Evening star., 1923-08-01
Curbing Bucketeers,
Stock Exchange Realizes Some
thing Must Be Done.
To the Editor of The Star:

70 the Editor of The Star:
Your editorial, "A Plan to Curb
'Bucketeers.' appearing. in -ypuf is
sue of the 25th, undoubtedly gives
VOICE to q widespread sentiment shat
somehow, some effective means be
found and adopted of checking Stock
swindling operations. The failure of
one hundred and sixty.seven Wall
street firms does on the face of IT,
seem to require drastic. restraining
action. There is grave danger, how
ever, that misapprehension OF the
true significance of these one hun
dred and sixty-seyen failures of i'al-
legged" Wall street firms will lead to
hasty and ill-considered action which
It will later be found has not cup
piled the remedy sought, but has act
ed as a deterrent TO 1egitimate enser-
prise
| Many legislators, who have given
the whole subject very serious CON
sideratfon, dread q licensing and a
regulatory power which will insvi-
tably subject honest public ofiicials
to well-nigh irresistibie pressure
from their friends to favor establish :
ments that they know to be crooked.
These, also. being aware of the wealth
and resourcefuiRess of the >swiHd I'm g
fraternity, know that the bootleg
ging" scandal would pale In compari-
son with the ORGY of corruption that
would follow legissation making the
consent and approval of a publics Of
fetal
Lack of Information of the nature
OF organized markets is undoubtedly
responsible for much of the general
sentiment in favor of regulating sueh
ag.fg H..
to see any merit in arguing that r6gu-
lation of exchanges will protect the
| investor against fraud and misreprs-
sentatIoH, when the exchanges them
selves do no business whatever With
the public. Exchanges, chambers of
commerce. merchants associations
and similar organizations are fuEda-
mentally alike In that they are voiun-
| tary associations of individuals ZEN
gagged in similar pursuits, and organ
lied for the purpose. first, of pFoyid-
ing facilities and information for the
use of its members, second, of pro-
noting healthful conditions In taeir
| third, in general. of inculeasing
among its members high ethical
, standards of business conduct
can see no difference between
proposing to regulate the Merchants
Association of this city. on account
merchants not included in its mem
bership. and proposing to regulate
the New York Stock Exchange on
| account of number of crooks who
| masquerade as brokers, but who: in
reality are no more entitled to. be
| called brokers than the Second
story man" is to be called traces
man.
1t should be borne in mind that
| those most concerned in the suppIes-
\ n NLyI I'll tNGr fl.A = l.
pretense of conducting a stock brsk-
erage business are the legitimate
brokers and investment bankers,
| whose reputation and good will i'm
variably suffer through mistaken
identity. They can be depended u5en
TO throw the whole weight OF their
influence and power behind any
| meas asures calculated to suppress the
stock-swindling evil. but their long
| study of the subject, together With
abortive Legislative attempts, PER
mits them at once to recognize pro-
posals which will not only be lin
effective i'm accomplishing the desired
result. but which will check the ea sy
flow of investment capital which, is
| so essential to productive enterprise
Competent observers have stated
! that there are sufficient fraud laws on
the books of the states at the preSe nj
time with which to cope with the
| stock-swindling evil, and that what
lthe situation needs is not more laws
fbut more law enforcement. II the
present criminal laws are permi tie d
| to remain dead letters, what reaaon
! have we to believe that addition a
| laws will be enforced? A self starter
guaranteed to start the machinery of
/ the criminal laws in operation, has
yet to be devised. In the meantime
We must depend upon conscientious
| law enforcement officers. for which
| there is as yet no substitute.
JASON wESTERFIELp,
| - Director of Publicity. New
! York Stock Exchange