Piggly-Wiggly

The somewhat rhetorical aftermath of the Piggly Wiggly corner has been of interest in the Street. President Saunders' fulminations against "Wall Street" in the press must be taken as a rather overdone attempt to terrify the shorts into covering at an admittedly manipulated price. To those not short of Piggly Wiggly, the episode is not without humor. Mr. Saunders was evidently quite serious when he declared that he would never permit his stock to be traded in upon the Stock Exchange. As the financial editor of The New York Times declared, " This is a body blow, but the Stock Exchange will recover from it." Commenting upon the speed with which the authorities struck Piggly Wiggly from the Stock Exchange list, the latter authority also remarks, "Necessary discipline of the kind always suggests the query, exactly how such exigencies would be met, with Stock Exchange procedure either dictated by a political bureau on the Lockwood Committee's plan, or subject to that bureau's veto." Incidentally, the Lockwood bills here referred to, for the incorporation of the Stock Exchange and the licensing of stock brokers, perished by an overwhelming vote in the New York State Assembly last week.

A final question, often asked, is how profitable such corners in the stock market really are to their manipulators. Press estimates of Mr. Saunders' profits range between 2% and 7 millions. But this profit is, of course, on paper, not cash in the bank. Mr. Saunders, as the result of his operations, now owns most of the stock of his company. The southern banks will probably tire of carrying this stock for him indefinitely, especially as there is no good market for it. When he comes to sell it, his present paper profit will be greatly reduced by the operation, if not wholly wiped out.