Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-07-31

SOMETHING ABOUT WALL STREEr-The
New York correspondent of the Rochester DEM
ocrat contributes the following:
1T is eighty years since the merchants of this
city instituted bank, and this being the only
one in the city it was called the Bank of New
York. 1t was placed at the corner of Wall and
William streets, and thus attracted finance
The bank of New York still 6ourishes. 1t COM
menced with one bookkeeper and now has a
score, and its stock is worth large premium.
AS might be expected, it has the old-lashioned
business men among its patrons, and one of
these is Commodore Vanderbilt, whose deposits
range from 100000 upwards. The bank of
New York enjoys the distinction of being the
centre of all gold operations, and the checks in
the gold room are always drawn on this institu-
ton. Here the forgeries of Ketchum centred,
and from its vaults he drew enormous sums,
ior which he atoned in the penance of Sing
Sing. Wall street has been identified with gov-
ernmental uses from an early age.
The treasury office employs 100 clerks, all
under charge Of the sub-treasurer, who is our
chief financial officer. In fact, the chief en-
ployment of the treasury at Washington is, as
they say, to look after that in New York AL
most all the government payments and receipts
are made here. Every day the gold received
at the custom house for duties is wheeled up to
the treasury in common hand cart. The dis
lance is about 800 feet, and the amount aver
ages 100000. The way they handle specie in
this institution certainly strikes a stranger as
free and easy in the extreme. The bags, con-
tanning $4,000 apiece, are tossed to and fro as
though they held gravel or brickbats, and the
clerks count up 100000 as easily and as rap
idly as a retailer counts up his dimes and pen
mes. The safe is a large room, say twenty
feet square and about fifteen feet high, with
tiers OF iron doors about three feet in
length, ranging one above the other These
are full of bags containing specie and at set
times they are counted, the surveyor of the port
a luaHT m, ,,oI,, mi
are about S80,000,000 of gold and greeubacls in
store here, and to make the safe burglar-proof
the space next to the street is filled with musket
balls, several thousand in number. Now, if a
burglar should get through the outside he would
meet this loose mass, which would roll out
upon him and sufficiently embarrass his prog
ress. The treasury contains a number of ex-
perts in detecting base coin. You may place a
counterfeit gold piece in heap of similar coin,
and the clerk will close his eyes and pick out
the counterfeit by the sense of touch. This man
cannot tell how he distinguishes the good from
the bad. The faculty is indescribable, and can
only be acquired by years of practice
"Panics always begin in Wall street. The
great pressure of 1887 commenced with the fall
of Josephs' banking house. They were report
ed to be rich, and had just put up an elegant
building which cost $4,000, a large sum then
just as the contractor was about to place the
keys into the owners hand the building fell and
the former had to bear the loss, which ruined
him. That day the Josephs' failed, and the
panic began. Twenty years afterwards-1857-
the great panic was commenced by the failure
of the Ohio Life and Trust company, and con-
tnued with fearful result for two months until
every business man with few exceptions had fail.
ed. Here, too, the gold panic on Black Friday car
r1ed its work of destruction, in September, 1869;
and should any pressure again take place il
would first be felt here. At present, however,
there is little prospect Of any such disaster
Wall street is full of of money, which is let at
cheap rates TO any man who has security. Take
government bonds into any bank and you can
get call loan at four per cent. presume that
hundred millions might be borrowed in this
manner. Money centres here, and all the fnan-
cial operations of the continent can be manipu-
lated in Wall street. Hardly railroad is built
that docs not offer its bonds here, and YOU can,
i you have the means, control any such institu.
ton without travelling five hundred feet p