Date:    01/31/2000  10:46 AM

Subject: subject:File No. S7-24-99 comments 

Dear Sirs, 
It is of critical importance to the maintenance of fair markets that you¤ 
level the playing field for the investing public with regard to short¤ 
selling. It is time to enforce one set of short-selling rules which will¤ 
apply to both market makers and the investing public. I urge you to 
remove¤
the unfair and discriminatory regulations that restrict the public's¤ 
ability to short-sell stocks, while providing preferential treatment only¤ 
for the market makers and industry insiders. 
Unfortunately, most novice investors do not understand or appreciate the¤ 
critical check-and-balance afforded by the action of short selling in the¤ 
exercise of free markets. Since the industry makes no effort whatsoever 
to¤
educate the public with regard to short selling, the public is left to draw¤ 
the erroneous conclusion that it is short sellers who should be blamed 
when¤
a stock goes down in price. 
Regrettably, this lack of understanding applies most directly to the new¤ 
generation of "do-it-yourself" investors spawned by the proliferation of¤ 
access to information and gossip enabled by the internet. Many treat the¤ 
internet as a tool to generate "momentum" for stocks as though it is a¤ 
football game. Rapid runups are easily fabricated for reasons having¤ 
nothing whatever to do with the value of the underlying security. 
However, professional investment firms and marketmakers have rigged 
the¤
game so they can play by a different set of rules than the general public. ¤ 
They have done this for no other reason than to line their own pockets,¤ 
under the sham of maintaining "fairness" in the market. 
Every day, market pros short sell IPO's, short sell on downticks, and 
short¤
sell without regard to the availability of certificates. They do it¤ 
quietly, without regulation, and without a requirement for disclosure;¤ 
often in direct contradiction to the public "recommendations" of analysts¤ 
from the very same firms. 
The public will be best served by administering the markets so that every¤ 
investor wishing to place their own money in an "at-risk" trade be 
allowed¤
to do so under the same rules. 
I urge you to eliminate current restrictions on short selling, and allow¤ 
the public to sell short by the same rules as market makers. 
Thank you for receiving input on this critical issue. 
Glen Fleharty