Date:    09/18/2000  9:03 PM

Subject: short selling

SEC Rulemaking committee
     
Of concern to many individual investors that I correspond with is short 
selling to manipulate short term price fluctuations in a security. This 
is being done constantly by many Market Makers in smaller securities. 
Granted we all know the necessity of this to keep markets liquid and 
smooth. I wholly agree with that concept. What I have observed is the 
abuse of naked short-selling by Market Makers to sell into market demand 
only to later deliberately drop the price of the same security to scare 
holders into selling so the Market Makers can cover their naked shorts. 
Maybe this is the proper way to do it. OK, I can live with that. What I 
don't like about the system in these small caps stocks is the Market 
Makers have no reporting requirements as far as their positions in any 
given stock. Part of due diligence is finding short positions and making 
a requirement that short positions on all securities by all Market 
Makers and Specialists on all listed and non-listed securities be 
reported and become public knowledge would go a long way in curbing the 
abuses now happening. Requiring the reporting of short positions in all 
securites would open the door behind which there seems to be a lot of 
games being played at the expense of all individual investors.
     
TRhank you for listening
     
Alan Snyder
1087 Dove st
Toms River, NJ 08753