The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-07-19
bLE SKY LAW FROM
JUDGE LAWRENCE
Rotarians Will Give
Lads Outing Wednesday
Local Club Accepts Invitation for
Themselves and Ladies' to
Picnic with Waterville
Club

At the weekly meeting of the Ro7
tary Club Tuesday noon plans were
made for the outing to be given about
100 local boys on next Wednesday on
the Tuttle shore at North Pond,
Smithfield. Fish, chowder will be
served and lunches will be furnished
by the members. Boats will be pro-
vided and water sports will be in or
der. The club accepted an invita-
ton from the Waterville Rotary Club
to participate with them in basket
picnic to which the ladies will be in
vited at the Hodges farm, near Blacks
Mills on Monday night, August 13.
Another announcement made was that
DIR. Holt, editor of the Independent
and prominent in Rotary circles would
address the club on Tuesday noon,
August II. District Governor Dan
Sullivan will visit the club in August.
Guests at the meeting were George
Grover. Lynn Mass, II. 4. Pratt of
Albany ~ Y, II. J. Cross of Augusta,
and A. D. Kendrick of Boston, Mass.
The speaker of the afternoon was
Judge F. F. Lawrence, present bank
commissioner, and his address was on
"Blue Sky Law" AS usual Judge
Lawrence gave a splendid talk and
one especially adapted for a gathering
of business men. He brought put
the following facts
"Blue Sky" legislation-now in
force In more than forty states-orig-
, mated In Kansas no further back
than 1911, on account of the activity
of stock statesmen and promoters
among the prosperous farmers. 1t
was enacted in Maine in 1913 and ever
since its enforcement has been con-
spicuous feature of the work of the
Bank Commissioner. 1t does not
confer any right to censor any enter
prise or to curb speculation, nor make
the Commissioner a guardian for In
vestors 1t merely excludes those
securities which are fraudulent or
fundamentally unfair. 1t permits
the promoter to invite who he will
to speculate, but denies the right to
mark the cards or load the dice with
which the game is played
The losses from fraudulent issues
of securities are enormous, running
into the billions annually. In 1922
new promotions which were refused
admission to the State of Maine were
capitalized at more than 100000
With the exception of local enter
prises and public utilities. more than
90 per cent of the stock offered to
the American public by other than
standard investment houses of estab-
lished repute are unfair in essential
particulars. The typical unfair fea-
lures are Misrepresentation of the
| character of the security, misrepres-
entation of the management, misstate-
ment of earnings, payment of un-
earned dividends, claims of fictitious
surplus, and-most frequent and far
reaching of all-the various devices
intended to create ground floor"
for the benefit of insiders" The
public are asked to take all the risks,
but allowed little participation in the
large profits.
While the law is aimed at unfair
ness, it does not and cannot reach
the greater evil, the widespread spe-
culaGYe activity by those who are
neither qualified nor able to assume
his incidental risks. The million
aire is today investing in government
bonds; the laboring man, teacher. pro-
fessional man-persons of limited in
come-are performing his function
The only proper repository for the
accumulated saving of the great mass
of the people is the institution which
specializes in investment, which alone
can indulge in the necessary diYerst-
fication and which renders the most
remarkable financial service to the
ordinary citizen in the history of the
financial world-4 per cent interest
compounded semi-annualy-the say-
ing bank or commercial bank with
savings department.