will go into the market
and buy, which puts it up higher. All the time financial writers are
supplying good news about the stock and the public buys it. After they
have sold all of it, the public may still be anxious for more, and the
pool operators may go short of the stock. Then they will begin giving
out bad news, so that they can buy in stock at a lower price to cover
their short interests.

After that they have very little interest in the market. If it is
declining too fast, they may support it occasionally by buying some
stock and giving out some favorable news. That will make the market
rally and they will sell out the newly acquired stock near the top of
the rally.

Manipulations of this kind appear to be going on nearly all the time,
and there does not seem to be any limit to the number of suckers who
fall for them. But then, one can't blame the public when you realize how
thoroughly unreliable is most of the market information given to them.

Still another kind of manipulation is "one-man" manipulation, where one
man controls companies, which are known as "one-man" companies. Usually
the directors of these companies are friends or employees of his, and in
many instances he has their resignations in his possession, so that they
must do whatever he wants them to do. Owing to the strict rules of the
New York Stock Exchange, it is rather difficult for such manipulations
to be carried on there. But there have been many of them on the New York
Curb. When the Curb was operating on the street and was not under very
much control, manipulations of this kind were very frequent.

As an example, suppose a man of this kind has a mining company. When he
wants the stock to go up, he sends the stockholders a great deal of
information about the work at the mine, and perhaps sends them a
telegram when a new vein of rich ore is found. The stockholders rush in
to buy more stock, and that puts the price up. Then he unloads stock on
them to the extent that they will buy it.

In a day or two, the stock may drop back to less than one half of what
it was selling at. If this "one-man" manipulator wants to buy any stock,
he will give out a little unfavorable news, and he can get stock at his
own price.

After that the news is good or bad according to whether the manipulator
wants to buy or sell, but as a rule he has an abundance of stock that he
wants to sell, and is continually giving out good news.

A few years ago there was a