Evening star., 1932-05-04
Nation Stirred by Stories
OF Stock Market Methods

Great importance Is attached to the
1e -. disclosures of methods used in
1t-c,- market transactions by the ma
ioritg OF these who comment on the
test,m-nv taken at the congressional
hearing en- the subject. A legal curb
on these methods is suggested and the
creation CT artificial values is con-
demned. few defenders of the ex-
change however, believe that traders
merely take advantage Of fluctuations
resulting from changes IN business con-
ditiuns.
A summary of the disclosures. as set
forth by the Duluth Herald, appears
in this statement: That often men
get together to make money by boost
ing certain stocks; that sometimes
these are really good stocks. worth
more than they are selling for, and
sometimes they are bad stocks which
are to be unloaded on the suckers; that
to this end these men form pool and
seek to manipulate the market opera
tions end spread tales calculated to
serve their purpose, and that sometimes
thev bribe writers to carry en- their
bsllyhoo." The Herald concludes that
"thc revelations could be important
only If it were necessary to prove that
he who gees gambling in the stock
market needs guardian, and another
guardian to keep that guardian sane
and honest"
The Long Beach Sun holds that "the
story reveals how the professional
traders made fortunes as Wall Street
bulls in the hectic time leading up to
the crash Of 1929, and how since the
crash thev have made millions as
bears" The Sun concludes: Buying
and selling by the general public are
the ebbing and flowing tides of the
only skilled navigatorS of the dangerous
waters" The Hartford Daily Times
thinks that "for the moment, many in
vestors will feel very much like the
lambs thev are supposed to be, but not
wholly without power to get angry and
insist on more light being shed into the
inner recesses of the exchange or quar-
ters related to 1t where their slaughter
is said to be planned"
"Is there any reason" asks the
GAINESVILLE Gazette. why there should
not be such restrictions that stocks
shall be sold and bought only as in
vestment for cash at full price-over
the counter-as one buys bonds at
bank for investment or cheese at a
store?" The Charleston (W. Vao
Daily Mail suggests that whether
there can be found way to preserve
the good and eliminate the evil is
question" The Rochester Times
Union believes that las a matter of
fact, the market has seen such
sweeping, unlooked-for series of de-
clines that everybody connected with
the ownership of stocks and bonds has
suffered sharp shrinkage in wealth"
Most of the optimistic market let
ters from brokerage houses" according
to the Asbury Park Evening Press,
were prejudiced and overenthusiastic
Some undoubtedly were colored to en-
snare unwary buyers. But it must
also be acknowledged that even in
Their widest moments the writers of
the market letters were strictly in ac-
cord with the spirit of the times and
with the advice of national leaders.
At the time most of the market bally-
hoo was written President Coolidge
and Secretary of the Treasury Mellon
had made it a mark of patriotism to
be loose-minded on the value of stocks
and everything else. 1t was the be-
ginning Of the Short-lived New Era,
when all of our leading statesmen
were delivering childish predictions Of
everlasting prosperity DaSeQ upon HOln-
ing but inflated hopes and dwarfed
judgment"
"The more the petty bears are
snubbad. the better 1t will be for all
business" in the judgment Of the
Boston Transcript, while the Indian
apolis News holds that enough has
been brought out TO show that bear
pools have been in operation, that the
sole object is to make money in the !
price fluctuations of stocks and that
the market will be rigged when pos
sible." The Springfield (Mass) Re-
publican advises: "One of the weak |
est joints of the present economic |
system is related directly TO the help |
lessness of MILLIONS of small investors, |
49,. r,nhlnra irn making L