Transcriber’s Notes: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). Additional Transcriber’s Notes are at the end. * * * * * THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SPECULATION * * * * * [Illustration] THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SPECULATION THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN STOCK MARKET TRANSACTIONS BY HENRY HOWARD HARPER WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HAYDON JONES PRIVATELY PRINTED BOSTON--MDCDXXVI * * * * * COPYRIGHT 1926 BY HENRY HOWARD HARPER _All rights reserved_ * * * * * BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR Booklovers, Bibliomaniacs and Book Clubs Bob Hardwick A Journey in South-eastern Mexico The Stumbling Block Random Verses The Codicil The Unexpected Hodgkins The Story of a Manuscript Byron’s Malach Hamoves The Tides of Fate The Devils’ Nest Library Essays Highlights of Foreign Travel (_All of the above are out of print_) The Torch Press CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK There are many persons who, although knowing a great deal about the stock market, do not realize that the reason why they cannot “beat” it, is that they know too little about themselves. There are others who know their limitations well enough to let this monster problem alone. As it is important that one should learn to swim before plunging into deep water, so it is well to know some of the dangers of the stock market before delving into it. It is not the purpose of this book to dissuade anyone from buying and selling securities, but merely to point out some of the stumbling blocks and handicapping influences that speculators, and even investors, are sure to encounter. H. H. H. * * * * * THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SPECULATION THE HUMAN ELEMENT IN STOCK MARKET TRANSACTIONS The stock market literature of the past thirty years would make a vast library in itself--one that would provide reading for a lifetime. Perhaps there is no other subject, apart from the eternal topic of love, in which more people are vitally concerned, either directly or indirectly. Since most of the country’s wealth and commerce is controlled by corporations whose securities are listed on the various stock exchanges, the price fluctuations, which often reach the daily aggregate of hundreds of millions of dollars, either in loss or enhancement of value, are necessarily a matter of general concern. In 1925 the stock transactions on the New York Stock Exchange alone amounted to the stupendous and unprecedented total of well over 452,000,000 shares, while the sales of listed bonds totaled more than $3,398,000,000. These figures, of course, do not include the unknown billions of dollars worth of securities bought and sold on a dozen or more other exchanges and through private channels. [Illustration]