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" •' 4 • T '- i - • ‘ .*- ‘ r :* T . '' '.VV - '; • %<- 1: . m ♦•AGE SIX’ WAYS TO BLOCK CROOKED PROMOTERS •.•■«pr:: : :• <**?** • :• ;• By W. R. MOREHOUSE Public Relations Commission, Amorican Bankers Association (This i* one of « teriee of article! eepoting the wiles of sharpers who are after pour moncp.) M ANY reliable corporations, firms and individuals are engaged in developing mining properties, drilling for possible new oil wells and promoting new inventions and enterprises. On the other hand many unreliable persons are ostensibly J engaged in the same pursuits, but in reality | are only promoting frauds. Therefore, every investor should first divide the sheep from the goats before he hazards his savings. Because there are many dishonest manipulators using mining, oil, invention and promotion terms to deceive does not mean that all promoters in these fields are crooked. The truth is, there are many trustworthy men engaged in pro moting enterprises that are honest invest- 1 ~ ments. The problem is to know the difference between promoters of the reliable type and the high-pressure v: : iety. The former are en gaged in legitimate business. The other .group is engaged in fi: :!ng the public. The nur 1 .’ .r of those who deliberately scheme to defraud is large and they are B shrewd and deceitful. For this reason those w r. MOREHOUSE w j 10 cann0 ^ a (f or d to lose their savings should not trust entirely to their own judgment in making investments. In order to divide the sheep from the goats—to distinguish between reliable and unreliable promoters, to tell the good invest ments from the worthless—the inexpe- <*' ....... — i rienced investor should consult his banker or let the National Better Busi ness Bureau, whose headquarters are In New York City, advise him. It costs nothin*? to get such advice from either source. It is safe to say that if those who have lost their savings through fraudulent schemes had fol lowed this simple course they wduld (till be in possession of their money. , . Get the Facts Invariably, get the facts and take no substitute. There is nothing better and nothing just as good as the facts when it comes to withdrawing your savings from the bank and investing them. The facts about an investment either strengthen its position or show It up to be risky—oftentimes too risky lor the person who cannot afford to others you know nothing about. Som# time you may be approached to make a trade by a plausible person claiming to have better investments to offer than those you have. Recently a wom an owning a block of gilt-edge public utility stock was approached by two smooth sharpers and urged to ex change it for stock in a fruit company which, she was told, was not only very valuable then but would increase rap idly in value and soon make her inde pendently wealthy. Fortunately she told her neighbor about her offerT It happened that the neighbor had re cently been defrauded in a similar way. She advised the eecopd woman to report her offer to the local better business bureau. Having handled many similar situations the bureaa instructed the woman to make an appointment for the traders to meet her in her boma. - Good Advica that Prevented Disaster ' New schemes to defraud are being hatched daily. The unscrupulous promoter never sleeps bat is continuously plotting new methods of attack on the savers* bard-won accumulations. The liberties be takes with the law and the schemes he designs for belittling the sound advice of responsible persons makes It even more essential for investors to get the facts. Remember that anything that is worth investing in is worth knowing about as to its safety, its income, and Its marketability. Any investment which is enshrouded by a screen of glowing promises or is so complicated that neither you nor your banker can fathom it and get the hard facta isn’t an investment you can afford to put your money into. Make it an unbreakable rale to get all the facts, whether the investment he large or small, and you will save yourself the heartaches and bitter dis appointment of losing your savings. Millions of dollars which have unfor tunately been lost through poor invest- ment might have been saved if the lavestors had taken time to investi gate before investing. There is always need for capital in safe, honest busi ness and so great is the legitimate de maud for investors’ funds that not one cent need be wasted by them on fraud ulent schemes. Don’t Trade Good for Bad Don’t exchange your investments for They were on hand at the appointed hour. With the cunning of expert swindlers they proceeded to inveigle her stock away from her, assuring her that if she exchanged her public utility stock for that of the fruit company there was no doubt she would become very rich. But Just as they were spreading out before her a beautifully embossed stock certificate the bu reau's detective stepped out from his place of concealment and told the swindlers he had come prepared to take them for a ride in his car. They protested loudly and even struck at him, but experienced as he was in handling persons'wbo resist arrest ha soon had them handcuffed together Investigation revealed that the cer tificate of stock of the fruit company was fictitious. No such company had ever been organized. The evidence also disclosed that come certificates bad already been issued and ex changed and there were a large num ber more ready for future use when ever a trade could he arranged. laterally thousands of inexperienced Investors are being swindled out of their good investments in such trades. It behooves all persons who have good investments not to exchange them without first getting all the facts from their banker or other person fully " THE CUNTOirCHRONICLE. CLINTON. 8. C. qualified to advise and protect them (A future article will tell of more schemce by which people are defrauded of - eatings.j ■, * BANKERS HELPING Greenville and neighboring counties lor the purpose of establishing a creamery, a canning factory and * woman's club. The idea is to get Campers to raise livestock, to raise own food and feed and to have eomething extra to sell. The canning factory is Intended to utilise the sur plas garden and fnrtt products, aad the club rooms for getting the support awH co-operation of the farm women. Three banks In South Carolina have Inaugurated a plan to provide free of rent for two years a centrally located place to be used by the farnaers o<4-i4«4^ with 50 per ceat of this increase. furnished by a hank in Atlanta. A banker-farmer alfalfa demonstration was hakl at the collece and .attended by 250 bankers and farmers. Alfalfa acreage has increased from 1,800 to 5,000, the demonstration being cred* This year state has produced 12.- 000,000 more dmahels of corn than last year, has sold 50 cars of truck, 12.000,. 000 worth of pecans, and baa produced 150.000,000 pounds of tneat and enough com and hay for its own use. AS LABOR SEES BANKS Vast sums of money are lost each year by wage-earners through invest meets hastily entered Into With the Georgia bankers have made great confidence of the wage-earners, banks r strides In furthering a divertifted terming program the past year. They induced farmers to sow fifty-five car loads of vetch geed. furnished local prises in eighty counties for the com the state prize of $1,000 being rlU be enabled te more ^ accurately ‘advise such investor and thus save money which might otherwise be loot by unwise speculathw. — William Green, President 4—rfcnn Federation of Labor. ' THURSDAY, MAY 12,1927 IHIIIIIHiHI * l ,.. »• The Chronicle The Chronicle as a property is privately owned, but as a newspaper is dedicated to the service of the public. It strives every.day in the year to merit your confidence and support, and to enlarge its place of usefulness in this com- munity. It, was once predicted that R. F. D. routes and afternoon daily papers would largely sup- . \ plant the county weeklies. This has not been * 4 the case for several reasons. A local weekly covers a field that the others can never reach except in a very general and cursory way. A weekly is the only medium for home news that is satisfactory. It is the only way to keep posted on the affairs of your city and county. - The customers of Clinton merchants buy ’ * * ' • t The Chronicle to read. They don’t buy hand bills and sales letters you send out to be thrown about on the streets.' Everybody Reads The 'i = i i i '1 “There’s A Reason” i i i . • 4* iA. » «■ „ . , .. : , •*r- * * •ay / • *7