New-York tribune., 1922-02-19

would ingeniously invent seemingly plausible
excuses. Some Of The shops kept Is per cent
of the amount Of the securities required. and
would use them over and again 10 show TO diff
ferent customers to assure them that the stocks
and bonds hand. Sometimes the
bucketeer would borrow securities to show 20
bis skeptica customers.
The irregularities in such cases are often
technical, becoming evident only to one who
inteiligently read the books Where Il
bucketeer purchased securities and then rcsold
them, the selling would frequently be done
through dummy account in The name Of a
real person who we'll paid for the use Of
his cognomen. Sometimes the bucketeer would
run two separate offices under different names
and would buy through one and sell through
the other for the purpose Of appearing to carry
out the orders Of his customers and yet avoid
the expense Of retaining securities.
The bucketeer Stimulates the real broker, and
the layman often has difficulty in separating
the sheep from the goats. The faker fre-
quently operates the telephone, calling up
strangers to inform them Of easy opportunities
quickly to attain the wealth Of Crosus. The
bucketeer employs business getters" to attract
'suckers' to the Office and pays them comrns-
the broker by his customer The questionable
broker often offers reduced rates for executinq
orders and agrees to keep down interest
charges on debit balance. Where he makes
Impossible concessions he protects himself
either by bucketng or by incorrectly reportinr
the purchase or sale price to the customer.
INFINITE are the variety Of tricks used bv the
lllegltlmate and although many Of the device
hay hoo frio
constantly new notifications Thus far atton-
ton has been given only to improper brokerage
IN executing orders for bona fide securities Of
real worth. There is besides the whole oucs
tlon of swindling and MISUNDERSTANDING r.
inc pubhc new issues Of little or no intrinsic
worth At least half billion dollars a wear
- 'liuCered away by Americans in careless Sc
c"r'y purchases official estimates Indicate
Since the sale Of Liberty bonds heightened
pubic interest in investment the number Of
oondhoders has jumped from 100000 into the
millions, and the newer investors are tho s,,o
clal prey OF the takers The banker OUGHT H.
be the natural advisor Of the small purchase,
OF securities. Before selecting a broker the
person who wants to exchange cash FOR. secllr-
ltles ought to ascertain from an independent
source. such as a banker or reputable news
paper, information regarding his intogritv
Unless qualified by special knowledge Tho or
dlnary purchaser ought 10 seek indcpcndcnt
advice also regarding securites
For the purpose of guiding It's reader in
The delicate task Of selecting a broker The
Tribune has vigorously excluded from lis ad
vertlslng columns all except those vcnders of
securities IN whose integrity il has reason t.
believe.
Various forces operating 10 cut dogr
the ranks Of the bucEeteers whose numbers
sweed with great rapidits in the last two and
half years. The efforts of the law-enforcinp
agencies and the attendant publicity have
alarmed the vioators and have warned many
victims, who have been demanding their Sc
curitics after paying up debit balances. or
when it was impossible to take up tho securi-
ties, have had their accounts transferred tc
reputable brokers when their own agent Wa
unable to satisfy them of his legitimacy
Illicit Brokerage thrives partly as q result
Of the imperfcctions in tho legitimate financial
machinery and partly as a result of the greed
OF the public. The salvation lies in making
the whole business of finance conform more
precisely to the requirements Of society and
also III education. For the ordinary mortal
speculation, even when executed by honest
brokers, is usually profitess adventure
whereas sound investment is reasonably sure
road to the accumulation of the means of stay
ing out of the poorhousc toward the end Of an
active life Speculation involves unusual risk
in the hope Of making a huge profit. Invest
mcnt, on the other hand looks forward only
to regular income and safety Of principal.
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