Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1854-06-08

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| Hoard ofa 3rolsers-wall Street. New Yok
The Board OF Brokers are a enrios'ty' ana
! n. well worth Witt as any other menager.e III
theciiv. The principal anipals on exhibition
are bulls and bears, but there is a great variety
of each genus, and there il no CRY" OF any wfid
beast now existing that cannot he initiated III
s,tnerior manner Ia the original by some one OF
the members While in the Board room, all
restraint aud dignity is laid aside, and all sorts
of tricks upon travellers are praetlced ny oia
hands, Who outside, never think OF sInlllng.-
There are about $50 members. but only I2o are
regular attendants. The eldest member Is "a
bont seventy wears of age. and the youngest
twenty five The initiation fee is four hund ed
dollars and the yearly dues in the shape OF flnes
are from twenty five to three hundred dollars
more. If not ON hand at half past IL O'Clock
when the roll is called the fine is sixpfnee tor
going to the door shilng for bidding on
stock out of order, two shillings-and so on
through the Catalogue. Some of the members
get fined two or three dollars day.
Tie stock list is called off by the president,
beginning with Government and State stocks,
then banks, insurance companies, fancy stocks
railroad stocks, and closing with railroad bonds.
Time is given ON each stock for bidding. Eve
rythlng goes along pretty quietly until the ian
cies' are reached such as Nicaragua. Cumber-
land, Erie, Hudson river and Harlem, when
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fusion p, rfeetly understandable. Fifty men are
yelling ut the top of their voices some wanting
to sell. some wanting to buy-some Jumping up
and some sitting down-all excited-al trying to
sell the highest and buy the UNDERSTANDING
noise enough TO take all the hair off nervous
mans head, and rendering it almost impossible
to get the sales properly recorded. After a
great many raps,and Come to order,gentle-men
and ~ wi fine every gentleman two shilllngs
bi1dintr m tha stockiti hN the president order
once more restored.
1t often happens that sale is claimed by
two persons, and i'll that case the question is laid
before the Board to be decided. The decisions
are sometimes unjust. but there is no help for it.
If a broker Is not popular, he stands poor
chance OF getting II decision in his favor. Some
times in the midst of the greatest excitement
when thousands of dollars are being made and
lost, some little incidents will happen that will
divert tue attention of the whole Board, and pre-
vent, for time, any business being doue. One
day, when the board on Erie. and the ex-
element high, Mr. D, a French gentleman
and the most quiet, gentemanly man in the
world, got little excited, and made some petu
lent remark. In an instant, and with unanimi-
ty that would hardly seem possible, the whole
Board struck up the :" Marseilles Hymn" and
sang IL through, in spite of all the efforts of the
President to prevent it. Sometime, when
serious stock, like Crystal Palace, hen
will be heard to cackle, then Shanghai will
crow, ducks will quack, and a general barnyard
concert will take place. A man will go to the
other end of the room, and every body will begin
to laugh He will look round, and see all eyes
directed to him. Putting his hand to his back,
he finds card, on which is printed in large let
ters "A fine green turtle" He doesn't get mad
because that does no good; but, if he can dis
cover the Puck who did the deed, he watches his
chance to pay him off in like coin.
There are some of the finest men in New York
in the stock board, and, as a general thing the
members are men of worth and intelligence. 1t
is difficult to get in, it only requires three
black balls to keep candidate out, and unless a
man can show pretty clean bill of health, there
is no chance for him. Young men who have
been brought upin Wall street are sometimes adj
mitted without opposition: but old men, mer-
chants, and broken-down politicians, are black
! balled right and left.-N. I. Ledger. ~v~-'rs#