The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1922-10-05
Save Suckers
Says Senator
Senator Capper of Kansas
Gives Some Startling
Figures on Swindle Sue
cess.

per, that fire eating but level headed
Kansas editor and leader, talks out
in meeting in the following. There
are few persons in the United States
who have saved money but have
known the inSiduous approach of the
fake stock salesman and a majority
Of them have fallen victim to his wiles
some time or other. Senator Capper
from long and exhaustive study of the
situation is in a position to explain
what happens and what is to be done
about it.
The late p. T. Barnum of circus
fame is reported to have said, "One
is born every minute" The word
"one" is meant sucker. The saying
has long been a chronic witticism.
1t is the general excuse for and the
explanation of the 1R to 2 billion
dollars DOT hat every year is stolen
from one Of our thriftiest, most in
d%ustrious, most desirable classes, the
small investors.
In a time OF world stress, when
every dollar is needed to keep legiti-
mate industries going, when all re-
sources are absolutely essential in re.
storing a war-torn world and in feed
ing starving millions, in such a time
this great American public-the fair
est, most enlightened public in the
world-permits this continual robbery
and it with a silly joke. But
the joke is no longer on the sucker-it
is on the great American public.
The starving millions In Russia and
Armenia could be taken care of with
the money that Americans give to
swindlers not in gambling but for
fraudulent securities that will not pos
slbly return a penny. The soldiers
bonus could be taken care OF without
a cent Of public expenditure, if the
money hat swindlers steal from small
investors annually were put to that
use. II the money that Americans
put into fraudulent stocks and bonds,
wildcat and blue sky ventures were
turned over to the United States treas
ury virtually all our war taxes could be
abolished and the wal debt could be
paid off without %burdening the people.
That figure, one-half billion dollars,
is given by the Federal Trade Com
mission as the size of the annual loot
that ~"financiers" of the Ponzi type
steal from small investors, every cent
of it taken by fraud, chiefly through
the sale of fraudulent Of worthless
securities.
Thrift and industry are essential 70
peace and happiness. Idleness and
gambling promote crime and poverty.
Robbing the industrious and the thrifty
drags that class down and adds it to
the shifty element made up of gam
blers and criminals. Not only does
this annual stealing of one-half billion
dollars breed crime, it takes from the
Nations power to produce more pros
perity and more happiness. Where
fore, that One is born every minute
has not a grain Of humor in it. 1t is
a senseless attempt to laugh at trag-
edy, at systematized robbery that is
more disastrous than was the piracy of
the 18th century.
In n day in February more than
200 complaints were made to the ad-
ditional grand jury in New York City
which vas making a special investi-
cation Of the enormous business Of
swindling that has grown up in New
York and other cities. A majority of
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