Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1923-02-09
FIGHT ON SPURIOUS STOCKS is
STARTED
Bankers Throughout New Jersey Co.
Operate to Protect Small Invest
Ors Against Wiles of Fraudu-
lent Stock Statesmen


A campaign has been started in
Cape May County by the bankers of
this county, cooperating with the
New Jersey Bankers Association, in
the statewide campaign against frau
dulent, highly speculative and worth
less securities of all kinds. 1t is pro-
posed to tell the prospective investor
how to protect himself against the
wiles of the clever young salesman
who calls around, leaves a line of talk
and takes away you money
At a meeting of the New Jersey
Bankers Association in the Down
Town Club in Newark on January 9Th,
Floyd c. Devore, of Franklin, who is
chairman of the committee in charge
of the campaign against spurious
stocks, presented his ideas for the
campaign to President Keisler of the
state association. His plan of the
campaign was comprehensive in all
respects, giving in a detailed way all
that the committee purposes doing to
put the small investor in a position to
protect himself from the INSCRIPTIONS
promoters of stocks that not only
cheat the people of their money blu
destroy their faith in enterprises of all
kinds, thus. putting a damper on the
prosperity and progress of the
country.
The heading of the committees
warning is: Before you invest-in-
vestigate." That's good advice if
there ever was any. We could give
many instances, even in our own
County of Cape May, of people who
took that advice and were immensely
thankful that they had done so; but
we could also give innumerable in
stances of people who failed to take
that advice, whether because they did
no tknow of it or for some other rea-
son, who are now very sorry. They
have either lost their money or the
investment has become so apparently
worthless that they have ~despaired of
ever seeing it again. They either
depended entirely upon their own
judgment, were influenced by the
clever tongue and perseverance of
the stock salesman or depended upon
the advice of some neighbor or friend
who knew as little or less about the
subject of investments as they them
selves did.
Here is the advice the bankers are
giving: When you are approached by
a salesman desiring to sell you a stock
with which you are not familiar, con-
suit your banker before buying it. 1t
can cost you nothing; it may save you
much. The best plan is to have the
salesman give you in writing his
statement with reference to the re-
sources back of the stock and the
plans for it's development. Your
banker will be able to tell in short
order whether or not he is telling the
truth. If the salesman is honest and
is selling good security, he will not
hesitate to have you consult your
banker. Do you think a man selling
United States Steel, for instance,
would hesitate to have you consult
your banker? On the contrary, that's
the first thing he would suggest. "Ask
your banker if this stock isn't all
right" he'll say. Because he knows
it is all right and that your banker
can't tell you anything else.
The clever promoter of the fraudu-
lent stocks, however, will demur. He
will run down the banks. He will try
to tell you they are not working for
your interest, but for their own. He
will say they're trying to keep your
money in the banks and therefore will
discourage you from investing it. But
get this: You'll never catch sight of
that stock salesman after he has sold
you the stock, that is unless he thinks
he can unload more on you. Long be-
fore the stock blows up he will have
blown" too. But your banker has to
live with you the rest of his life, prob
ably. He has to be your next door
neighbor, your youngsters are going
to school with his, mayhap you attend
the same church and meet him in the
places of amusement. Hardly a week
passeh that you do not see him. Don't
you think he wants to retain your
confidence? Well, which of the two
men do you want to believe?
Associated with Mr.. Devore on the
state committee are, Frank Mcmahon,
of the Second National Bank of Red
Bank; A. w. ~Ballentine, of the First
National Bank of Montclair, N. j.; J..
Ashley Brown, of the Peoples Bank G
Trust Co., of Westfield; c. Edward
Schlick, of the Greenville Banking &
Trust Company of Jersey City; Fred.
z. Board, of the Citizens National
Bank of Ridgewood, and John D. Ev-
erett, of the Orange National Bank of
Orange.
The Cape May County Bankers As
ISOLATION appointed the following COM
mittee to look after the campaign in
this county: c. G. Eldredge, chairman,
Marine National Bank, and Robert
Bright, wildwood Title & Trust Co. !