Show the salt lake ke stock and mining ining exchange by E R J evans EVAMS for the four months following august 1 1914 the owners of railroad and industrial securities were in a state of feverish unrest many a large holder did not know whether he was rich or poor solvent or insolvent he could not sell his holdings or if a purchaser appeared he did not know whether the price offered was too low too high or fair and reasonable he could not hypothecate his securities for cash because he had no way of convincing the prospective lender that they were of value now all this time the securities were as good as they ever had been the railroads were hauling the usual amount of freight the factories were making their usual profits the public utilities were earning their normal incomes there was nothing the salt sal lake alake city president of the changey change y matter with the securities nor the enterprises they represented going enterprises of unimpeachable credit were unable to make necessary improvements prove ments and those that had started such improvements expecting to pay for them by the sale of bonds or notes found themselves unable to meet their obligations and became temporarily insolvent new undertakings made vitally necessary owing to the stoppage of imports from europe could not raise a dollar by the sale of stock or bonds the immediate result of these conditions was as the slackening of the demand for labor and raw materials millions were thrown out of employment and millions more were reduced to part time and part pay the secondary dark re result sult aas was decreased purchasing power and a wave W ve of enforced economy eco nomy which hit every merchant squarely in the pocket As I 1 said before there was nothing the matter with our industries nothing had happened to impair the value of the ties why then was the entire business of the nation thrown into such terrible chaos why the dreadful uncertainty as to the solvency of every institution and enterprise the stock exchanges were closed I 1 have nothing to say as to the reasons for their clos closings ingi I 1 do not question that under the circumstances this action was right and proper what I 1 wish to emphasize is the utter dependence of modern business upon the functioning of the stock exchanges that it should be apparent to every one business would have suffered just as severely from the closing of the marts if there had been no european war and no other othe catastrophe in the background industry would not have been restored to a normal basis until some means had been devised el to fix values and facilitate the sale and F purchase of securities and this means what at the beginning would K ever its form soon have developed into exchanges substantially flike those which exist today f it could not be otherwise to make sales buyers and sellers or their represent i atiles must meet to fix definite standards I 1 of value the buyers and sellers must meet lf at the same time and in large numbers to guard against false and fictitious valuations J there must be regulations to insure the de livery advery of stocks and the payment of the prices agreed upon I 1 when you have these you have a stock exchange for a stock exchange does these things and nothing more it simply registers prices ltd oes not make them the registration of prices however unimportant as it may seem to some is the king bolt that holds industry and commerce together one exchange did not close t when I 1 remarked that the stock ex changes were closed for four months I 1 omitted one exception f there was one exchange which did not close for a time it was the only stock exchange in america and probably in the world in which buyers could buy and sellers ers could sell with the assurance that similar prices could be realized on the morrow the exchange which braved the first panic of war was the salt lake stock I 1 I mining fining exchange throughout the terror and turmoil of that ahat period every holder of a listed utah stock knew exactly what his shares would bring in cash every purchaser knew that he was obtaining his stock at as low a price as it could be bought this service redeems from obscurity an otherwise dull and unprofitable year and it seems to me that its magnitude should command the admiration and pride of every I 1 thoughtful citizen of utah with such an accomplishment to its credit I 1 feel that no 1 apology is required for the small volume of business transacted during the year f the volume of business was small because the demand of the public was small prices were low because buyers pal paid d and sellers accepted low prices thus bearing out my statement that the exchange reflects truly and accurately the state of the mar eket ket F presently the public demand may be 1 heavy I and prices high the exchange will reflect that condition too but will not be g the he cause or of it any more than it was the cause of the depression the members represent opposing forces the object on one side ide is to sell dear and on the other to buy cheap the eagerness of the public to buy or f its willingness to sell is the deciding fac tor and the balance of these two forces is the true valuation at any given moment if the exchange were to go out of bust bus ness the same forces would still operate but the buying and selling sellin powers would not rea reach ch a balance trading would be carried on in the dark and no holder of securities would have a definite knowledge of the value of his own property we have just seen on a gigantic scale the of closed exchanges and I 1 think you will agree with me that the effects were worse in reality than they ever have been pictured in theory business has had a great lesson in the last few months and I 1 believe many of our business men who alive been inclined to look upon the salt lake stock mining exchange as a magnified crap game are beginning to realize the part it has played in our commercial life and the vastly greater part it will play when the whole community learns to appreciate its value as an instrument ment for the accurate determination of prices more afore frequently than ever before bankers and business men are saying to me 1 I wish so and so was listed and called on the exchange it has been offered to me as security for loans and I 1 would like to know what I 1 would get for it if I 1 had to sell it 1 1 I can only say in reply the exchange is open for business the members have kept it open without your help or an mans it will be glad to list any stock that measures up to its standard we have kept it open through all dis courage ments because we felt that the time would come when its possibilities would be understood and its benefits appreciated we want you to avail yourselves of our service get so and so to list its shares if they will stand the test of public sale and purchase sep they will be worth your money extends the helping hand while it exposes false pretensions and fictitious values without mercy the exchange ever extends a helping hand to deserving enterprises especially the newcomers in the mining field the prospect which can pass the scrutiny of the listing committee and establish a price is half financed the quotation sheet of the exchange is its credential nothing will make investors so willing to buy a as s the certainty that they can sell at a moments notice A security that is not bene benefited cited by being listed on the exchange and subject to daily quotations should be ignored iby by the investing public some of the most prosperous mining companies of the state are indebted to the exchange for the start which enabled them to reach their present eminence some of the most pretentious companies have come to grief in neither case was the exchange the judge judg e or jury the verdict was rendered by the trading public of which the exchange is simply the mouthpiece the exchange has been at the service of the public for nineteen years in that time the transactions entered on its records have amounted in round numbers to shares of stock having a value of of money no longer ago than 1908 it did a business of and registered the sale of shares of stock it has erected a magnificent building in the cites financial center in which to hold its calls the members themselves furnished the funds to pay for it they asked no help from the city the state or the public the building cost between and the building site is worth many thousands more the share in this property which goes with a membership in the exchange is worth about 1200 seats sold for as much as before the exchange owned property membership is limited to seventy five there are now sixty eight members of whom about one half attend the regular calls control is vested in a board of governors elected annually by the membership and an executive committee appointed by the board of the future of the exchange I 1 need only say this it will continue to mirror the business and financial aspect of the community if the exchange is dull it will be because the mining business is not receiving its proper support if as I 1 sincerely believe we are eAt entering ering upon an era of wonderful derau activity and prosperity the exchange will again register its transactions in the millions three mineral discoveries so rich as to dazzle the imagination have occurred simultaneously in utah nevada and colorado transforming spoor poor men into capitalists in a few hours with such spectacular examples as these to cap the splendid record of dividends from the older mines I 1 cannot doubt that the public will awaken once more to the magnificent possibilities of persistent mining unquestionably the mines of all the active camps have never been in better condition this is evidenced by the dividends that are being paid the metal market almost buried by the clouds of depression is again appearing with a strength which pleases the most pessimistic capitalists are beginning to see and to appreciate the wonderful 0 opportunities offered in the development of our mineral resources utah the land of golden and silver opportunities in future prospects has no equal its mines have won worldwide reputations and yet its mountains of mineral wealth have hardly been scratched the exchange membership extends to its many I 1 clients thanks for their patronage and wishes the them m a prosperous new year |