OCR Text |
Show STOCKHOLDERS' BIGHT 10 LJOIUI BOORS How the Privilego Reacts Un-. Un-. favorably, or May Benefit Owners. Since the organization of the larger combinations, and with the energotic flotation of thoir enormous share-capitalization, there have boon jneubatod certain schemes by which stock brokers, bro-kers, in tho excitement of subsequent speculation, have shorn tho lambs, and unprincipled persons tiavo filched tho corporations. Whether the "crime" be "rigging" tho stock market under the mantle- of a .Napoleon of Finance, or of ferreting out. the mothodn of corporations under the protection of tho law for financial exploitation; both practices are reprehensible, says the Mining World. The " man higher up" may oe aided in his checkered career by "influential friends," and the "man at tho bottom," the hireling, may sometimes some-times escape with a small line" and a Judge's reprimand; but what redress is there for the patient, confiding stockholder? stock-holder? A veteran banker once said, in answer to a client's query about her investment in a mining stock, which, though tho property had mofit, was being used as a target by unscrupulous speculators: "Friend, for a while forgot for-got that you own this stock. Your investment in-vestment has been mado on the intrinsic value of the property, not on tho possible possi-ble fluctuations in an excited 6lock market." mar-ket." It takes courage to hold a stock which haB become the football of a demoralized demoral-ized market; but it requires tact and good business sense on the part of the diroctors of the "marked" cornoration when they try to stem tho tide of un- earned criticism. Too often, wo fear, tho trouble is precipitated by people who abuse the law which provides that tho books of all stock corporations doing do-ing business in another State shall be open to tho inspection of stockholders. Smetimes tho law stipulates that refusal re-fusal to grant this permission to shareholders share-holders will result in a penalty of, saj, $250 against tho corporation "and $250 against tho officer making tho denial. Under such a law comparatively fow corporations care to file their refusal in court, perhaps because they know tho resulting litigation will mean tho opening of tiieir books to tho public Several cases have lately come to our attention in which it has been proved at court that tho complainant, a small stockholder, had taken undue advantage of the law by inspecting the books of the defendant corporation for the purpose of making extracts of certain cer-tain data and compiling a list of the shareholders for privato gain. Such information in-formation we learn also, is often sold to competitive firms who make capital out of it iu different ways. A shareholder share-holder in possession of such data can inaugurate harassing litigation for a corporation, as has been shown by the carocr of the Amalgamated Copper cora- gfiny, the United Copper company, tho iroux Consolidated Mining company, tho Calumet. & Hecla Mining company, and others. When a. person acquires shaTes in a mine for the purpose of collecting evidence evi-dence from the company's books, either for uso in speculation to the detriment of other stockholders, or endeavors thereby to handicap tho polic"v of honest hon-est management with a view to attaining attain-ing greater private gain, he should be "lined up" by the iron hand of justice. jus-tice. To saj' the least, such a person is an "undesirable stockholder,' ' eligible for membership in the "Ananias club." On the other hand, we do not believe it. would be polite for any largo corporation cor-poration to deny stockholders the information in-formation which would give them a better understanding of the value of their investment. Nor does it seem nudjeiqus for corporations that publish periodical reports to so group their earnings and1 expenditures as to require the services of a trained mathematician to explain them. There mny bo an official offi-cial reason for complex bookkeeping in a company report to avoid pertinent questions from shareholders but a board of directors with the right moral courage should not hsilalo to mako an mtolligiblo accounting and face adverse criticism. It is not alone the stockholder's stock-holder's privilege to learn tho truth, but it is tho duty of the management of tho company which has taken his monev to make an equitable return and show'him fair play. |