Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1869-10-29

tiated.
From the New York sun. october 81
The financial reports that have nee
essarily occupied so much space in the
columns of the Sun for a week past
have called for the use of a mass of tech
nicalites which are doubtless Greek to
many readers, especially to those not
familiar with business on Change
And as the bulls and bears have had
rather more than their share of space
lately. we shall be justified in giving to
another and very large class of our
readers key to all this gibbeFish of
Wall street. But first it may be prof
table to notice the
ORIGIN OF THE GOLD EXCHANGE.
A Sun reporter yesterday had con
versation in the Gold Exchange room
with prominent mem Der of the Board
who explained the origin of the Gold
Exchange, as follows:
AS soon as there came to be a premi-
um on gold, dealers commenced opera
ting irregularly In what was then call
ed the Goal Hole" on William street.
Subsequently they purchased tickets
of admission to GilBin's News Room,
for which they paid e25 per annum,
and there they traded in gold, buying
and selling There was then no Or
ganization, no officers, no rules of pro-
eeedinR, and contracts could not In
many cases. be enforced, whereby per
sons buying and selling sometimes sus.
tanned heavy loss, for the reason that
some men who Were honorable, and
would take gold when they bought it,
would find themselves in possession of
it, without being able to pass it to per-
sons to whom they had sold il, and
therefore they had to sell it out at a re
duced price. 1t was out of this state
of things that the organization of the
New York Gold Exchange arose,
which will have been in existence Eve
years next May. The building now oc-
eupied by the Board was originally
built for mercantile purposes, and re-
modelled.
THE GOLD ROOM AND ITS APPOINT
MENTs.
At certain specified hours each day
the members of the Exchange assem-
Bile in their room to buy and sell gold.
None but members are admitted TO the
privileges, though gallery is set apart
in which spectators may locate them
selves to witness the Transactions
The President or one of the Vice
Presidents, stands at desk with a
| heavy gavel in his hand to preserve
order The Secretaries busy them
| selves recording transactions made
Two lines of telegraph connect the
room with all parts of the world, aud
constantly announce the fluctuations
of the market. Another ingenious
teIegrapbic arrangement flashes the ti-
dings Of every change instantaneously
into all the principal bankers and
brokers' Offices in the street, recording
the information in a legible manner
on an endless slip of paper. A crowd
of two or three hundred excited men
brokers or their representatives.
is gathered il the circular enclosure
directly in front Of the Presidents
desk.
THE BULLS AND BEARS AT WORK.
The moment business commences a
general hubbub breaks out. Every
disposition at the top of his voice, and
ali shout at once. To an outsider ali
| is confusion, and the spectator is ut
| word in the deafening medley of voices
One calls out, i want fifty thou and
| at an eighth " A quarter for twenty
! ive-thousand - ''Sold," cries a voice
from the opposite side Of the room
Twenty thousand at q half, is shout
ed. "Give three eighths, comes
| from another source. Make il
! fifty and sold, shouts another
Done, ?" cries the first voice. And so
it goes for an hour or more.
ECONOMY OF BREATH.
To render this Ineligible, it must
be remembered that these dealers IN
sterling coin consider their words more
precious than the money they buy and
sell. They never repeat the full price
they give or take. but merely the frac-
ton above the unit, unless the raise
makes a full cent. Thus, If the last
rate was 131, a man offering or asking
ian eighth" is understood to offer or
ask 1914. So with quarter, a half,
| Eve eights, or seven-eightbs. IF the
last price was 1913, and dealer wishes
| to advance to 1872, he cries out "Thir-
ty-two," or more frequently only
1.-TWO"
|
Notwithstanding the Babel all this
sounds like to an outsider, everything
| is perfectly Ineligible to the initiated
/ and the officers catch and record every
transaction. At every variance in the
price thetelegraph operators repori, Civ
| ing the time as well as the advance OF
decline and dtheiuformationis also fash
ed into all the brokers' and bank ers'
Offices. Sometimes the price huctu-
ates every five minutes, and the great
est excitement prevails, producing a
noise and confusion of voices perfect
lv bewilderinR to one unaccustomed "a
ii; but nevertheless everything Is in
telIigible to the dealers and officers
the records tell the whole story.
soUAR1NG ACCOUNTS.
In.the Exchange there are no sottle.
ments made Nobody stops to receive
money or deliver gold. Smith & Jones
offer half million at %. Brown
Williams cry out "Sold" Each en-
ters a note of the transaction in /,
memorandum book, and it becomes I
: binding contract between them. eDfnP
chile by the rules of the body. A
the close of the Exchange the former
: goes 70 the latter's Office and gives hin
! a ticket for the gold. All the traDsqc
tious of the day are settled in thi
manner, and then each dealer make
up statement of what he has bough
: or sold or both during the day, tn
various prices given or received, tht
value of each transaction In currency
S and the gross amount due to or from
? his DAVIS operations. This statement
: accompanied by the tickets given an,
d received, is sent to the Gold Clearin
! House. When all the statements ar
e in, the officers of the Clearing Hous
b compare one with another and verif
3. them. Then a balance is struck be
|, tween each dealer and all the Others
y and the gross amount due 10 or fror
e each one is settled at once and in on
d payment, the Clearing House distrih
o uting to each creditor his total due
g and collecting from each debtor hi
@ total indebtedness.