Evening star., 1926-09-29
MEN AND MONEY
Bv NJ. S. Rukeyser.
tCopyright. 1926

Louis Proudfoot. lawyer and inves-
tigator. plays the bizarre role or tab
ulator of Wall Streets sins.
In his office in the Singer Building
this recording angel" at the gates
of high finance has filed away 3,ooo..
900 cards on which are catalogueo
and scientifically cross-indexeo the
morals, ethics and varying degrees OF
honesty of virtually every reputanle
broker. investment banker, promoter
and white collar bandit In these
United States.
For 81 years this authority on the
habits of the financial underworld mas
been compiling data and freeiy eN'
pressing his opinion to BANKS
brokers and newspapers concerning
the legitimacy Of financial enterprises
and their hackers. In doing TINS
fearlessly and effectively Mr.. Prouu'
foot has each day of his BUSINESS
career been sitting on a keg or oyna-
mite. inviting reprisals nom ,ne
myriad Of bucketeers and Illicit Due
sky financiers whom he has ruthiess-
ly exposed. In this time Mr. ffouu-
foot has denounced tens of thousands
in uneo,1ivocal terms and yet he has
had only seven threats of libel suits,
and of these only ono went to trlai.
After preparing an expensive de
fense Mr. Proudfoot was v1ndicated
in the courts.
Real Financial Leader.
In a very real sense Mr.. Proudfoot
is q financial leader of nationwide
Importance but the public has never
heard OF him. He is comparable 10
an axle manufacturer. who never
deals with the public. but with auto
mobile assemblers and manufacturers
who sell the finished car TO con-
sumers. Mr.. Proudfoot is a whole
sale vender of appraisals OF the char-
acter Of individual financ!ers. Broad
ly speaking, he deals only WIN
banks, banking houses ana news
papers. which retail his 1nformatlon
to inquiring Individuals. MIR. Proud'
foot's clients include the Four nun
dred of American finance. CROOKS ire
ouen.lv trv to subscribe to his serv-
ices as an indirect Mite. but Mr..
Proudfoot shuns their offers. More
over. at least once a fortnight denl-
zen Of the financial underworld seeks
to buv him off. After the money ap'
peal fails hints of physical violence
are frequently given.
L
street are recorded in Mr.. Proudfoot' s
carefully indeXed files.
Americas first authority on the
anatomy and physiology Of fraudulent
brokers and promoters is no cynlc.
He gives good reports as we'll as bad.
and is quick to say that man s
record is clear. Mr.. Proudfoots lie
work Is to separate the sheep from
the goats in the world of give and
take. He has prophetic vision.
have seen him in innumerable IN
stances foreshadow by year or more
subsequent collapses of windbag pro-
motions and convictions of out-and'
out crooks.
Fearless i'm His Work.
Anv one dealing In the faults and
frailties Of others would perhaps
have to be an extraordinary indlvid-
ual. Mr.. Proudfoot is not only fear
less toward those he is reporting on.
but he is drastically Independent even
with his own customers. He some
times loses accounts because of his
impatience with the ineXperience Of
Junior clerks at banks which he
serves. He would rather get cancel
lation than to allow any one to ride
him or bluff him. His temper rises
| quickly when he is annoyed. His
deadly earnestness about his work
deprives him Of the detached sense of
humor which other executives culti-
Vate.
Paradoxically enough. this man of
unusual moral courage, now in his
early fifties, gave up his ambition to
become. physician as a youth be-
cause he tainted while giving first
aid in an accident case. His father
urged him to stick to business. While
| in his early teens. he had already