Evening star., 1923-07-26
ny r. X. TREVOR.

Copyright. 1923. by New York Commercially
The public, thoroughly scared by
the various rumors that appeared IN
1919 with regard to many meritorious
curb promotions-these rumors being
started often apparently by the
bucket shops, as the reader can well
Rurmise by what was told in the pre-
ceding article of this series-and by
scandals which developed concerning
some of the questionable promotions,
dumped on the market their holdings
of the stocks representing those pro-
motions. The resulting smash in
prices meant enormous profits for the
bucketeers in the wiping out of mar
gin accounts of their customers.
II was soon to be shown that the
public was 50 hard hit on this oc-
casion that efforts to coax 1t back into
the curb market to an extent sufficient
to provide enough business for the
bucket shops that Were still operating
Were to prove of no avail.
AS month after month went on, and
the curb bucketeers found overhead
cutting more and more into their
bankrolls. with the public still refus-
ing to come back into the curb mar
Get. many of them decided to seek out
other fields. They were we'll aware
OF the fact that there were hundreds
of thousands of people throughout the
country, who. although they had
heard of enormous profits made by
other people in speculation in the
stock market in the war shares boom
Of 1915-1916 and @ few years later
had never played the stock market
themselves.
Mail Order Campaigns.
Thn ht,cl
funity to get these people into the
stock market by soliciting buying
orders from them for stocks listed on
the New York Stock Exchange, rather
than for curb stocks against which
there had been SO much agitation. In
the summer and fall of 1919 several
OF the big bucket shops began to So
licit such business through enormous
mail order campaigns. The bull mar
11et of 1919 was then near its close
and downward movement was
starting in stocks in all markets.
Stocks on the New York Stock Ex-
change in the following months were
TO discount in heart-breaking declines
was ahead The fact that the boom
period of 1919 had carried the stocks
70 highly inflated prices meant tina,
the extent of the declines was to be
viewed the imitation existing and
knowing that they were dealing with
people who were but little familiar
with stock market values. they pro.
ceeded gleefully to the slaughter OF
the innocsnts.
There was now to develop the frs
big bucket shop system soliciting or
ders in New York Stock Exchang,
securities since the federal govern
ment had smashed a similar system
by its spectacular raids nearly ter
years before.
Seats on Exchange.
1t will be recalled that houses ir
the bucket shop rings of fifteen years
ago had been able to acquire an all
of responsibility for themselves will
the gullible by becoming members Of
certain out-of-town stock exchanges
1t so happened that things were
shaping nicely for the latter-day
bucket shops also to get a similar all
of respectahility. These institutions
obtained membership on the Consoli.
dated Stock Exchange. which was
able to point to a long record as a
securities exchange in the city OF
New York.
1t appears that there were many
members of the Consolidated Stock
Exchange who disapproved of the
sort of houses which were beginning