The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-03-07

$6,000,000,000 has been swindled from
American investors by slick stock
statesmen during the last four years,
according to officials who are engaged
in nationwide probe of bucket shops
and fake stock propositions. Most of
this money, it was said, was nulcted
from poor widows and working men,
who entrusted their savings of years
into the hands OF smooth sharpers.
With federal agents taking hand,
and full cooperation promised by At
torney General Daugherty, a general
cleanup OF illegal stock transactions
is seen by officials who are pushing
prosecutions against the alleged bro
kers.
While New York city leads in the
prosecution of bucket shop promoters
in the present nationwide cleanup
campaign there are a total of 4S0 cases
in federal courts, according to Attor-
ney General Daugherty, in which 874
persons have been arrested or indict-
ed.
Most of the cases, the attorney gen
eral explained, wsre fake oil stock COM
panies. although the swindling schenl-
es ranged from bucket shops and min
ing stocks to patent elephant catcher"
promotions. Rich harvests are reaped
by swindlers, he asserted, because PEG
pie do not take pains to investigate
what they put their money into
Missouri Led in Victims.
Quoting from his reports, Mr..
Daugherty said the northern district
OF Missouri led in the amount involv-
ed in pending fake stock cases, with
a total of S31792,000. The attorney
general estimated that $3,500,000 had
been sunk in the Florida Everglades
land scheme, in which most OF the IN
vestors bought water instead OF earth
for their cash OUTLAWS.
More than 100000 persons have
been victimized by bucket shop opera
tors in New York city alone in the
last year, according to an estimate by
District Attorney Banton. The VIC
TINS range from the poor and unitlat-
ed to the moderately wealthy and well
informed, who probably would not
have Jared as badly as they did had
not the stock market been so favor
able to operations Of the bucketeers.
Reputable Brokers in Arms
Officials of the New York Stock
Exchange and the Consolidated TX
change are cooperating in the efforts
to "clean up Wall street" Reputable
brokers welcomed the inquiry as
means of Kidding the financial district
of a long standing evil.
Scores of bucketeers are under ar
rest, released on heavy bail, or have
left for parts unknown. Many trms:
after going through bankruptcy and
then opening Offices again are closing
up rapidly. Books and documents OF
MANY of the bankrupt firms have been
seized, showing the fleeing has been
widespread
MANY OF those who have related
their experiences to the district attor-
news office are persons of small means
who could i'll afford to lose their saw
ines. Some of the manipulators, mas
ouerading as bona-fide brokerage
houses, used Ponzi methods, according
to the investigators
A favorite scheme, it was said, was
to lull the unsuspecting investor INTO
a state of security by paying him cash
dividends for time. The bucket shop
operator would explain to the investor
when he bought bonds that coupons
were not issued because this would
involve unnecessary bookkeeping. AT
ter receiving dividends for month or
two the investor would seek out his
broker" only to learn that he had
disappeared, leaving behind some fine
office furniture but no forwarding adj
dress.
Many Women Fleeced.
Many women are among the victims
of smooth stock statesmen and bucket
shop Scouts" In the majority OF cas-
es, however, the women, while want
ing the sharpers prosecuted do not
want to be drawn into the case as wit
nesses because they do not want their
husbands to know that they have been
playing the market"
MANY persons who had worked
ceaselessly for years at small wages
have lost every cent of their life saw
ings to the ruthless money sharks:
Families have been left in want and
privation. Widows have innocently
given their ali to the bucketeers, ex-
pecting to reap a coy income Tor the
remainder OF their lives, only to lose
their incomes and now stand on the
brink of starvation.
All Glasses Involved.
A ianitress told the district attorney
that she drew from the bank her en-
tire life savings, amounting to $1,000,
to give to three men who were form
ing a brokerage concern and who
promised to buy her stock which
would pay big dividends. A few days
later the firm failed and the woman
learned the three men had added her
mite to the sum they had heeced else
where and then left the country
A policeman told Of losing his So
600 nest egg, which was invested III
stock paying seven per cent, when nc
turned it over to buck shop which
guaranteed to pay him II per cent.
One man told the district attorney ne
dropped $4,000 in eight months IN
deals which he discovered too late
were crooked.
Many investors were placated, &C
cording to the Investigators, when the
bucket shop operators sent them sales
confirmation slips showing that stock