San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-11


New Norh, Feb. 1O.-Big dividends
That is the bait that lures millions to
sink an aggregate Of half billion dol
lars annually in humbug stock schemes.
In more comprehensive figures, that is
500, 900 times $1,000.
In many years of investigation ! have
watched vast army of gullible people
mostly the poor, the wage-earner, the
understandable their savings in spite
of repeated warnings.
Oil and mining stocks have taken
the most. Oil is easy because tales
of fortunes made over night in the oil
fields surpaSs the widest romances.
There is always something new in
the game of Fleeing the public. In
this article ! am describing some OF the
newest schemes.
Texas is proving the birthplace OF
up-to-date ideas in high finance. One
of the new get-rich-Quick schemes.
born of the fact that it is increasingly
difficult for promoters TO secure advcr-
Using space in reputable oil journals or
newspapers is publication by promoters
themselves of independent oil jour
nails"
Infrequently an honest oil promoter
frankly invites the public to gamble
with him. More often the promotion is
fraud.
Builds Up the Sucker List.
BY printing and circulating his own
spurious publication a promoter builds
up a sucker list Then. by rcsorting
TO the United States mails, he drives
home the STOCK sale appeals of one pro-
motion after another.
These papers pose as Thanksgiving
organs of public welfare. but while they
condemn other oil company promotions.
they try 10 deceive their readers into
believing their own promotions are hon
est and legitimate.
Sometimes they offer TO give shares
OF stock and acreage TO those subScrib-
ing to the paper. Another method is
To sell tips. One promoter of this kind
sold shares for as little as n quarter
of n cent each.
Another offered subscribers an assign
ment of five acres of land for each S.
sent him in subscriptions. InveStiga-
ton showed leases on the land for drill
ing could be bought in the open market
for 10 cents an acre.
Blind Pools Flourish.
Blind pools. very much akin to the
notorious POnEi swindlc. still flourish in
spite of the Ponzi fiasco and imprison-
mrnt
Gullible people are still being fleNced
of millions by this distinctive swindling
scheme. A blind pool is technically
known as q participating syndicate,
or discretionary DOOl"
Five such pools were closed by tho
| authorities in single month. Yet 9th
crs arc now running in big cities.
| know of half dozen in New Gorl
| alone. Three in Baltimore at one tim,
had no fewer than 600 members Th,
branch office Of another blind pool
which had five branchcs-took in 81;
100000 in single year.
The blind pool scheme IL this:
firm advertiSes it will buy and sell any
| kind Of bonds on the partial payment
| plan. the customer drawing interest ou
the whole principal from the beginning
Then the customers are told that a
| quicker way TO make money il through
the firms participating syndicate. -
High Dividend Offer.
Prospective clients are assured Of
from 20 per cent to 100 per cent in
yenrly dividends, payable monthly by
signing an agreement to nay the firm
20 per cent on their profits and gjvine
the POOLS agents full right to trade
with their money rs the agents sec fit
The claim is made that high-class So.
Curities are bought and sold and that
big profits can be made by forming a
lnrgn pool and operating with sum
sufficiently large 10 "dircct the move
ment" of important issues or tho stock
exchange and working on inside in
formation"
Whether blind pool operators actually
do any buying or selling is a mystery.
They keep going by distributing in divi-
dends n small percentage Of the golden
flow of money into the office. When
something intPrfc-es with the enlistment
Of fresh ""lients" the dividends cease
and the blind pool proDrictors fade away
with the bulk of the clients cash.
Here's New One.
One of the recently conceived get-rich-
Quick schemes which has bcen immense
" successful IS based on the "sIbscrip-
tion rights" lure.
Suc';r~s in this scheme have hren re-
"rUitcd from Stockholders in we'll known
4'El' 'ildl' 'NIlfHn lCS. ANON" InOSP TO
Gently victimized are Stockholders in
som" Of americas lar"cst rOmnrnies.
The "rights" rusr is new and II he's
n strong sales nnpnal because dividend
having generations with etronr tirnr-
cial records sometimes nlIot valuable
rights to their Stockholders.
Fake promoters Of "suhscrintion
rights" start nv orraniziro promotion
company undc- name that looks lit'n
md sounds like the name Of we'll
known. established corporation. tbs 80
to create confusion in the mind If III"
careless reader Of letters and prospect
uscs.
List ~ Stockholders.
Rv somp devious means = list NJ The
corporations Stockholders is obtained
They are ranvaSsad with p letter an
ncuncinc that thnr hive the ri~ht 70
"r'hs'rihP IN n certain allotment Of stool;
before givnn date ..-.
A "riOhts" certificate Is sent. nrgin~
the stcckholdrr 70 "return II nromptIr
nronNrlv endorsed with rcmittruro NJ
tanhcd covnrir~ Tho Number 1T sho-ns
~uhzcribrd to-" This &c 70 create fals,
Flea ~ tho Value IF thn "rights" -nI
that the storr-holde- will lose roldor