The Washington times., 1922-01-17
Fin ANCE|
~ AND
BUSINESS
d n 9. ToRBEa

~ n @. E0RBEA
Somebody ought to 20 to jail.
Such action might stop Stock Ex-
change failures OF the recent type,
namely, the Chandler disgraceful col
lspse. and the ugly e. w. Wagner q
Co. bankruptcy.
No guilty party responsible for the
Chandler fleeing OF the public has
yet gone to prison II current reports
practices warranting drastic action by
the authorities.
In neither case have the New York
Stock Exchange governors taken any
sction calculated to convince tho
Public that everything possible Is
Icing done to bring the wrongdoers
TO justice. The members of the Stock
Exchange are themselves safeguarded
from loss through failures, because the
bankrupt members Stock Exchange
seat can be sold for $4,000 to 100000
and the money applied to squaring
members own accounts.
The unpleasant. the ominous I'M.
rression Stock Exchange failures and
the action-or. rather, inaction--of the
Stock Exchange authorities are max.
ing upon the minds of the public Is
well revealed in the following lette,
received yesterday from a writer in !,
small town in Wisconsin,:
II have been a booster for you, ami
looked forward with expectation to
your, saying something in regard to
the failure of E. w. Wagner & Co.
II was carrying $4,000 worth Of
7 hn 10 wi hnt
had them half paid for, and now,
from what ! hear, / stand a chanc.
OF getting back only about so cents
en- the dollar.
What makes me so mad is that
there has hardly been a word said in
the press about this failure. and, be-
lieve me, IL IL had been some bucket
shop it would have been advertised
In good shape, and no doubt the
members Of the firm would have been
arrested. 1t seems high time that
the New York Stock Exchange made
some plan to protect people from a
loss when doing business with a firm
that In a member of their exchange.
II they made an ironclad ruling like
this 1t would probably stop stock
exchange firms from specializing with
money and stocks entrusted to their
care.
81 am beginning to think-and
mind-that 1t would be far better to
trade with some OF the members of
other exchanges. l would be glad to
have you see what influence you can
use to make 1t safe for a person buy
ing bonds or stocks from stock ex-
change members. OF course, l am
only a small investor, but 1 am the
one that is hardest hit when any
thing like this happens"
Whenever I travel I get all sorts
and conditions of people to talk about
Wall Street. High Finance and Stock
Exchange, Big Business and suchlikc
interests. 1 have discovered that a
great many people harbor the senti-
ment expressed in this sentence
quoted above ut seems high time
that the New York Stock Exchange
made some plan to protect people
from loss when doing business with a
firm that Is a member of their
exchange"
Now, the favorite reply Of the in
competent. the indifferent, the lazy
Is: 1T can't be done" But can't
be-doners always come to grief soon
err or late. The can-be-doners win
out in the end.
Unhappily, the stock exchange
was run far too long by cant-be.
doners. Happily. it has now been
taken in hand by can-be -doners.
Here are a thought and a suggestion
for them:
IN the days when relatively few
people had direct dealings with Wall
Street, it was not SO vitality i'm
portant for the stock exchange to
take action to safeguard the Gus
toners Of its members. Today, how
ever. thanks largely to the nation
wide distribution of war bonds, a
tremendous number of persons have
taken to buying both stocks and
bonds. Whereas the large or pro.
fessional operator used to be the
principal figure in Wall Street, the
principal figure today is the investor
of small or moderate means.
Is everything being done that
could be done to protect him from
such catastrophies as the Chandler
and the Wagner disgraceful cpl.
sodes?
think not.
The Federal Government period.
cally examines national banks, and
State governments regularly examine
State banks, trust companies and
others doing financial business with
the public. Since the Stock Exchange
is an unincorporated body the leg
islative authorities leave it pretty
much alone.
But why should not the S.ock Elk,
change governors regularly, sys
tematically- and rigidly examine the
affairs of every one Of their mem
bers who solicits or handles dealings
with the public?
The easiest answer would be, OF
course. at can't be done" II CAN
be DONE.
II 1t is not done it will be because
of opposition from members of the