The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1873-10-03
tFrom the Philadelphia LsGser.I
STOCK BROKERS' VOCABULARY.

/ SIUGh BRUhEAS NUJEhUIAh1
Regular operators are usually d.
vided into tSo classes, Balls and
.Bears." The object Of the bull is
% toss up or advance prices, and
hat OF the bear to depress the sane /;
but very often, when g bear finds that
The balls have got their market rising,
with a prospect OF further advances,
be suddenly deserts his friends and
goes over to the bulls until he thinks
the market is on q turn, when he
| rushes back 10 the bears agsIn and
srowls So vigorously Gs ever. Bulls
perform the same tests among the
bears, so that bulls ami hears change
places SO the hope Of making money
on one side or the other prevails. The
bears, however, have the specisl iea-
ture of thriving on troubles; any
thing that unsetties values puts non
ey in their pockets f; snd hence their
schemes to produce money panics,
lower prices, eresle distrust, for then
timid people are anxious to sell at
low f2ures, and the bear has his
profit, being sure that when TIE panic
is over the articles will rise in value
Connected with these clssses ere
the terms ''long and short" usual in
stocks or gold. The bulls being
always long Of stock snd the bears
short, for the specuiatOr who holds
stock, expecting to sell for q profits
OF course, long, while the bear
keeps no stock on hand. His busi-
ness is 10 sell ''short," or to sell
property which he intends to buy
and deliver when prices are lower
than his contract specifies. Usually
delivery is required promptly, but
often the bear borroWs etOcks on
loans, paying so much q Day for the
Use of it, meanwhile the bears who
are in this condition of borrowing at
high rates, ARE busy in every possible
way by means Of rumors, false re-
ports, or even lawsuits, in depress-
ing the price of the stocks they are
"shOrt" until they can buy at atreduced
rates. This "hammering'' is a very
exciting business, as the "hammers''
are quite as busy in sustaining the
prices, in order to "squeeze" the
bears, which is sometimes most etc
tual snd disastrOusly performed by
the grand operation of getting up
corner" This is managed by a
union OF the bulls, who, ascertaining
from the brokers, and by other meana.
thst there is large ''short interest,""
proceed to form "clique," sEd pur-
chase or obtain the control OF the
stocks on which the bears are short,
in order to control the market and
exact such prices as they please. AS
soon IS the control is assured, an up
ward movement is suddenly begun,
when the bears, fearing further ad-
vances, are forced TO buy; and then
the very men who hold the stock
turn out to be those 10 whom the
bears sold "short,' end now sell it
back to them at heavy profit for de-
livery COrnering demands great
generalship, but when successful is
enormously profitable and often is
arranged beforehand to trsp the
bears. A fancy stock, or one OF
little or no intrinsic value, is select
ed. By means of brokers the stock
IS picked up gradually by the"elique"
until the control is secured then the
bids for the stock are made, and the
bears go heavily short, believing
there is plenty of it to bo bought for
delivery, but when the day OF deliv-
cry arrives the only stock to De
had is in the hands OF the "clique,"
who proceed to ''twisJ'' the bears
until they "squeal' dolorOusly, and
are forced either to fail and become
''lame ducks,' p or else "coyer" at ru-
nous prices. There are many il
in New York and in Europe
where millions of dollars have been
made in a day by single operator
in q successful Eccrnor'
A"Put' is where person propo-
;es to "put' (that is to delivery to an
other any certain article within q cec-
tain time st q price agreed upon
when the contract is made, and give
a "Bonus'' for the privilege. II the
article does not fall in value to an
amount exceeding the "Bonus" paid,
The party who paid the '.BOnus" can
not make anything by the transaction,
but is not obliged to deliver the arti-
lie. A ''call'' differs from a "put" in
his A gives b a sum agreed npou
or the right to ''calI' from 3 within
\ certain me q fixed amount OF
Itocks. If the stock advances A"cals''
or it, and makes profit; if he does
lot he need not "Call,'' but the sum
paid b is forfeited.
A "margin" is effe0ted by deposit
Dg fixed amount as security against
in price. A man buys
me hundred bales Of cotton at so
much per pound, believing it will in
;rease in value IN sixty days the
eller will hold it for him ii so
greed sufficient sum is put up. Whcn
Ee sixty days arrive the cotton Is
old il it is bought, the specuiator
'sys for it out Of the proceeds, gets
iis "margin'' and makes his profit,
Iut if cotton has fallen the margin
makes good the difference.