Abilene weekly reflector., 1922-05-11
NATIONAL BLUE SKY BILL

Canadian farm mortgages are
classified with Canadian whiskey, as
cOntraband commodities not eligible
for importation, by the DenisOn Blue
Sky Bill, according to bulletin is
sued by the Farm Mortgage Bank
ers Association of America. AS the
bill was formally approved by the
house committee ON interstate and
Horeign commerce and has passed
the house, this affront to our good
friends on the North Is unfortunate,
but it will never pass the senate in
this form.
The bill Is patterned after the
Webb Kenyon Act and the Mann
Act. 1t is an attempt to apply pro-
hibitory principles to the regulation
of legitimate interstate commerce.
1t Is a tumble of contradictions, the
bulletin states. 1t forbids mailing
letters, circulars or pamphlets across
state lines into states where dealers
in securities have failed to comply
with any of the most trivial techn-
calties Of state laws, but 1t permits
unlimited advertising in newspapers.
As Kansas has law excluding
newspapers advertising cigarettes
and several states prohibit newspa-
per advertising of certain classes of
securities, before the bill becomes a
law it will doubtless be amended to
regulate newspaper advrtising OF Sc
curities In all states. 1t conflicts
with the Federal Farm Loan law
by making 1t Illegal to offer for sale
through interstate mails first mort
cages on productive, cultivated farm
lands If they are not equipped with
buildings. 1t permits the sale of GER
tain classes of bonds when the col
lateral supporting them may be OF
less market value than the bonds or
fered for sale, but 1t forDids the sale
of second mortgages on real estate
regardless of the margin of Safety.
1t authorizes the legislatures of for
ty-eight (4S) states to create crimes
against the postal system, although
congress from the adoption of the
constitution has been the regulating
authority Of the mails. 1t provides
AoI AhSs Us AiSu 40 pc,VoV uhu I'LL
prisonment not exceeding five years
for violation Of Its provisions where
no fraud is intended and none COM
mitted.
This proposed federal statute is
unique in that it is not to supersede
any state law now existing or here
after enacted. Instead Of promoting
uniformity 1t increases the confusions
that now exists.
An alert legal representative in
each of the forty-eight states will be
required If this bill passes, by every
company doing national business,
to avoid technical violations of state
laws. Legislative acts and decisions
Of state courts are constantly chang
ing state laws. The Denison Bill al
lows the department Of justice at
Washington sixty (80) days in
which to secure this information,
but dealers in securities will be liza
BILE to penalties during the period
that Washington officials are unin-
Standard securities are handled on
very small margins Of profit. Relia-
BILE dealers will curtail their business
areas, because profits will not war
rant maintaining expensive bureaus
Of legal research to avoid penalties
for technical mistakes in no way
Dealers in securities of
doubtful value, yielding large mar
gin of profit, viii send travelling
to mail letters with
IN limits of states where securities
are offered for sale and to make boot
eg deliveries. They can also afford
o establish temporary local state
agencies and thus avoid additional
leayy penalties provided by the
1enison bill.
There is no provision in this bill
o punish a Nebraska citizen for
writing letter to New YORK to pur- !
'hase bond advertised in a Chi I
ago paper circulated In Nebraska I