The Washington times., 1920-04-15
Intrepidity Of Ryan in Pres
ent Sutz Motor Situa-
hon Openly Admired.
NJ BOERsIANER.

'Welcher' Is an ugly Dut express
sive word. Nowhere Is its meaning
better understood than In the United
States and Great Britain. Not be-
cause welchers are more numerous.
but for the honorable reason that
Americans and British are peculiarly
sensitive to its Implication. In the
old days on the English race tracks
a welcher not infrequently forfeited
his life.
When the term welching is applied
to the Stock Exchange and, In these
days. II imparts a shock as rude and
unexpected as when a high standing
institution takes a low and mean ad-
vantage TO evsde an obvious obliga-
tion. IL Is anti-American, anti-Eng-
llsh. Yet the word is now heard
throughout the financial thorough
! fares and Its utterances has been In
cited by the Stutz Motor Car Com
pany affair.
The intrepidity of Mr.. Allan A.
Ryan. chairman OF the Stuts Board.
Is openly admired. Plainly he has
the nerve, boldness and also the i'm
petuosity OF youth. Courage always
IL admirable. even IL II is somewhat
marred by indiscretion.
Upon the othe. hand the New York
stock Exchange authorities hav
stock Exchange authorities have
street. put on the defensive by tho
gallant onslaught OF Mr.. Ryan, who
wishes to resign from the Stock Ex-
change, has asked the exchange to
remove the Stutz shares from the
bourse list (which has been granted),
and to cap all. revealed that the COM
mittee which ordered the suspension
OF trading in Stutz shares are one
and all either short of the stock per-
sonally. or have customers who short
ed the certificates.
The revelation is serious since 1t
implies that the judges judged and
sentenced in case in which they
were interested.
There is. however. something TO be
| said for the Stock Exchange as such.
The amount of Stutz shares is small,
not only relatively but positively.
This Limitation and the character Of
the certificates renders rigging"
easy; SO easy, indeed, that the inner
circle must needs be superhuman to
| resist the temptation to control the
! speculation. Mr.. Ryan's disclosure
is an acknowledgement that the in
siders knew the shortage and the
names of the shorts.
Broadly considered. anybody whs
l
of making a delivery, regardless of
price. But there are shades and
differences which modify and extenu-
ate the broad fiat.
II Mr.. Barney NJ. Baruch, or a like
virtuoso. were caught short OF an
easily manipulated stock, mercy were
misplaced. He and his like know
what is what in all the involution and
Icopvolutions OF the Stock Exchange.
But take the other extreme: A re-
Gently recruited customer of the aver-
age commission house. This victim
! may or may not try to analyze the
latest statement OF the Stutz Com
pany. In either circumstance StutE
at par may look too high to one who
has been innocently infected with the
prevalent desire for "big and quick
action
To class him in the settlement with
a Barney Baruch were cruel and un-
Just. In his behalf, therefore, the in
| tercession Of the Stock Exchange au-
thorities were nighly commcndable.
There should be, therefore, a gra-
dation in any punitive move, not for
getting the prcmises--that Stutz
could have been cornered by the turn
of the hand.
Notoriously the imperiousness of
the late ]. +. Morgan in giving an i'm
perative buying order in a market
known to him to be susceptible of be-
! ing concerned brought on the corner
which sent the price to 1000 a share.
But the contestants acted quickly and
promptly once the damage was done.
Tho Stock Exchange and it's Guthori-
ties were merely anxious onlookers.