The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-01-31
''0VE A MINUTE" RATIO
VERY MUCH TOO LOW
,,rcT1Ms FAIRLY RUSH TO
MEET CLEVER sWINDLERs
AND GRAB BOGUS SHARES.
nj STOCK STILL SELLS WELL

OIL SlOCN JILL
r,.o birth Rate of Suckers" Is High
~ Todav Than Ever Before. SHARP
srso Reaped Harvest of More
Than $500, 100000 Last Year.
T., wears gone by the gold brick
IL ~ and oil stock statesmen were
d ''s 5,',2,csssiul that P. T. Barnum once
s 81 sUILd that a sucker is born every
Is s;,,''t@ Today, with modern inven-
num- ..In. and = public just as eager to be
. Ilo..r the "sharperS" find the birth
.o.o Even higher, and their profits
are are so much the greater.
1t has been estimat9eodd o t ma od M inc
last year more than $8OO,0OO'OoU mas
bcen thrown away by the people OF
,be -nited States on wildcat
,cben1r, that range from oil stock to
,laking metal from horses hoots and
.ytracfing gold from sea water. Ac-
-ording to statistics there are more
..srrLrrs" in the country today than
Mr.. Barnum imagined.
MANY Took French Leave.
During the last year hundreds OF
stock brokers have been arrested n n
,.grious cities for selling "wildcat"
stocks. In many cases, however, the
.broLers" were tipped off. that they
were beng watched and, like the
Arabs they folded their tents and
stole away. With them went the mon
4 w OF ministers, department-store
d Clerks, stenographers, telephone opera
far, housewives and business men.
There are at the present time, it is
4 estimated. approximately 1000 buck
IF shops" in the United States. Ii
These 1000 shops are to remain open
thew must have 500 a day each,
Which. in year OF 800 days, means
an income of $30,000,000 annually for
office expenses alone. This is to meet
the expense OF wire and ticker SER
vices and blackboard boys, with the
gullible public paying the cost.
A Favorite Trick.
A favorite trick OF the bogus stock
salesman is to secure from the tele-
phone list or directory the names OF
physicians, ministers and school teach
crs. The salesman makes a call and,
bv his persuasive voice, is usually able
10 sell at least ten shares of a certain
stock for 81 a share. A few days later
s another agent calls and offers 81 a
share for the stock, but the buyer,
instead OF reselling, buys more stock
i from the second salesman. The slick
statesmen then disappear and the buyer
realizes that wallpaper is much cheaper
than the paper he has purchased.
A mushroom bucketshop in Phila-
.delphia year ago played wonderful
~ O4 4In +nla
phone directory the operators took
2C00 names. and to these addresses
they sent trade letters. To 1000 OF the
addresses these so-called brokers stat
ed that certain stock was due for
sudden rise. To the other 1000 per-
sons went similar letters stating that
this selt-same stock was due for tall.
In this manner the bucket shop keep
ers made 1000 friends who thought
the brokers knew what they were talk
ing about when the stocks did go up.
This was followed by telephone calls
tor orders and many shares were pur-
chased. The 1000 persons who were
told the stock would go down were
not bothered again.
The following day out went LOCO
letters to the ones to whom the
'guess-right' letters had been sent In
this instance 500 letters predicted an
advance in the stock and to the re-
mainder went word OF a decline. This
LETT 500 customers who would by this
time swear by the prophets. When
the list was completed, and the bro
Kers had made a nice haul, new names
were taken from the telephone direc
tory and the process repeated.
Prominent Names a Factor
A iayorite trick of the stock swim
d'ers-that is the mushroom variety
that bloom overnight, fleece the in
nocents, and then departs to adopt
the trade name of prominent bankers,
or the name of a building in which
they establish luxuriously furnished
suites. Then they sit back and listen
TO tbc dollars clinking into their cot
lers from the pockets OF the unsus-
pectng, who believe they are dealing
with the sons OF. the financial wizards
OIL a generation ago.
ANY secret process to manufacture
anything is one OF the favorite founda
4on> on which to construct a swindle.
1t seems to cloak charlatanism and
furnish tempting appeal to human
..--' VI IOlIS ago OOiilEdiS
was .armed in one of the large east
ern critic, to make cosmic bearings for
automobiles and airplanes. The pro-
cess was kept secret, it being decided
MOI to even patent the process because
vi ne danger OF its being stolen.
When the secret was revealed at
directors meeting, after the proper
amount OF stock had been disposed of,
Il read as follows: TO 100 pounds OF
metal add Jour ounces of horse-hoof
ParIngs, three ounces OF borax, two
oanCes on powdered glass and one
ounce .g9 OF sea salt. Alter copper, lead
ana ana I'LL are fluid put in horse-hoof par
-s' and stir well, then add glass, bo-
''A and sea salt combined, then stir"
A Good Formula.
40: Not the least amusing thing in rela-
-. gi 10 the formula was that it is all
.ts"r The company expected to make
-'-s '9,ncoctlon at cost OF Is cents
p ...L and sell it at IS cents, but a
l.3sGlher to the stock who could not