September, 1932 



THE I. A. A. RECORD 



Page Nine 



z^ 



PRICE-DECLINE COMPARISONS COVERING THREE LEADING GROUPS OF STOCKS AND 



THE THREE CLASSES OF FARM PRODUCTS MOST LARGELY MARKETED THROUGH 



COOPERATIVES RECEIVING ASSISTANCE FROM THE FEDERAL FARM BOARD 



High in 

 1929 



Low in 

 1931 



4th Week of 

 May 1932 



Decline — Decline^ 



29 High to 29 High to 

 31 Low '32 Figure 



A 

 A 

 A 

 B 

 C 

 B 



Average 50 Leading Industrial Stocks $252,8 



Average 20 Leading Rail Stocks 167.8 



Average 20 Leading Utility Stocks 353.3 



Wheat-Cash-Average all Classes & Grades 1.34 



Cotton — Middling, Spot — Average Price .1933 



Steers — Good Grade 14.78 



$60.0 

 30.8 

 92.8 

 .469 

 .0515 

 6.80 



$38.3 



14.4 



a 

 60.3 



b 

 .593 



a 



.0559 



b 



6.49 



76.26% 



81.64% 



73.73% 



65% 



73.35% 



54.06% 



85% 



91.4% 



83% 



5l5.8% 



71% 



56.1% 



A — AfiMoeiated Fre«« FlK'urCK. 



II — Bureau of Aerirultural ICeoiiomien FlKureM (Averai^e for n \V«ok) at ('hiciiso. 



C — Bureau of Agricultural RcoiiomicM FiK'uren at Neiv OrieaiiH. 



n-^C'loHe for the lant day of that ^veck. ,,. 



b — Average for that week. ■■.• .'■'•;''.■■■/ ■•.v . 



a« 



em 



true earnings, true liabilities and 

 true assets of the corporation it- 

 self." 



Regardless of what people may 

 think of the several proposals re- 

 cently advanced by Gov. Franklin 

 D. Roosevelt, the Democratic presi- 

 dential nominee, to curb speculation 

 and correct abuses which brought 

 on and intensified the depression, 

 his program to compel honesty and 

 truth telling by promotors, invest- 

 ment bankers, and others who of- 

 fer securities to the investing pub- 

 lic will meet with general approval. 



The orgy of financial piracy di- 

 rected by greedy bankers, public 

 utility magnates, and common pro- 

 moters in the era preceding the 

 market crash of 1929 should never 

 have been tolerated. The excesses of 

 this period which saw literally mil- 

 lions of small investors cleaned out 

 of their life's savings would never 

 have happened had bond and stock 

 sellers been compelled to tell the 

 truth about each issue. 



No one except those willing to 

 see wholesale robbery of the inno- 

 cent public continued, can object 

 to more careful supervision and 

 regulation by the government of 

 such public offerings. Before the 

 coming of stocks, bonds, and in- 

 tangible property the rule of 

 "caveat emptor" (let the buyer be- 

 ware) might be defended on the 

 ground that the buyer could see 

 what he was getting. But we are 

 living today in a different age. The 

 rank and file of small investors 

 have no way of judging whether or 

 not a stock, bond, or other equity 

 is worth the money. They must 

 rely on the word of bankers and 

 sellers who offer such "paper" for 

 sale. The average prospectus sheet 

 is framed deliberately to deceive 

 the investor. If they do not actually 

 lie, they usually resort to puffing, 

 and withhold essential information 

 to help the investor judge intelli- 

 gently the degree of risk involved. 



"I propose that every effort be 

 made to prevent the issue df manu- 

 factured and unnecessary securities 

 of all kinds which are brought out 

 merely for the purpose of enriching 

 those who handle their sale to the 

 public," said Gov. Roosevelt in his 

 Columbus speech. "I further pro- 

 pose that with respect to legitimate 

 securities the sellers shall tell the 

 uses to which the money is put. 

 This truth telling requires that 

 definite and accurate statements 

 be made to the buyers in respect 

 to the bonuses and commissions the 

 sellers are to receive; and further- 

 more true information as to the in- 

 vestment of principal, as to the 



Prison sentences would be the pen- 

 alty imposed upon fraudulent op- 

 erators in many countries, but here 

 we let most of them go. Will Rogers 

 said with considerable truth after 

 visiting a state prison "The trouble 

 is they got the wrong crowd in 

 there." Intrenched privilege may 

 again shout "government in busi- 

 ness" but their cry is that of the 

 wolf deprived of its prey. 



It's time the government got in- 

 to the business of protecting its 

 citizens against the buccaneers 

 parading as respectable investment 

 bankers, realtors, contractors, util- 

 ity magnates and what not. Protec- 

 tion here is even more necessary 



than the police who guard us from 

 the less hypocritical robbers who 

 take our valuables by force rather 

 than deceit. The tendency toward 

 further consolidation in business 

 makes such regulation all the more 

 essential— E. G. T. 



Malnfain Base Price 



For Milk at St. Louis 



Settlement of a dealer-producer 

 milk price controversy involving 

 numerous St. Louis dealers and 

 Sanitary Milk Producers, was an- 

 nounced recently in a report sub- 

 mitted by Dean Isidor Loeb of 

 Washington University, arbitrator. 



His decision permits the price for 

 basic supply of milk to remain at 

 the present figure of $1.74 per 100 

 pounds for 3.8 per cent milk, while 

 the price for surplus milk was es- 

 tablished on the average price of 

 butterfat on the Chicago market for 

 August, with the provision that it 

 do not exceed 18 cents a pound. 



The Pevely Dairy Co., which has 

 never co-operated with the organ- 

 ized producers, has been constantly 

 bearing down the price to the pro- 

 ducer with the result that the 

 dealers buying from the associa- 

 tion claimed they were at a disad- 

 vantage in competing with Pevely. 



The dealers sought a reduction in 

 the existing base price, while the 

 organized dairymen sought an in- 

 crease. 



Dean Loeb in announcing his de- 

 cision explained that dealers buy- 

 ing on the base and surplus plan 

 enjoy certain advantages of steady 

 supply and quality, and that they 

 can afford to absorb a temporary 

 reduction in profit in the interest 

 of retaining the- co-operative's plan 

 of operation. 



