Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-09-11
From the Philadelphia American and C,azst.o
Stock Gambling and It's Cons..,r.,~

From the Philadelphia American and C3ozot.
Stock Gambling and Consequence.
1t will soon become impossible to orpan;ze coro,.:
and procure capital for enterprises in which that I
assumes the form OF stocks The leading brokers' hoard
of the country that at New York appears r. I oolu
centrated its i'll energies gambling in ever .too,
which is on market and in operating as often as nrSt
may be made in that manner, with its whole strength
tor the depreciation of those Stocks and the ruin of b
enterprises they represent A railroad comnanv 10
gained, and twothrs of its stock is taken nv naro
who wish quiet investment and who RELY upm its COR
tain returns But It's stock in some manner brouob+
into the brokers market and with but trivial sum or
none at ALL invested by these operators they operate for
fall sell short and perhaps pay small differences bnt
soon create panic among outside holders and at tho
end swndle those who have paid their money ont If
one-haf of it, The stock worth ntrnsicaIv
80 or 80 per cent is then in their hands at low nrce
and they eisurey wait its rise. When again near it's
real value, the outsiders again invest again # ip
driven down. and again the panic-strcken holders sell
for half they gave. Such is the established course of
| things with the gamblers in stocks who rule the New
4ork market, and who brighten people from investment
cripple enterprise and rum all who assist to build rail
roads and develop the resources of the country
The present asserted panic in New York is the result
solely of this stock gambling. While it directly touches
few in Philadelphia it possible that thousands
in Ohio and the Western States will be crippled and
business even mere VIII feel a remote injury in conse-
quence. The Ohio Life and Trust COMPANY aided the
railroad interests of that and other States with inst
lberality, and no more The stock gamblers depreci-
ated the stocks of those roads more than half and sn
pension follows And all this when the real business Of
the roads and the country has no depresson ybaavo
or none not obviously local and temporary and the re-
sources of the company are fully up to the average and
equal to all ordinary demands. Those who NAV be in
erested Ill the opening of lines of improvements can
see IN these proceedings the of the depressOn
~i men, hangs over them Who can safely invest, when
board of brokers may without owning dollar of the
STOCK take the whole of even thirty millions invested
as IN the New ork and Erie Railroad out of the hands
OF holders and depreciate it fifty per cent or more?
w ith undlmnlshed receipts and under general con-
dlton of soyency and safe business in the country this
has been DONE and will be done again 1t is surprising
nat SO much has been accomplished in the construction
OF railroads since this stock selling time began and
now certain that railroad building on large scale is
except on the basis of land grants and in the
new States.
| Notwithstanding the strenuous efforts made in the
money articles of some of the New ork papers to mag
MY the recent depression into general financial reyul
sion, none will The sOlvency of the business of
the country generally clear and the re-
ceptS OF the principal railroads are suffering no decline
On the contrary they participate in the general advance
ment OF business interests and all the great through
roads are steadily increasing in value 1t is we suppose
we'll understood that the transactions which involve the
proceedings to which we have referred are not bona fdc
SAFES or transfers OF stock in many that if real
transactions, they but few shares of stock and
employ but a small sum of money. Substantially they
are but mere payments of differences between the price
OF stock on the day of SALE and its price when deliver
ed thirty Or sixty days from that time The profits of
large and sudden depreciation are enormous and the
sum then handled large the operator can grasp
but the preliminary steps may have been accomplished
on few shares with little risk to the seller on time At
the height OF the panic, companies and individuals may
he compelled to part with immense sums and then the
harvest OF the depreciator is realized.
The point of chief public interest in these matters is
the check they constitute legitimate enterprise in all
commercial undertakings. Stock companies cannot con-
duct operations safely and private capitalists cannot
vest without ruin until this form of gambling has an end
put to by stringent laws This destructive and ruin
Gus course is legally restrained and unknown at every
foreign stock exchange In what other country under
the sun would it be tolerated that the should
be allowed twice, within the space of few months tc
suspend payment for millions of unsettled balances ??
Except IN Wall street, it would be impossible for Jacob
Little to fail for with his antecedents except in Wall
street. he could not obtain the credit which enables
compes him to do 1t is time for business men, who
are engaged in sound and wholesome transactions tt
. provide remedy against these evils it il
that the scandaous of the stock board which
are enrlchng few to the serious damage of the many
should be suppressed and order of things subst
i tuted.