Swindlers by the Wholesale
THE so-called Kansas Blue Sky Law has been not only a benefit to that state, but it ought to prove beneficial to the people of the United States. The provisions of that law, according to Governor Stubbs, demand that every corporation must secure the approval of the state before it can sell its stocks or bonds. The penalty for its violation is imprisonment in the state penitentiary. But that law has developed this, that OF MORE THAN 1,000 CORPORATIONS which have applied for the right to sell their stocks and bonds, Governor Stubbs says that “after a most thoro investigation made through our banking department, LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED CORPORATIONS have been granted the right to sell their stocks.” That is, it was not deemed safe for the people of the state to allow more than one in ten of those corporations that applied to exploit the people. The rest were considered utterly unsafe, or so exceedingly suspicious that they could not be licensed. Governor Stubbs says that “one of the corporations thrown out of Kansas had already sold more than $3,000,000 of stock that I would not buy at any price. Most of this stock was sold to farmers or widows who had received money on insurance policies, and people who were not good judges of the value of stocks and bonds. After a most thoro investigation of the subject, I am convinced that the people of Kansas were being robbed of anywhere from five to ten million dollars annually, by an army of promoters and agents who were selling stocks and bonds that practically represented no value. “It can be definitely proved that the Kansas Blue Sky Law has saved the people of this state more money since it has been enacted than the entire cost of the state government during that time, including our educational, charitable, and penal institutions, and every item of expense necessary to pay for the executive, judicial, and legislative branch of the government.” It is a sad, sad fact that conditions in Kansas represent conditions throughout the United States. It is no wonder that finances are in as bad shape as they are; the wonder is that they are not worse. Surely Kansas ought to be congratulated on endeavoring to prevent these commercial harpies from preying upon the people. The various promotion schemers tell wonderfully smooth stories. These stories are so strong that to the uninitiated they seem as true as Scripture. Many wish to improve their financial condition, and so invest their little all, that they may do it. The result is that they lose everything. But all this, in connection with many other things, shows the growing trend toward dishonesty, instability, and lack of integrity in the commercial world. Read what God's prophet said in Isaiah 59; Micah 7:2-4, A.R.V. The Blue Sky Law is important legislation. Dr. Stubbs, in this letter to Mr. E. H. Harriman, of Los Angeles, from which we have quoted, says that it can be improved. It would be a splendid thing for the people of the United States if every state would enact such a law as this.