Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-12
INA y Lose
Everything
In Crashes
Nebraskans Hard Hit by Stock
Selling Misunderstanding
of Years Disappear in
Failures.
Losses Taken Quietly

Game losers!
That's a designation merited by
thousands of Nebraskans, "stung"
to the tune of close to $500 O0O0000
in stock-selling promotion schemes
in the past five years, it is est'-
mated.
Next to the expose of huge losses
and alleged crooked manipulation,
the outstanding feature of the recent
bursting of the Missouri bubble is
the quiet manner in which the heavy
losers have met the crash OF their
get-rich-quick hopes.
Shame, a sense of futility and with
some, the hope for "a silver lining
to the dark cloud"--a false sense
that they may still recover, are ad-
vanced in explanation thereof.
Shame Biggest Factor
Shame is the biggest factor in the
.wall of silence" according to OF
4 hcials in closest touch with the sit
uation.
"Some of our biggest, requted 70
he cleverest business men don't
.Awant it known how completely they
vwere hoodwinked" said one. "lhey
Fprefer to set it down as business
losses. ,,
The most pitiful class of all is the
large army of conservative investors;
the frugal, hard-working men and
women who risked their all--the ac-
cumulation of years of saving. and
skimping--in one bottomless PIT.
They haven't any more good
money to send after the bad in long
legal battles.
Poor House Threatens.
Some of them are hard put to 1t
to save themselves from gong to the
poor house.
One such is woman OF o7 who
sank every cent she possessed,
4 $4,000, into the Missouri Valley
/ Cattle and Loan company. the COM
I pany of which w. A. McWhorter,
now out on $25,000 bonds, was the
head.
'I never would have done such
a thing. I knew better than to put
all nv eggs in one basket, but my
banker, in whom I had implicit con-
fdence, assured me it was as safe
as government bonds" wrote the
woman. snow I have no one to
whom to turn and at my age and
time of life must seek help from
Others"
Authorities Have Letter.
The woman's letter is in the hands
If federal authorities.
They hope to ascertain whether
her banker was one Of the bird
dogs" of stock promotion schemes
whether he betrayed his trust by
splitting commissions with stock
statesmen in return for throwing his
influence their way, or whether he,
too, was deluded into believing he
had good thing"
A heavy loser in another detunct
company was an aged Bohemian liv-
ing in Omaha who sank $4,000, his
1 accumulation for years.
"This man and his wife have been
Y in business here for years. working
hard, living simply, in order to pro-
vide for their old age and maybe a
visit back to the homeland before
they die" said friend of the fam
ily. "Now they must begin all over
again"
Endorsed Notes.
In one of the companies, expose of
whose affairs promises sensational
testimony, a group of Nebraska City
men of wealth, directors of the COM
pany. were induced to endorse COM
pany notes.
This made them individually liable
for the payment of huge sums OF
money owed by the company.
In another company country stock
purchasers paid for their stock with
farm products.
Now they have neither farm prod
ucts nor stock.
A we'll known Omaha insurance
gent lost heavily in at least three
OF the failures, principally the Lion
~ 9onding company.
Got Fingers Burnt.
"I liked to dabbles with stocks;
certainly got my fingers burnt,
he admitted ruefully.
Some prospective purchasers were
told that the land involved in COM
pany leases was government land.
These bonds are therefore the
same as government bonds,' the
most gullible were informed by
smooth talking stock salesmen.
That hundreds of stockholders are
still of the belief that with honest
management, something of their
losses may be salvaged from the
Turn to Page Two, Column One.)