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Show Swapping Slocks The tirye of John A. Malia, state bank commissioner, to investors and stockholders in the Western Loan & Kiiildinsr company to refrain from trading their securities for other paper might well be incorporated into a general admonition to the public at large.' It, of course, is little concern of the banking department what the individual investor does or may do with his holdings. What the commissioner says of the stock of the Western Loan & Building company might yery well apply to many other securities. General business experience for several years has been disappointing. Stockholders, in general, have been perturbed by potential losses. Thej court a way out of their difficulties difficul-ties and so it is that they become prey for sharp promoters. Promoters offer to take over their holdings and give something some-thing else in its place, on the theory that the investor will improve his position. Investors who listen to this siren song fail to comprehend compre-hend the motives of their pretended benefactors. Sharp promoters, pro-moters, now as before, are in business for themselves. In these cases their obvious intention is to improve their own position, by obtaining embarrassed securities in exchange for something not quite so good. The risk belongs to the individual indi-vidual investor and so it is that he must take it upon himself him-self to provide his own protection. The urge of the bank commissioner should be sufficient warning against frantic disposal of current securities. It can make little difference to the department what the individual indi-vidual investor does with his holdings. In this particular case, the department has a definite obligation to conserve the assets of the institution in which these people are interested. inter-ested. It is doubtful if he would have any jurisdiction or any obligation in the matters which are offered in exchange for stock and investments in this institution. So it is that, if the individual is going to go in for stock trading, he at least should know as much about what he is going to get as what he now holds. Salt Lake Tribune. |