Operations In Oil Stocks

The Springffeld RepubUcan ventilntes the usual Yankee way of getling up a petroleum conipany aftor this fashion : A speeuVor gres to the oil región and buy.s a sniail farm, paying ior it from tbrea to ten or fiftcen thousand io'lars. Eeturoing hume, ho calis iround him a few kindred spirits, taken [om iiito hls eonñdence, gets them to unite in organiziog a company vvith $500,000 or more of capital, puts in his 10,000 worth cf land aga.ust $450,000 worth of s'ock and divides that stock among hi.s half di zon associntes upon their payiug to him a correspondiiig share of the piii'ohuse money, and sets aaide the balance of the stock to be sold for raising money to be squandered in real or pretended search ior uil. These atockholders are kuown in brokers' slang aa the " bottom ring." The next step is to procure a few influential names to Sgure as officers in a flaming prospectus. Deacons of churches, bank presidenta, provost marshals and eminent lawyors are preierred for this purpose. It is indispensable to the sucoessful working of the game to interest a few persons wcll and favorably known in the neighborhood. This is generally done by privatoly presenting them with a block of $5,000 or $10,000 worth of the stock, charging them with secrecy, and then using them to ref'er to as upright and slirewd men who have become heavily iifterested in the company. The principal duty of these men is to look very wise and say but litttle when appoaled to by iriends who get the oil fever, and at the same time modestly intímate that their views may be judged of by the extent to wbich they have " gone in." It is more difficult, and larger rewards are uueessarily paid, to obtain men of suita ble positioü aud iufluence, and who are at the same time willing to risk the sacrifice of character incurred by becoming President and Treasurer. It is not uncommon to bid as high as $100,000 of the stock for a prominent man who will consent to lend himself in carrying out the swiudle. Severa! Boston gentlemen have been offered is high as onefifth or onefourth of a nominal capital of a million dollars, free of charge and accompanied with a promise that no part of their time should be required in the service of the company, if they would only consent to be known as its president ; the object beiog simply to secure the influenoe of thoir ñames in carrymg on the swindles. One of the prominent business men of Spritjgfield had an offer of this sort if he would lend bis iafluence to suoh a écheme of robbery here. The speoulator thoughc Springfield just tho piase for a big petroleum company. Tho gentleman to whom tho chance was offered deolined it. Whether any of the puifers and blowers of petro leum stocks here have been thua bought up, the purchasers of stosk had bettor inquire. The final result of the whole thing will be, a few companies will go on witb the oil business and make reasonable profits; the knaves who go into the croation and sala of petroleum stocks will fill their pockets, and nine-tenths or ninety-nine hundredths of all the stockholders will lose every dollar tbey invest. The aggregato loss will be counted by million8. Our advice to thoso who have the oil fever bad is to wait, cooloff, look sharp, and don't " buy a pig in a poke."