The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1919-12-11
Reckless Investment Followed by
Heavy Losses When Market
Goes to Pieces.
GOVERNMENT SECURITIES
REMAIN SAFE AND SOUND
Uncle Sans Bonds "Good as Gold"
While General Slump Wipes
Out Fortunes.

New Semi-panicky declines
in the stock market and subsequent
relapses from the partial recovery,
with heavy forced liquidation of light
ly m%argined holdings OF the popular
market favorites on the New York
stock exchange have demonstrated
cleary the dangers Of speculation.
For six months the stock market ad.
vanced, slowly at first and with the
usual "proft-taking reactions and in
recent weeks going up by leaps and
bounds in some departments Of the
market, notably oil, motor and other
industrial" shares. Then in q few
days there has been a decline wiping
out much of the advance of months
in some stocks practically all Of the
advance.
There was reason behind the ad.
vance, but a speculative craze carried
1t beyond reason. Eastern market
reports for months have carried men.
ton of buying by 1.-The public" High
wages, wal profits, the prosperity Of
industry and agriculture have given
many the ftver to speculate.
investments Prove Disappointing.
Financing of new and old corpora
tions by stock, bond and rote issuea
called for hundreds of millions of dol.
lars. Issues Of preferred stock alone
since January l have totaled more
than $500, 000,0 900 and common stock
a billion more. Foreign loans with
more in prospect to finance Europe's
buying added to the burden. The
immense buying power Of the oun
try shouldered the load, but specu.
lation in listed shares was getting
out of bounds. Money rates began
to show the strain. Three weeks
ago call money in New York rose
to 1870, the next week to 300 and last
week to 800, the highest point since
the panic Of 1907. Renewals touched
14%, the highest in years, and time
money hit so. The advance was .
warning from the banks to go slow.
"Pools" and "tipsters' began to draw
in their horns.
The. decline was orderly until in
sufficiently margined accounts were
liquidated. Then came a smash,
General Motors new common stock.
which had scared to 406h dropped
to ESQ, Mexican Petroleum from
255% to 1856, Texas company from
33S to 2S6, Studebaker from 143% to
10SA, American Tobacco from 3O7A
to 24o, Crucible Steel from 23a
to 200 and SO on down the list
Even U. s. Steel, the porverbial mar
ket barometer, declined from 1929
to 1913.
The break extended throughout
the list, less marked of course in
lower priced stocks. The bond mar
ket also suffered.
PeriIs Of Speculation Shown.
Since the eliminating slump there hal
to around 20 to 45 points In stocks w 1ick
suffered most on the decline but down
swings followed the recoVeries and thu
marked atmosphere Is not yet considered
cleared.
In a nutshell a speculative craze Sc,
Reserve Board against Misrepresentation
and the crash came.
No better illustration of the permanent
and fixed value OF government securitiet
can be found than in the present unset,
tied market. War Savings Stamps and
Liberty Bonds continue their interes'
bearing career unaffected by the Storm
of fina-cial stress that overtake less
favorable securities.