The Idaho recorder., 1922-03-10
Worthless Certificates Are
Eagerly Grabbed Up by
Innocent Dupes.
OIL STOCKS STILL SELLING
Modern inventions Help Crooked Sales
men Unload Stock on Unsuspectins
Buyers-"Wldcat" Brokers
Make Fortunes.

New YOrk.-In years gone by, the
gold brick artists and oil stock sales
men were SO successful that p. Il.
Barnum once remarked that sucker
is born every minute" Today, with
modern inventions and public just as
eager to be "stung," the "sharpers"
find the birth rate even higher, and
their profits are so much the greater.
1t has been estimated that in the
last year more than $S00,00O,000 has
been thrown away by the people of
the United States on wildcat schemes
that range from oil stock to making
metal from horses hoofs and extract
ing gold from sea water. According to
statistics, there are more suckers" in
imagined
During the last year. hundreds of
stock brokers have been arrested in va
rious cities for selling wildcat" stocks.
In many cases, however, the brokers"
were tipped off that they were being
watched and, like the Arabs, they
folded their tents and silently stole
of ministers, department store clerks,
stenographers, telephone operators,
housewives, and staid business men.
There are at the present time, it
is estimated, approximately 1000
'bucket shops" in the United States.
II these 1000 shops are to remain
open. they must have 500 day each,
x,rhi oh IN, af
an income of $30,0O0,000 annually for
office expense alone. This is to meet
the expense of wire and ticket services
and blackboard boys. with the gullible
paying the cost
A Favorite Trick.
A favorite trick of the bogus stock
statesmen is to secure from the tele-
phone list or directory the names of
physicians, ministers, and school
teachers. The salesman makes a call
and, by his persuasive voice, is usually
able to sell at least ten shares of a
certain stock for 81 share. A few
days later another agent calls and
offers 50 share for the stock. but
the buyer, instead of reselling, buys
The slick statesmen then disappear
and the buyer realizes that wai,paper
is much cheaper than the paper he has
purchased.
A mushroom bucketshop in Phlladel-
phia a year ago played a wonderful
game while it lasted. Out of the tele-
phone directory the operators took
..
they sent trade letters. To 1000 of
the addresses these so-Called brokers
stated that certain stock was due
for sudden rise To the other / 900
persons went similar letters stating
that this Self-Same stock was due for
q fall. In this manner, the bucketShop
keepers made 1000 friends who
thought the brokers knew what they
were talking about when the stocks
did go up. This was followed by
telephone calls for orders and many
shares were purchased. The 900 per
sons who were told the stock would
go down were not bothered again
The following day out went 1000
letters to the ones to whom the guess
right" letters had been sent. In this
instance. 800 letters predicted an ad-
vance in the stock and to the re
mainder went word of a decline. This
left 500 customers who would by this
time swear by the prophets" When
the list was completed. and the brokers
had made a nice haul, new names were
taken from the telephone directory and
the process repeated.
Prominent Names q Factor.
A favorite trick of the stock swind-
lers-that is the mushroom variety
that bloom overnight. fleece the "in-
nocents," and then depart either to a
prison eel or parts unknown-is to
adopt the .-ade name of prominent de-