The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-08-21
THIS CITY HAS BEEN
 EASY
Treasurer Hawley of the Bridgeport Savings
 Bank Says Bridgeport
 Has Been BOnbarded
 With Gold Bricks
 Little Difference in ' Any of Them.

sthe last eighteen months. Yes, you could say that Bridgeport has been bombarded with gold-bricks. I don't know that we have had any more than New Haven and Waterbury and those towns. possibly but we have had our share and the worst of it is that so many Bridgeport people have pat their hard-earned savings into them" said s. M. Hawley, treasurer of the Bridgeport Savings Bank to a Times man yesterday. j
 While the war was on there was not much chance for gold-brick pro- motors; there were too many Liberty Bond drives going on. but lately they have appeared in numbers. Some only stay around a short time. gather iq what they can. and go away aftepar- ranging for an agent to represent them. Others simply disappear and leave no trace while occasionally a concern opens an office and stays on for quite a while. One of the latter sort is the H. V. Greene Company of Boston, a concern which can not do business in Maine and New -Iamp- shire because of the laws which those states have for the protection of in vestors"
 There is very little difference in any of hem- The appeal is practically the same, and the result is the same. Without knowing anyone connected with the company. without any in- vestigation, these people .yallow the story of a stranger and in the hopes O. great returns hand over their money for a piece of engraved paper, and in nine out of ten cases they 1night just as well fling it off the dock"
 There seem to be two kinds of peo- ple selling this sort of thing. Those who know that they are selling gold bricks and do it deliberately and an other class who really believe that the things have the value which is claim ed for them. To this class belonged an attractive young woman who came no me and showed me some circulars md stock certificates and asked my opinion of them. I found she was a school teacher who was looking for a 1neans of earning some money during her vacation. After I had pointed out lcertain things in connection with the stocks I do not think she made any Further efforts to sell them"
 There are three things which should be considered in buying securities. 1rirst the security, second the interest, and third their marloetability, and nhis is a point often overlooked. If 9. security can not be disposed of, if One should need or want to, with Comparative ease it is worthless"
 '-Is there no way to prevent this Bort of thing?" the Times man asked.
 Some states have passed what are caNed fblue-sl1y laws which require Ehat all securities before they may be offered for sale must be investigated by officials of the state and if they are not satisfied with the showing of Hhe investigation the security is bar red out We should have something of the kind in Connecticut. Until we do the only remedy I know is pub sicity.''
 "One story which these agents tell which seems to have met with suc- .cess is to the effect that the promoter E1s offering the very same sort of thing which has made the Big Boys trich, and that if the little fellow will invest that he can hope for the same sort of success as the Morgans and ERockefeilers-
 "A moments thought would show rhow impossible it is for these stocks ito do what is claimed for them. Most agents represent that the money re- ,ceived for the sale of the stock is to rbe used to buy equipnient or pay for . manufacturing or both. Probably not more than 60 per cent. of 1t would be available for use after the cost of selling it had been paid The agents get a commission of from five to ten per cent there are men above them who draw commissions and salaries which together with other items of overhead must use up al least 35 or 40 per cent. On such a basis a concern would be paying some Is or IA per cent. for its money which would make failure cretair from the start.
 Several instances have come to rny notice recently where people have los money which they have been carefully saving for years One man in mid de life came to me with some elab crate certificates which he had paiC more than thousand dollars for anc
 wanted me to sell them for him. told him what I feared, but neverthe less wrote around to a number O places and tried to dispose of them Of course no one would buy them They were worthless. Another cas, was that of man who came in tt draw $500 with which to purchas some shares of questionable stock.
 talked the matter over with him. Hi wife, it seems, had bought some O the stock and had received a, dividend on 1t and had reproached him becaus ke was never willing to branch out.
 thought I had him convinced, but a last he said that he would never b able to go home and face his wife
 he did not have the stock and &
 away he went with the money. No
 long ago an old man came to m
 broken hearted and in tears. He ha put s3.700 into some such investment
 For a time some returns had com
 back but they had stopped. Tn
 money represented the savings of
 lifetime and were to be used to edu cate his daughter"