The New York herald., 1922-08-28

to handle the money flooding in from my pub
fishing interests My modest Initial invest
ments In the Street grew ultimately to i'm
portant holdings.
Weird stories have been circulated about
my undertakings in the security market.
Until now they have been good-natured.
though. must say, grossly inaccurate. The
bitter charges now. because OF my stand on
the bonus, are largely founded on these in
accuracies and exaggerations with respect to
my security holdings. But inaccuracies and
exaggerations good-naturedly expressed are
one thing, and malicious, bitter and wholly
unwarranted attacks with the view to dis
crediting my newspapers In their fight against
the bonus are quite another.
While am on the subject may as well put
the record straight so that well-meaning
newspaper men will not hereafter indulge in
fantastic pictures in respect of my security
holdings when was In the market
1t was recently said that in my stock trans
actions acted on inside information, a sure
thing There has never been a sure thing
in any of my business activities, or in any
Of my financial investments. I have always
been willing to take chance on my own
Judgment, always been willing to take loss
on my own judgment.
I have never had business partner in my
publishing enterprises and other interests.
have reasoned out my y>own problems, done my
own thinking, and / followed this method
strictly In my stock transactions. In dealing
in the volatile values Of Wall Street l was
irdulging a spirit of adventure. But all the
- hIich{r
interests. Wall Street was a side issue.
Neither then nor at any time, before or
since, in my life was ! a party, directly or
indirectly to putting up, or putting down,
values Of securities. And neither then nor at
any time, before or since, in my life did
buy or sell securities on tips or on short spec"
ulative movements. I bought or sold securi-
ties on the underlying business conditions of
the country and the money conditions Of the
country as l saw them.
I bought always with view to a long term
and not short one. Getting in and out of a
stock every day, or every few days, or several
times in day, Is highly speculative; buying
for long term, that is. to hold with the ex
pectation of increased values with improving
business conditions. is like buying and selling
real estate.
But Wall Street never had any real interest
for me. My real interest and real aim in life
has been, and Is, to do constructive work, to
create something worth while. to make two
blades of grass grow where one grew before.
Money coming In from this creative work has
the seeming of real money; money coming in
from the marking up and down Of stocks isn't
the same thing with me.
With sufficient experience in the security
market to satisfy me and with some profit
not enough to get excited about withdrew
my capital from the Street and turned to
something more dramatic, more worth while,
the daily newspaper. My actual net profit
from my security holdings relatively in
consequential compared with the aggregate
profit of years from my publishing, real estate
and other interests.
/ have not owned a share of Wall Street
securities of any kind whatsoever in, should
say something like dozen years. / owned
no Wall Street securities at the beginning OF
the war owned no Wall Street securities
during the war and I have owned no Wall
Street securities since the war. j do not own
now, and never have owned, share in any
munition plant of any kind or description. l
had no connection, directly or Indirectly. with
A ~ II a