The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1920-06-23
STATE SECRETARY
SEEKS REVISION
OF Blue SKY LAW
lmprovmens Needed in Present Meas
ure to Keep Step With Schemes
Framed for Evading 1t.
FAKE STOCK SELLERS
ARE FLOODING STATE
General Assembly Will Be Asked to
Provide the Means for Preventing
Further Hauls by Swindlers.
(By T. B. Conner.

Among the matters to be called to
the attention of the general assembly
which meets Wednesday next one of
the most urgent and important will be
the revision of the Georgia blue sky
law so as to bring it into line with
progressive laws of more recent en-
actment in accordance with recon-
mendations to be made by Secretary
of State, S. G. McLendon.
1t has been estimated by govern
ment experts that promoters of pure
ly speculative companies annually
swindle the people of the United
States out of more than half a bill
lion dollars. Many of these the pro-
motors themselves known to be frau
dulent. Of the half billion taken from
the people of the nation, Georgia con-
tributes her full share. AS the money
for the most part is taken out of the
state to be spent elsewhere, the loss
is not confined to the purchasers of
bad stock, but all of the people are
victims.
Georgia was one among the first
halt-dozen states to pass "blue-sky''
lay, copied largely from the then law
of Kansas, was as good as any then
in force. Since that time the promot-
ers have been busy inventing schemes
to evade the law and other states have
passed laws much more stringent than
Georgia's. Now thirty three of the
states have blue sky laws. Some of
them, Ohio, Michigan and South Da-
kota for example, have laws that are
burglar proof" in so far as crooked
promotions are concerned. The result
is that the fake stock sellers, forced
to get out of states like those above
named, are flocking into Georgia
with their wares and our laws must
be strengthened if the people are to
be protected.
Three Leading Fakes.
While the schemes of stock ped
dlers are as numerous as fleas on a
NANCY dog, the bulk of their present
operations is limited to three general
classes: oil stock, explorations OF pat
ents and oil land leases.
The three are named in the order OF
the difficulty of dealing with them
under the Georgia law. The first can
be reached in a general way and many
companies coming under this cate
CORY have been barred from the state
by Secretary McLendon. The law is
not adequate to reach the second class
but by compelling patentees to depos-
it the stock in escrow in his office
Mr.. McLendon has gone far to meet
its defects The last class cannot BIZ
handled under the law at all with the
result that lease peddlers are reapine
harvest, taking hundreds of thou
sands of dollars annually from the
state with no possibility of return.
A few figures will show the exten
of this evil. Last week the state geolo
gist of Texas wired in response to ar
inquiry from cur geologist, DR.. S. Y
McCallie, that there were only Isl
square miles of land in Texas tina
could be classed as oil-bearing. Ever
this is larger than the area of the pro
ducing territory. There are in 25t
square miles 100000 acres. Now o
the 172,000,000 of acres of land il
Texas, it is reported on good authori
ty that 100000 are under leas'
for oil rights.