It is generally conceded that the public is always arrayed on the “long” side (that is, the buying side) of the market; it is also universally admitted, at least by those who know, that the so-called “public” always bears the brunt of stock market losses; therefore our friend decided that he would act the part of wisdom and go “short” of the same number of shares that he had previously bought and sold,--the idea being that before selling his long stock he convinced himself that approximately the top prices had been reached, in which case the market would naturally react. But for some inexplicable reason it failed to run true to his expectations; that is, the probable course deducible from charts and precedents. Per contra, the prices continued stubbornly to rise. When he had lost all his profits he backed his judgment by his actions, and doubled his short sales; and at five points higher he doubled again, for a break was long overdue. Being short upwards of three thousand shares in a rapidly rising market is a tremendous mental strain, even for a seasoned trader; and naturally our novice became somewhat nervous. Some stock market wiseacre--one or more of which class are usually to be found lounging about every brokerage office--consolingly remarked that while stocks have a certain fixed bottom, they have no top; which increased his anxiety. After studying charts and various compilations of figures and facts about earnings and past market performances, he concluded that Bethlehem Steel, selling at $45 a share, was not worth half that price; also that Studebaker at $35 was much too high. After an extended inquiry into the past and prospective earnings of these two companies he sold short a thousand shares of each; but instead of reacting they steadily maintained their upward course with the rest of the list. His broker called for more margin, and he put up another hundred thousand in bonds. He was advised to “cover” and go “long,” but he stood firmly by his convictions--and the charts. “That’s why the public all lose,” he declared; “they get ‘cold feet’ and shift positions at the wrong time.” From a personal friend who was a director of the new General Motors Corporation he got an “inside tip” that that stock, selling at $82, was too high, so he added a few hundred shares of it to his short account. Meantime the country’s commerce and the entire group of stocks, moved forward with the steady even tread of an army on parade. THE STOCK MARKET PRODUCES A NEW PHENOMENON--TURNS WORLD-WIDE DISASTER INTO LOCAL PROSPERITY