Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-20
YEAR-END AUCTION
IN STOCKS IS ON
Seats and Dogs" Offered to
Highest Bidders in An
nuaI Sales.
BY CHARLES F. sPEARE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, December 20.-Decem-
Der is month when all of the eats
and dogs" of the security markets are
brought out from hiding and put up
on the auction block for the purpose
of establishing tax losses for their
owners The weekly sales this month
have so far revealed the usual long
list of financial tragedies of those who
have purchased securities and gone
into business ventures with more
imagination than Judgment.
Offerings Large.
The lists of weekly offerings of
securities run to the length Of several
columns of fine type in the local pap
ers. While they include few Securi-
ties of recognized value and having
listed market, the majority come under
that classification which Wall Street
has for years described as mot being
worth the paper they are printed on.
This may be an exaggerated statement,
for the auctioneer is frequently able to
obtain prices that must aStonish the
seller. There are lot OF eopie who
seem to like to attend auction sales and
pay prices for goods offered there above
going market values.
Recalling such celebrities as Sherman
L. Adams of Boston and mo TeIe-
phone" Smith of New York, the buyers
have eager hopes of drawing prize
package Mr.. Adams once picked up
large bundle of Wire Wheel stock at
IL cents a share at one of these auc-
lions and later sold it for more than
5000 per share. All sorts of legendary
tales are told of the winnings OF the
mysterious Mr.. Smith.
This driftwood of the financial world
has however. many and varied uses
aside from whatever surprises the cob
webbed packages may contain. Whlm-
steal millionaires like to pick up these
handsomely embossed certificates and
line shooting lodges with them. Inc
New York State attorney general mas
discovered more than one instance OF
small 'gyp" banks leading their WIN
dows and counters with them to I'M
press foreign-born customers. Some
crude wash sales" rackets ave been
built I'D around a load of such stocks,
bought for few dollars.
Sales Smaller.
Total sales at the auction this year
were somewhat less than at the auctlohS
If the two preceding years. AT the enu
of the bull market there was vast
amount of wreckage to be cleaned up
and all sorts of huge and fantastic Joo
lets of broken down stocks were onereo.
A lot of these have since gone clear INTO
the ground, and in virtually all the cur
rent offerings there was some element
of tangible or physical value. however
slight. There were large blocks OF an
Gent notes, issued by persons long for
gotten. with face value of many thou
sands, but selling for few dollars.
A reflex of the defation in Florlda
is in the nominal prices paid by bidders
for stocks of banks in that State that
had to close because they were too
heavily loaned up on real estate which
they had taken at values placed on 1t
four or five years ago.
Some of the business enterprises most
commonly represented in the list OF auc-
ton securities are those dealing with
fruit raising companies, moving pictures,
candy shops, safety razors, airplanes,
fox ranches, lumber and paper firms,
and small railroad and traction lines
that have gone out of business and
whose securities have little more value
than represented in the scrap material.
There will be two more auction sales for
the benefit of those who wish to estab-
lish tax losses before the end of the
year.