Evening star., 1923-07-25
VII.
BY II. N. TREVOR.

Ill
In the wake of the war shares
boom of 1915-l916. and the period of
depression in stock market prices
which followed, the public began to
hear that huge bucket shop system
was once again in existence. AS
stories of the methods of operation
of the curb bucket shops spread the
public was aroused and began to call
for punishment of the criminals
1t was one thing to call for pun
ishment of the bucketeers 1t was
quite another thing to find how they
could be punished. State prosecutors
in localities outside of New York
were hampered in efforts to show
that the crimes came within their
jurisdiction. So far as the federal
authorities were concerned they
found it difficult to act because of the
inadequacy of the federal statutes
with regard to the frauds of the
bucketing system, and also there was
that usual hesitancy of embarking on
line of prosecution which state
officials might consider an encroach-
ment on their prerogative.
Naturally, therefore. it was to the
office of the district attorney in New
York county that the country looked
for prosecution of the bucketeers.
On various occasions there was
much skirmishing on the part of OFF,
cials in that office, accompanied by
official statements which seemed to
give promise that a vigorous crusade
against the bucket shops. was to be
launched. When much -heralded ar
rests came, however. the cases would
be disclosed as simply against some
minor finn fam artists on the fringes
of the financial underworld. and in
no way part of the bucket shop
system.
Resentment Spreads.
This sort of thing went on for a few
years. Meanwhile the agitation
against the bucket shops throughout
the country continued to grow, and
it found full force after bucketing
raids on the markets in some stocks
during the course of the short but
highly exciting boom in the spring OF
1919. This time the demand for pun
ishment of the curb bucketers was
more pronounced. The office of the
district attorney of New York county
took on an appearance OF greater ac-
tivity than ever. The press was in
formed that the district attorneys Of
flee was determined to do all II could
to clean up the bucket shop situation,
and that il was determined to do all
1T could to make the curb market it
self assist it in that endeavor. Up to
an outdoor institution. and the powers
of the Curb Market Association were.
therefore. very limited. 1t was still
possible to inaugurate big market
in a curb stock without submitting
to any regulations by the Curb Mar
ket ASsoCia ton, simply by not hav
ing the stock listed.
The public was now treated to lot
of official talk to the effect that the
real remedy for the evils of the curb
%lyat in a
transferred indoors. The public was
told that in that way alone would the
bucket shop system be wiped out. II
was told that the public authorities
and the officials of the Curb Market
Association We're working toward the
end of having the curb become an in
door institution, so that it's entire ac-
tivities could be brought under the
supervision of the association. The
district attorneys Office became very
active in examining promoters of the
markets in various stocks. Finally,
the curb market went indoors.
Doubtful Victory.
The public was then fed with a lot
of talk of the remarkable victory
which had been scored over the
bucket shops by the curb market Off
cials and the public authorities. The
talk may have fooled some people. 1t
may even have fooled some of the
takers.
But to anybody with any fair de-
gree of familiarity with bucket shop
conditions the talk was a joke. For
here is what those people knew:
They knew, first, that the district
attorneys office had not made an i'm
portant move against any big bucket
shop that was in operation. There
had been an Indictment against the
head of one house which had failed.
after being caught heavily short of
tire stock, but that move was not
started until the failure developed
and made the move almost absolutely
necessary.
1t should be made clear to the
reader incidentally that what is re-
lated in this article with regard to
the district attorneys office applies to
the administration of that period
alone and not to the present admin
iStration.
Reported Griiling.
In the underground reports of the
street, much was heard of promoters
being hailed to the district attorneys
Office for grilling examinations. Some
of these promoters were behind stocks
whose continued upward movements
were causing much concern to certain
big bucketeers who were presumed to
have bucketed those stocks at low
marks. There was little or no talk.
however, about any of the big buck
eteers being subjected to that sort of
grilling.
The people conversant with bucket
shop affairs also knew that with the
curb indoors, the curb bucketshop
system had become far more power
full than it had been when the curb
market was outside. Not one of the
old leading houses, which the street
had been accustomed in it's gossip to
place in the category of bucket
shops had bean put out of business by
the curb market officials.
What was more important was
the fact that the bucket shops were
now in much less danger of being
planted" than had been the case
when the curb market was outdoors.