The weekly Butte record., 1863-01-03

lars aie tae xoucgeC and more volatile
members are iala'siog IN ,hose jacalari,ies,
The veterans are soienn'y pouleriug as to how
daep'y they shall 70 ia,o Delaware aad Had
son or into Erie boals," or poor old Viz
siuas Insecure securities" Each man has
4 STOCK book before him. ja which be enters
the prices Did for the stocks as they are sever
ally called. - accurate Is the Presidents
memory that be announces each stock IN its
order without once referring to the long print
cd list.
Al haltpast ten he takes his place in . high
blcked chair. with a miniature American flag
AZ the top. lie raps to order, aud commences
by calling ot the Government securities
When he reaches some active speculative stock
like Pacific Mail or New York Central
Railroad, then there 5 an explosion Of excite
meat. Men leap to their feet, shouting vocif-
/ erously. ~ Taa. is my bid, viii give sew
en,y- dve-seller three days Fifty for the
+ lo,," aud a score Of other EXPLANATIONS. Fin
/ gers are shaken At each other, or snapped to
arges. at,ea,ion. The .0ldest speaker IS the
bes; fellow. Ba; above all this dea'ening roar,
the commanding voice OF the President is heard
calling OF the bids, ana announcing The names
and taa terms o, the seyera, purchasers What
+ is a roaring belam to Us, IS perfect order to
him. He distinguishes IN a ,wiukliag the DIFF
fereat voices. gestures, and u,tcrances Of thirty
excited mea each shouting at the top Of his
/ voice. aud with lightning like rapidity of
speech Occasionally dispute arises in this
noisy melee as to the priority of a purchase,
This is settled on the spo; by vote Of the
Board, aud from this vote there Is no appeal
WAS greatly interested in watching the
different welkaowa inancers as they played
their parts il the exciting game. Some sat
quietly, ana but seldom ventured into the lists.
Others were on their feet, with arms extended,
and faces almost coovulsed with excitement,
through the whole hour of roar and tumut,
To the left Of the President sits the Ursa Major
of the Stock Boari-a wellknown broker
whom need not name. He seems very quiet
now; but in former times he used to shake
the stock market with a nod. As he listens to
the various bids. the workings Of his coute-
nance reminded me of Brougbam in the House
Of Lords We once saw him step out from his
seat and snap his finger toward another bro
ker, and call out, III take your lot at thirty
days Then whispered my friend, by
that simple operation, fifty thousand dollars
changed hands = Millions Of money are tossed
back and forth every day on that tempest of
uproar fortunes are won or are lost in sin
/ gle week
The most remarkable things TO US in the
Brokers Board were the intensity of excite
ment at certain times under the bidding for
contested stocks-and the lightninglike rapid,
ty with which decisions were made involving
vast sums Of money. Decisions must be n-
stantaneous. Mems minds play there like pis-
tonrods in steam-engnes The strokes cannot
be counted, To an inexperienced eye and ear
there is but the racket and roar of Bedlam;
but the initiated eye sees perfect system work
ing results with astonishing rapidity l do not
envy the man who is doomed to that Babel
every day, and draws his daily bread from
such q hot oven Of excitement It requires
firm and resolute religious principle to hold
fast to ones moral mooriags when such sudden
gales Of temptation are constantly shifting the
canvas. A man ought to have Bible con-
science before he joins the Board Of Brokers,
Nor need he become gambler after he has
gone there.
We % not doubt that many a man of keen
wits and greedy covetousuess has gone into
that room We visited yesterday, with the same
spirit that a practiced gamester goes into
one of the " hells of Baden Baden; but
every stock broker is By no means a gambler.
Among the yociferous crowd III the Board
room We recognized several individuals who
worthily fu prominent stations in the church
or in philanthropic societies To man of
loose principles that room would be vestibule
Of parjition. To conscientious Christian,
transactng the legitimate business of that
great financial conclave, It would be at once a
scene of temptation and of moral victory.
To myself, as Z spectator, it was an exceed
ingly suggestive spot. A living man Is worth
dozen dead books for a minister's perusal
We can often extract more pithy and precious
material for q sermon ont of thirty minutes of
close conversation with an aroused soul than
out Of q halfdays wearisome study OF dusty
dissertations. We learned so many things from
our brief visit to the haunt Of the money
changers, tLat We wish every city pastor might
have the same privilege.
lie might find some Of his congregation
there and he would be surprised to see how
differently nan looks while listening to fifth
" and -sixthIy' from what lie does when roar
ing out, viii take one hundred at thirty
days" We pastors might learn some lessons