Take the street railroads here in New York,
for instance. What could be a safer investment than the street
railroads of the Metropolis? An absolute monopoly, and traffic
growing so fast that construction can't keep up with it. Profits are
sure. So people buy street railway stocks and bonds. In this case
it's the politicians who organise the construction companies; that's
their share, in return for the franchises. The insiders have a new
scheme--the best yet; it's like a Gatling gun against bows and
arrows. They organise a syndicate, and get the franchises for
nothing, and then sell them to the company for millions. They've
even sold franchises they didn't own, and railroad lines that hadn't
been built. You'll find some improvements charged for four or five
times over, and the improvements haven't yet been made. First and
last they have paid themselves about thirty million dollars. And, in
the meantime, the poor stockholder wonders why he doesn't get his
dividends!"
"That's the investment market," the Major continued after a pause;
"but of course the biggest reservoirs of wealth are the insurance
companies and the banks.
Pages:
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206