The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-12-18

The Natural History OF Bulls and Bears.
Button has told US something about bulls aud
bears, which is very well as far as it goes; but
there are varieties Of these creatures which
are the product Of very high order of ciyilizs-
ton, and which, interesting as they are, tcat emf
nent naturalist has omitted to portray. We pro
pose in few words 70 supply some part Of the de-
iciency.
Every period of commercial prosperity is
marked on the one hand by sudden aud rapid
growth OF all kinds of financial schemes, and on
sbe other by a remarkable development OF the
passion for gambling which is innate 10 mankind.
We leave it to philosophers to decide how the
phenomena are related, whether the bubble
schemes are the parents Of the gambling mania,
or The mania gives birth to the schemes. For us
it Is enough 10 know that both necessarily spring
out OF and are conciden. with eras Of general pros
perity At such periods men have money to lose
AID their appetite for gain is sharpened BY tn
unusually rapid accumulation OF wealth. The
grocer. the dry goods man, the merchant, the
banker, seeing their Legitimate profits increase at
an unexanpled rate, throw OF the caution which
guarded them in harder times, and forget to
discriminate between strictly business ope-
raions and " fancy fiers." The tangible
evidences of prosperity which they see
around them, delude them into the belief
that all mus. be prosperous; in 80 much
sunshine they see no shade. Accordingly they
invest their money in the bubble of the day; take
share in every wild enterprise that is started
and proceed to endeavor to interest their neigh
bors in like manner. These are the bulls. The
bears on the contrary are the unbelieving Tho
masses, who will not admit that fortunes can be
made in an afternoon or week, and give an
earnes. of their ncredibiiity by betting with the
bulls on the rise and fall OF the commodity gam
bled in.
We saw such period Of prosperity and specu-
l1tion from 1892 to 1886. The country was do
ing we'll; trade industry and agriculture were
thriving at an unexampled rate and the contest
between the State banks and the United States
Bank poured food of fictitious wealth into
Wall street. Elated by this real and fancied
prosperity, the bulls appeared and bet heavily
that bank stocks would rise. To them rose up
shortly herd Of bears, who bet that on the con-
trary bank stocks would fail. For four years the
contest was wagsd with varying success. There
were corners made then, as now and the great
bears Of that day We're sometimes caught by the
great bulls, and the papers kept by the great
bulls were in grca. spirits thcreat, just as we
see it in our time. But the end OF il was that
they all broke down together, and Of The two
he bulls were the most hurt BY the fall, for
hey went out Of sight, and were never heard
of again.
The present time shows us these interesting
animals in a like predicament once more. For
he last four or live years the country has been
doing very well farmers, merchants, manu-
facturers have been making money; the banks
have expanded largely, and the railroads have
added twelve hundred millions 10 our paper va
lues. On the strength Of this, the bulls have arr
sen once more in great force, and are resolutely
bent on examining their wares down the public
throat This timc inc commodity gan,bled in Is
moi bank stock: il i railroad scrip and shares
They are Of no permanent value for the most
part; bus the bulls are ready 70 bet that they
Jewels Of rac price, The bears, legitimate
cesct ndants Of those OF 1885, deal in facts re-
specting these securities and Offer TO bet that they
will fan. The head OF tbe bulls, " il seems, at
ibis ne, j. Mr.. Wesley, the owner Of the Daily
f,n@ newspaper; he bets with Mr.. Jacob Lit =
,he great boar, who has no newspaper 10 b I
linn. This Wesley gets up corners with The heap
OF other bulls OF Woll street; he frcs away ut
poor Jacob Little IN his paper, anil says be il no
better than d common gambler, ~ though Wes-
ley himself were in a different line OF business:
and on day, he catches NJ. Little. aad breaks
him. Upon which, Mr.. Wesley who is said to
be very Pious, and to pay largely for dcyo-
tional purposes has his paper to represent
the affair as though he had rendered the State
service; and gets his editors 10 draw fancy pic
TIRES of bis sornering Mr.. Little and breaking
HIM. in the style Of St George killing the
Dragon. so these bulls and BEERS 20 on. Some
dag the hears will get the upper hand. and then
Wesley viii b. down, begging for mercy; anl
then. no doubt, he will have ms editors ail1de 70
hun in tn style Of Foxs Martyrs and pronOunce
stock 10 bling j very immoral and improper en-
ployment
that people should keep out Of thcm. In the
end. al bulls must be ruined, and ell bears may,
and usually are; and the stocks which they nee
10 gamble with never fail TO go bodily 20 peril.
ton. Prudent men win therefore let Wesley the
bah and Little the bear fight til they iaish each
other. without interfering; IL they have money
10 invest they win take care not 10 pat il in the
securities whieh these operators knock up and
down; II they own any such stock they will sell
il out directly.
. SrocK GAMBLING JOURNALISM Wesley 4 Com
pany, who own the New York Tsrsss. acknowledge