Читать книгу One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money онлайн

30 страница из 353

It is bad enough for the one who has been thus defrauded, but it is many times worse when little children are made to suffer. It may be that the widow should pay the penalty of her foolishness but the innocent, helpless little children are the ones who suffer most.

How to guard against the depredations of these people, and protect one’s self, is the object of this chapter. By following the plan here outlined, any man or woman can be assured of comparative safety. It has been successfully employed, and has saved thousands of dollars.

First of all, you must learn to do your own thinking, instead of becoming confused by the advice that is offered you, for no two of your friends or acquaintances will advise you alike. Use your own judgment, and carefully weigh every suggestion.

Suppose you are approached with a proposition to invest your money. No matter how attractive the prospect may look, adopt this as a slogan: “Investigate before investing,” and do this thoroughly, because the “snap” will not be gone if you delay a little while. Make sure that your investigation is as complete as possible. This will not only protect you from fraudulent and wild-cat schemes but will enable you to find a really meritorious proposition. It may cost you from $25 to $50 as expense for investigation purposes, but this is far better than losing $5,000 to $10,000. Make it a rule to test all propositions on which you are solicited—to never act until you have full information before you. When approached by the person desiring you to invest tell him before going into a discussion as to the investment you wish to be informed about his company. Copy all the following questions and submit them to him, requesting that each question be carefully answered, and that after the answers are made they shall be signed by the corporation, individual, company or partnership. If his proposition is all right, and he believes in it, he will gladly co-operate; but if he is doubtful whether or not it will stand the test, he will endeavor to persuade you not to put the company to the trouble of answering so many unnecessary questions. Adhere to your resolution to have the information first. These questions alone will eliminate nine-tenths of the fraudulent investments and all weak propositions.