Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1924-11-19
Investigate irst

annually-and Georgia contrib
utes her share--because invest
ors fail to investigate before
investing their hard-earned saw
ings.
This week the Georgia Securi-
ties Commission is carrying on
y an educational campaign which
seeks to persuade Georgians to
know where their money goes
before they turn it loose.
Men who have accumulated
large fortunes have said that it
is easier to MAKE money than
to INVEST 1T wisely.
t. B. Conner, administrative
officer of the Georgia Securities
Commission says there is not a
securities department that has
not Leen impressed with the
tragedies that result from I'M
wise investments, particularly
among laborers and small sal
-1.aried men, who throw away
the savings of life time; wild
ows their life insurance money
that should go to the education
of their children; the infirm and
aged their means of livelihood,
and continues Mr.. Conner:
Every one of these tragedies
has come under the eyes Of the
Securities Commission, not once
but many times.
And the pity of it is that with
Just little forethought, with
just one hour spent in taking
competent advice, all this suffer
and despair might be avoided.
The banks and bond houses, spe-
cialists in weighing and assaying
investments, are always ready to
steer the investor away from
calamities such as these. The Sc
curities commission answers
promptly letters asking for adj
vice about investments.
The trouble is that most of
those who consult us wait until
they have lost their money before
they write US. 1t is fine thing
to catch The CRATER who has inn
posed upon the credulity of the
i'll informed and the helpless and
equip him with prison stripes;
but that is poor consolation for
the one who has already been
--sgindled out of all that he has.
Mr.. Conner expresses the be-
lief that practically 100 per
cent Of the circulars sent through
the mails offering big, quick,
unreasonable returns from in
vestments, are fraudulent. The
Postoffice Department is so del
uged with complaints from
those who have been 'stung"
that it cannot look into half of
them. Citing examples of
fraudulent schemes which are
being perpetrated, MIR. Conner
says:
Early this year a man named
+. Van Tress, operating under
: the name of the Western Ranch
& Service company, sent an adj
yertising car through the south
ern part of Georgia, offering
lands of the Choctaw Indian Ma
- tion in Oklahoma. He secured
thousands of dollars from Geor-
9ia people before we heard of
h operations and obtained from
the proper authorities in Wash
in.rton the information that the
lands were very poor in quality
and that "the government had
been trying to get a case against
this and similar outfits which
had been grating off of the peo-
pie of the South" We are this
week sending out and advertis-
ing warning with reference to the
Burnham Chemical company, of
Reno, Nevada. This company
has flooded the country for two
years with literature, carefully
j. worded to catch suckers" and
yet not commit itself to definite
statements that would convict it
of fraud. Complaints against
this concern have been lodged
with the postoffice department
for months by our commission
and by nearly every other securi-
ties department.
Georgia has on its statutes
\ the securities law which seeks to
protect its people, but it does
not insure any one against bad
investments. That law, like
other criminal laws. may appre-
bend and punish thd guilty, but
it cannot return to hhe investor
the money he has Ghwisely in
vested, To guard against get
ting into the handS Of one of
these slick tongued cfooks, Mr..