Take it in the incident above related: Had these men been prosecuted
for falsely using the name of the trust company or for obtaining money
by misrepresentation (the claim that the trust company was acting as
trustee for the Brite & Fair securities), an able lawyer could have
made out of the "trust" to transfer a package of unknown contents a
very plausible defense. Again, the mining company was able to make
valuable use of the trust company's receipt for the package by having
fac similes of the receipt printed and distributed among solicitors
for the stock who were canvassing persons not at all familiar with
legal documents--and who, under the statements and arguments of the
agent, would see in the receipt an acknowledgment that this great
trust company and its millions were behind the securities of the Brite
& Fair Company.
This brings us straight to the practical point in the matter. Never go
into an investment until you first find out for yourself, by direct
and first-hand investigation, what the "references" named in the
literature or advertising matter of the company have to say about it,
and how much the references themselves amount to.