Evening star., 1923-10-12
LAST HOPES WANE:
FOR STOCK VICTIMS
Discharge as Bankrupts of
John Burke'S Firm Blow
to Investors.
BY ROBERT r. SMALL.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, October ia rude
awakening today came to many
thousands of poor. deluded investors
in the bucket shops of Wall street.
These "investors"--the men behind
tho bucketing game call them
suckers"-have been laboring for
months under the delusion that they
were going to recover at least a part
Of their losings. They have employed
expensive counsel. have formed them
selves into creditors associations"
and in various other ways, sad to re-
late, have been sending good money
after the bad.
In one of the most notorious of the
bucketing" failures, the referee in
bankruptcy announced today that he
would hold no further hearings and
there is every indication that the two
concern will receive their discharge
as bankrupts and be cleared of all
monetary responsibilities.
John Burke's Firm.
The firm was that of Kardos &
Burke. which failed in 1922 for more
than two million dollars, with virtu-
ally no assets. John Burke. the jun
vas treasurer of the United States.
In the various proceedings that have
followed the failure. Mr.. Burke has
testified that he had nothing to do
with the firms activities. in fact, he
knew nothing of the business what
yer. But he had lent his name to
he firm and when it failed the cred
itors had an idea that they would he
able TO collect some of their lost
rtysh personally from Mr.. Burke, if
not from Mr.. Kardos, who was the
genius of the organization and con-
ducted the operations.
The grand jury Investigation Of
hucketshop failures resulted in the
against Kardos. but Mr.. Burke was
rot mentioned in the proceedings. The
proposal now to discharge the mem
hers of the firm as bankrupts leaves
30 stand on. The same process has
been gone through within other cases
and one by one the poor fish" who
We're unfortunate enough to get their
;ames on the highly prosed sucker
lists that circulate at so much per
list through the more shadowy lanes
OF che metropolitan financial district,
saw their fondest hopes disappear.
IT is true they employed expensive
employed counsel equally as expensive
and through them have been able to
show that their failure was abject,
mat they saved nothing from the
wreck and had nothing salted away.
Many of the bankrupts. however, have
returned to the bucketing game un-
der new firm names, with more inr1o-
cents holding the bag"
S10O.OOO.OOO Involved in Deals.
In recording brokerage failures of
more than 100000 million in the last two
years and a half. the experts figured
that the combined assets amounted
TO about s100.000,000 On this showing
II would appear tha some Of the cred
itors at least would get back one
tenth OF what they paid in. But the
assets in nearly every instance have
been gobbled up by the court fees
attending the proceedings growing
out of the failures.
The patrons of the failed firm OF E.
NJ. Fuller & Co. still entertain
their money back They base their
hopes on the ability Of their counsel
TO prove that Charles A. Stoneham.
principal owner of the New York
Giants, now battling for their third
worlds series championship against
the New York Yankees. was financial
" interested in the failed concern
BILE to the losers in the crash. Stone
ham has been indicted in proce edings
connected with the failure. This fact
has added to the hopes of the credi-
tors. who figure that criminal pro-
ceedings may form the groundwork
for future civil action.
Therefore the Fuller suckers" are
smacking their lips as the attendance
asecords at the worlds series mount
daily to new records. They are hoping
Charley Stoneham will get lots of
money.