The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-01-26
WALL STREET.


and Termin0iOgy of stock Gam Iing-Ra.
tionnle of sharp Practice-Women ms specu-
lntOrs-OptiOns, Puts, Lime Ducks, Cor.
ners, Spread Eagles and Their Menning-
Wall Street Ethics.
Every great city is epitome OF Cities every one Of
which has its own provincialisms; and New York.
being sort of eptoms Of America has its localities in
which are reproduced with Kaleidoscope accuracy all
phases OF American thought and feeling-mixed, In
ventve fanciful, grotesquc and money making There
that curious thoroughfare which leads from the City
Hall to the Bowsry in which speculative trade looks
out from rotten rookeries OF business In which small
suctoneers shout or weekly lots OF clothing and
in which small knavery plays every sort OF trick, from
the consequences Of which tho law has left loophole OF
escape. Everything IL curously labelled and marked.
"styiish only s6, "supsrb. only 81 50;" "splendid
only $5 fashionable. only So 50;'' I'll those and
dozen othcr phrases caught by the eye in passing
and are all printed on dingy bits Of pasleboard and
pinned to coat paualoons regardless Of prope
ties Of fact OF apposeness OF fancy. You pause
study tho bisarie Of the thing, or perhaps because
combination Of supernal adjectives applied to
dingy vest, already too long worn, or too
many times washed, hxes your attention;
and tingy smoked herring of q gentleman, in loose
and cont that trails at his heols YOU
puts his hand con1dentiay your and as ks you
TO step inside Perhaps the gentleman With the dried
herring vsage insists that you need new coat, but
likely no has taken you for somebody fresh from
The country and therefore easily gulled. Pantaoons
Of the last generation fashionable superb stylish and
all that he will sell you at tv per cen, discount the
Broadway prices vests of fine Mosaic patterns, and
therefore Of antiquarian interest," will DO offered for
only s. or at better bargains than thatvz, for
what you will give; and all tue time the gentleman with
tho herring face upon which whiskers dsdain grow
except in spots and struggling, scrubby, unwhoesome
hairs far apart will discourse of latest styles voluby
that you fancy yourself in the society Of matre de
modes This street Is the paradise Of small craftsmen
Of all Sorts who buy, sell and get gain very small
way, and yet amass fortunes in buying and selling
There is sort Of rookery rot everything and in
the very faces Of its hungryiooking nhAbtantshun-
CRY looking, with sense OF ne wanting in :heir
hollow and furtlyo eyes. Hence to che "rombs" the
way easy and thence TO tho penitentiarv which il
vastly comfortable abiding place than r, kerry
or second hand clothing though tho abiding be
no: the discretion of the individual thus abides
xErAMoarHosIs
Rerace your steps from this thoroughfare where all
things have air OF mould and roiteuness pass tho
City Hall, wend your way down Park row aud down
corner IN the direction OF the East river ana Won md
yourself in second OF New Yoks traditional thoroug
fares; . street with dialect and tsrmnology OF It's
street which bears the relation 10 5nC Sing
that the thoroughare you bave just LEFT bears to
penitensry; street In which everybody seems intent
are followed up and down, and in which wiIlo-the-
wsps Of speculation the only things that men talk
metallic look in bis eyes jus. as Il long media.os upon
precious metals had IN some way affected those mem.
ber In dress the height Of fashion everywhere.
Clerks Affect hugest patterns Of Partisan scarf rings
box toed shoes chatter up and down upon the sidewalk
aud turbans Of the latest pstcrnare set jsunlly on
heads full OF long columns OF figures which tho owner
Of The head keeps adding up in q drowsy sort
Of way, as ~ 70 add up. rows Of figures
which speculation realized $3.50 ooo 900 from 1862 TO
1854 OF governments want OF money At that time
fought pcrsistcntly and tried to make specu-
ation had become . sort OF mania, and ladies tried
20 he courteens broker Tor margins uorrymep.
grave and scdae acclaimed against gold gambling on
sunday and took 20 its proas early % Monday morning.
and az 30 The regulars Of the speculative army, with
them things went on swmmngly Then the end
gains the turned and they sank down under their
burdens. The bulls suffered and the bears danced 70
TOO b ppn s.s % Of eVi ns of
Wall street had leisure 70 stop foot up ts figures cell
out It's eeupagss and begin business on new footing
or course the ull did not last long To last long II
wss not expected. Many duck who went IN sound
gone lame ever since 10 spite Of the cork legs credit
which have been invented for the benefit VI The Imam
e'aily halt and M. .r,,,, p,,,r
Bsrs Is street also with dialect Of ne own. "siyl-
ish, superb, meat "splendid," "nnen and very
bne are not among its syllabncatione Its talk - Of
coupons. bonds stocks gold, gold certificates I've
twentics and the like; ana should anybody pronounce
the word splendid" on the street that body would be-
likely 70 be cstsogusd as poet forever after Thus far
the dialect OF the street 10 ntegible enough any
BODY with bis vie about hm sus when hen Nv Wall street
puzzled and most likely looks to 10 dictionary Words
10 Wall street however. have gathered peculiar
dictionary like and the probabilities are that after
has looked in his dictionary, the meaning Of the
gentleman who talks Of nothing but options win be
somewhat dusker than 70 was before: Options" are,
without Them wa street would have 10 stop and settle
on the spot-a procedure fer which Wall street has
neither time nor ineAnaticn: "opmons Are o. two
For instance, when sells stock 70 B u may - either
for cash sn1 delivery q 60 lime ne transaction -
smpia o. NE oshss hasd NE tsansection
b enc 81 Nma che theory u sptene y ad-
nissioss wAs. seek Y sosa q tine say Al.s! days