Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-02-15
oov c,wR1iNG IN BOSTON.

.a that Kenyon, the East Green
Tier wasted the money he took
~ hanks, in stock gambling. He un
i,O ~ speculate in stocks, and, at first
-. successful, making $4,000. This ap-
aoars to have turned his head. He went in
5aoner and was lost He seems to have dealt
chiefly with mining stocks, and shares OF
the Erie Railroad Company, both utterly
worthless and of no use whatever, except for
the purposes of operating" and swindling,
and both favorite material among the veteran
operators" who are forever on the watch to
victimize the Verigreens and wise Noodles,
who can be induced to seek wealth by means
of speculation. The Erie Railroad shares
have never been otherwise than worthless
since the road went into operation; and before
this Kenyon began to deal in them, their actual
value had sunk to an almost Unreasonable
distance beyond worthlessness; and yet, bad
rs they were, these Erie shares were much
better than the mining stocks, which, besides
being worthless, are liable to constant and
most unaccountable assessments.
The sale of lottery tickets is forbidden in
this state. Lotteries are treated as rascally
contrivances for swindling and robbing on a
large scale; and lottery gambling is known to
be disastrous to character. But the sale of
lottery tickets is no worse than the trade in
mining stocks and other 'fancies," as con-
Quoted in Boston, where they have an institu-
ton called the "broker's board" Most of the
mining companies seem to have been contrived
to furnish business for the sharpers. Go to
the Boston brokers, and you will hear of min
ing companies innumerable. They have the
elsie Royale," the "Toltec," the 'Pewabec,"
the Hancock" the National" the Pontiac"
the "Mesnard;" but their name is legion, and
they are all pretty much alike. Only two of
these innumerable mining companies ever
pretended to pay dividend, and only one of
these has undertaken to do so lately. They
are all Michigan corporations, being organized
under the laws of that state; but they all have
their existence in and around State street,
Boston, where there is perpetual buying and
selling of their shares, with perpetual loss
of money to verdant operators, and perpet-
ual gain to the sharpers.
We know of nothing else so worthless as
these mining shares and yet there arefoolish
people who buy them in hope of making a
fortune. The swindlers play their game very
cunningly They have perfectly organized
system of stupendous lying. When you hear
that certain mine is coming up rapidly,
that "the miners are about to strike great
masses of copper" and all that; and when
you see the price of stock going up under the
influence of such stories, --beware The
sharpers are preparing to sell out at good
prices, and their sale will be followed by al
assessment which will bring down the price
again to nothing, or next to nothing. TIT
assessment enables the managers to getmone.
and it creates panic which sends most of tn
shares back to the sharpers at merely nomini
prices. 1t is gambling of the worst kim
The operators are no better than those wi
use marked cards and loaded dice. 1t wou
be more decent to sell lottery tickets, 81
lying, and talk only of chance. This consta
trade in mining stocks is perpetual tempt
ton to the inexperienced. 1t is an atrociol
uulSance, anu lueTe ought " De soHe ISS
and effectual method for suppressing it.
And we must be allowed to say that IL
Boston daily papers are not free from blame
this matter. Those who conduct them leaV
the reports of the sales of stocks and the a
companying monetary" disquisitions, tC
much to the brokers' Most of the broke
will do this work for small compensate
and some of them will do it for nothing rath
than not do it at all. Under this arrangeme
all the sales of mining stocks are carefully l
ported, and these stocks are likely to be Il
chief topic in the financial remarks" III
broker who reports the stock market" is
lowed to say what he will, and seldom fails
improve the opportunity. Thus the bushes
of the sharpers is advertised in the most favo
able and bountiful manner possible. Thos
who have charge of daily papers in Bosto
ought to correct this evil AS they are ne
stock gamblers, perhaps they do not undo
stand the whole significance of such "monet;
ry articles" The only proper course is t
Danish from their stock reports all mention
these rascally mining shares as rgidly as the
exclude other encouragements to gambling
Would they print daily record for the lottel
les? And yet to do so would be no NOR
harmful than the reports in question.