
stocks and bonds, but dubious special.
ties and untried issues r excellent
properties to leave alone. No tip on
the market listing is exclusive, how
ever quietly whispered. II you have
1t be assul ed that hundreds Of others
also have the same information.
But this lesson in finance is not
without its recompense. Men who lost
heavily will probably profit in the end.
They have demonstrated they a &C
cumulate. and they will begin again,
and next time they will not endeavor
to build their financial structure on
the foundation that has proven more
unstable than sand-speculation, or,
as It is better known here in the West
Just common gambling.
There will be those who will recall
the governments warning that In the
heat of speculation was permitted to
pass unheeded. They will also recall
the fact that the United States gov
eminent, through the Savings Division
Of the Treasury Department, was dis
information that II It had
been acted upon would have averted
the disaster, and the e would be in
splendid financial shape had they done
the government advised.
.'"Fa- l
The government has been urging
and women with a surplus to in
vest their savings in Treasury Say.
ings Certificates. There is no specu-
lation here. Yet there is a splendid
interest paid. and the investment by
The widest stretch of imagination
cannot be termed gambling"
These Treasury Savings Certificates
are first mortgage bonds of the great
est country in the world. They draw
interest at the rate of APT per cent
4 held until maturity. and they have
the guarantee of the government that
hey will never go below par, and may
converted. II needs require. on ten
lays notice into cash. with a good
ate OF interest from the day thsV