New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-05-25
Some That Have Land Have
No Time or inclination to
Waste Money That Way,
Investigators Here Find
Cents Worth Brings Is
Assistant District Attorney
Dooling Reveals More
Details of New Frauds

Evidence that some of the oil com
panles selling stocks to the New York
public by way of the Broad Street
Curb, the mails and personal solicita-
ton have neither wells nor lands on
which wells may be drilled, has been
presented to John T. Dooling, Assist
ant District Attorney, who, with Edwin
+. Kllroe, has succeeded to the direc-
ton Of the Bureau of Commercial
Frauds. 1t is this class of companies,
1T is said, that is selling to those who
can least afford to lose-the very
poor who seek fortune by exchanging
Liberty bonds for prettily engraved
certificates and big promises.
The evidence thus far discovered
shows many concerns of which the
general newspaper reading public have
never heard, these being sold through
the so-called Sucker lists" of fly-by-
night promotion houses. These lists
are made up Of the names of persons
who have dabbled in wild cat finance
in the past and who in oil seek a chance
to win back what they lost in worth
less mining stocks.
Mr.. Dooling said yesterday that
chambers of commerce and other COM
mercial bodies in Texas and Okla
homa have been asked to supply def
mite information as to the holdings
and standing of companies purporting
TO operate in those states. Some of
these have reported, Mr. Dooling says,
That OF companies having leases many
nave but q few weeks to run.
The vigilance committee of the As
soclated Advertising Clubs of America
yesterday made public the report on
the advertising Of the recently formed
OIL companies. While it finds that
scme of the companies have real meri.
and prospects of success, it also finds
that 50 per cent Of the advertising of
all OF the companies is "hamboyant.
misleading and deceptive" containing
promises that "do not stand one chance
IN thousand of fultiment.'
The report shows the methods by
which stock costing the companies
from one cent share upward is sold
tor 70 cents a share and upward, the
difference going into the pockets of
those who promote the companies
and tor brokers' commissions and over
head expenses. These latter, mainly
for advertising, are heavy.
William P. Green, who wrote the re-
port of the committee, says that in his
in Oklahoma he found
many companies that had no desire to
lind oil. Their chief interest, he found,
was IN peddling the stock, and they had
neither the time nor the inclination TO
waste money on such thing as pc
troleum. Their stocks once sold, the
companies dry up and the promoters
seek other fields.
According to the information reach
ing members of the New York Curb
Market Association. which admits its
to prevent outsiders making
use Of the Broad Street public market
to finance worthless stuff, much of the
promotion is the work Of men who in
other years have flooded the country
with worthless Goldfeld, Cobalt, Por-
cupine, Dome and Arizona mining
stocks. 1t is the same old crowd, with
the same old methods. The only thing
new is the names of the companies.
Edward S. Brogan, whose retirement
from the District Attorneys Office and
the criticism which followed spurred
the investigation into the oil COM
panies, said yesterday that in his in
vestigations into fraudulent stock COM
panies he was not, as has been re-
ported, handicapped by political in
fuences.
"The inference that this IL the case
and the reason / retired is unfair" he
said. ~ was never interfered with In
this way"