New-York tribune., 1922-08-14
Unsuitable for Girl

tguegtiCn--I
the sole support Of widowed mother. and
have $1,000 which I would Ike to invest
in secure investment. The per cent
W,egy Store. no.es 0asr ot sno tb Of
Business Builders. have been offered me for
Investment; and would thank YOU 70 let
would appreciate an carly reply. as the
man who Is selling this stock said that II
didn't make up my mind within week II
sios, at whicffs they now selling. Also
kindly tell me whether the Morris Plan
ents @ fa1I II possible 3 ce9Id @ You let sn me know
the proper name of the New York office
Of the building and loan association
this u safe investment Miss a. 3.
Answer-As the sole support Of
widowed mother you ought sedulously
to stay away from securities of the
type Of the Manhattan Piggly Wiggly
Corporation. We do not consider the
interest bearing certificates, converti-
BILE into preferred stock in from three
to five years, safe investments. The
promotion is still far too untried to
consider the securities investments in
the sense In which we use the term.
They are, in our opinion, highly spec
ulative, and q girl in your position
cannot afford to risk her meager saw
ings on the promises and prospects
that James W. Elliott and his Bust
ness Builders make for the new chain
of self-service grocery stores which
are being opened in the East. The
fact that the stock salesman told you
that the company intends to increase
the price of the units from S105 to
S110 in week is no assurance that
there has been any increase in the
real value Of the units. Such men
tion of price increase is an expedient
commonly used in high-pressure stock
salesmanship to hurry prospects into
making purchases. What evidence
was given that the securities will be
worth s5 more in week? AS mat
ter of fact how can you feel certain
OF what the real worth of the Man
haitian Piggly Wiggly securities is!
Mr.. Elliott and his coworkers have not
seen fit, thus far, to make public
balance sheet and income account.
The price increase, we understand, has
gone into effect. Inquiries at the in
spiratlonal headquarters of the Bust
ness Builders brought forth the in
formation that the increase was decid-
ed on because more stores had been
opened, but Mr.. Elliott told us that
the promotion was unit proposition.
and that each $4,000 obtained from
the sale Of securities would make IL
possible to open another store. Pos
sibly the opening of additional units
Will tend to decrease the operating
costs and thus be reflected ins better
earnings. Possibly each additional
unit will be a source of loss. How
can you, or any other investment buy
er. know that the real value of the
shares has been enhanced SIS, or any
other definite sum, without receiving
financial statements showing power to
earn profits? The Morris Plan GER
tlficates, in our opinion, are good in
vestments. The Straus bonds are not
obligations of the S. w. Straus Com
pany, but of the corporations and in
dlvlduals owning particular pieces of
real estate. Strictly speaking, each
issue must be judged on its merits.
but in dealing with S. w. Straus G.
Co. you would be having relations
with a concern that has, over
long period Of years, shown good judg-
ment IN selecting properties upon
which loans are made. We do not
know what organization you have in
mind when you speak of q New York
building and loan association having
branch in New Jersey. Building
and loan associations operating UNDER
the laws of the State of New York
are carefully supervised and offer an
excellent means of saving for persons
VINO, like yourself, are in salaried no
ssltions. In selecting building and
loan association in whose shares to
invest we suggest that you choose one
shat has been in business for a fairly
long period of years and which has
demonstrated its capacity.