Steel's: A Forgotten Stock Market Scandal from the 1920s

Front Flap, Title Page, Frontispiece, Copyright, Dedication, About the Author

S T E E L’ S The Denver store at night, the Fontius Building (Steel Sparks, January 13, 1923) STE E L’S ~ A ~ F O RG OT T E N S TO CK M A R K E T S C A N DA L F RO M T H E 1920 S Dave Dyer Syracuse University Press Copyright © 2013 by Syracuse University Press Syracuse, New York 13244-5290 All Rights Reserved First Edition 2013 13 14 15 16 17 18 6 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. For a listing of books published and distributed by Syracuse University Press, visit our website at SyracuseUniversityPress.syr.edu. ISBN: 978-0-8156-1012-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dyer, Dave. Steel’s : a forgotten stock market scandal from the 1920s / Dave Dyer. — First edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8156-1012-0 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Steel, L. R, 1878–1923. 2. Investment advisors—United States—Case studies. 3. Fraud—United States—Case studies. 4. Ponzi schemes—United States—Case studies. 5. Financial services industry—Corrupt practices—United States— Case studies. I. Title. HG4928.5.D94 2013 364.16'3092—dc23 2012050446 Manufactured in the United States of America This book is dedicated to Clayton Evans Pickard, my great-uncle. He vanished in 1923 after working for Steel’s, but he left just enough footprints for me to discover this amazing story. Dave Dyer is an independent investor who lives in Houston, Texas. He has a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan and spent twenty years in the software industry prior to investing and writing on a full-time basis. His publications include weekly stock market newsletters , newspaper editorials, and history articles for several magazines. He has been a frequent stock market commentator and radio talk show host for a business-oriented radio network. His e-mail address is davedyer@mindspring.com. ...