Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-02-20
Correspondence.
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
BULLS, BEARS, FINANCE - SOCIETY,
POLITICIANS-BALLS - IMMIGRATION
THE POOR--THE GRAIN TRADE.

y
WALL sTREET-BULLs AND BEARS.
spent day or two in Walls street this
week, and learned something. The man
who learns anything ought to lose no time
before he communicates it to his fellows,
hence | shall give what l learned to your
readers at once.
Do YOU know what "bull'' is, or q
"bear," in Wall street spent two days
learning.
In Wall street "bull" is an operator
who believes he can push the price of any
particular stock TO higher point. Take
Toledo and Wabash, for instance. Sup
pose it is selling at As. The bull from GER
tain indications believes it will go up to so,
or higher. He buys at 4S, and then delib-
erately goes to work to put it up. He will
lie like alike politician-he will invent
bogus dispatches-he will spread reports of
the death of Presidents of railroads--pu5-
lish bogus reports of the business done-in
short, there is no villainy in the range of
lying, perjury and fraud that he will not
commit to make that stock 60 to a figure
above 4S.
The bear is the man who has sold the
stock. forgot to say that the bull buys
the stock to be delivered at certain date,
say thirty days. Now, if on that date
Toledo and Wabash is worth so, the bear
simply pays the bull the odd two-if, on
the other hand it goes down to 46, the bull
pays the bear the odd two. 1t thus be-
comes a struggle between them-the bear
to toss it up, the bull to pull it down.
The fight is deadly. The bear will get
into the newspapers all sorts of stories con-
cerning the road. He will have Gov. Cox,
the President, dead or stricken with
paralysis, he will invent horrible accidents,
and spread report of defalcations and gross
mismanagement. The bull practices tactics
precisely the reverse.
The settlement Is made on the basis of
the selling price OF the stock on the day
named.
Very frequently bears turn bulls. If a
bear sees that il is impossible to pull down
stock, he frequently buys and becomes n
bull To cover. This he can do, if he can
buy more "f the stock than he has sold.
These transactions very frequently in
volve millions, and they embrace every
thing under Heaven, Gold, Railroad, and
other stocks, grain, lumber everything in
in fact that IS merchantable is made the
subject of their struggles.
A corner" is the buying Of the entire
stock of corporation, or al least more than
can be delivered. Thus we will assume
that there are $4,000 shares of the Toledo
& Wabash in all. The bears ignorant that
a corner has been made in Wabash, sell
the stock TO be delivered in, say thirty days,
supposing that there is enough Of it in the
market to be had, to make delivery at a
profit possible. The time approaches and
they begin to look about to &c: the stock.
They find to their dismay that there is not
a share 10 he had for the very good
reason that the bulls have it all. They be-
come frantic, but to no purpose. The bulls
hold, and run the price mp to any figure
they choose, 10 which the poor bears are
compelled to submit. Bnt don't suppose
it is all plain sailing with the bulls II
the bears are strong enough they buy up
one of the bulls, which makes break and
if they get break made, Heaven help the
bulls. 1t is war to the knife and no mercy
is shown or expected.
Watering stock is where corporation
becomes exceedingly profitable-too pro-
fitablc in fact, for the public to endure
quietly. Suppose a railroad having mon
opoly makes money enough to declare
clamor for reduction of fares, so the di-
rectors dou ble the number of shares-wa-
teriEg the capital. There is no more capi-
tai than before, but they call it more. If
they double it, they declare 10 per cent.
dividends on 81 200, 900, instead of 20 per
cent. on S1,000,000.
L. is gambling of the most deplorable
kind. There are legitimate stock brokers,
but the rule is gambling.
SOCIETY
Is fermenting in this city just now. Balls,
parties, theatres operas and entertainments
of all kinds arc in full blast, and the fashion
able people are worked terribly. BY the
way the New York belle is hard worker
during the season. She rises at noon, be-
cause she was out late night before. She
breakfasts in her room and dresses herself
for the afternoon round. She enters her
carriage and drives TO reception after re-
cepton, until night has come, when she
goes home, dresses herself in evening toilet,
aud again enters her carriage to make a
round of three balls and German, ending
up at the last somewhere about three A. NJ.
Then she goes to bed, sleeps till noon, and
IS up and at it again. And this is pleasure !,
Were they compelled 10 do this for living,
there would be more strikes among them
than among laborers. But they do it.
POLITICIANS.
A reputation in New York is singu-
lar thing. Brennan, the Sheriff indicted
for the escape of Genet, and in Jail there
for, has more friends among the controlling
element .han ever. The short haired look
upon Brennan as martyr. The other
night ball was given in his honor, which
was run by the most desperate villains in
in the city, But, mark you, the leading
respectable Democrats of the city were
there, for they dare not stay away. Mr..
Brennan's broken nosed adhcrents run the
the caucusses, and not one of these broad
cloth gentry could get nomination if they
oppose him. Therefore all these men at
tend the balls of the Brennan kind, and
shake hands with them, and smile and
fawn on the doubtful women they bring
there. New York is under the control
of the ruffians, and the Democracy recog-
nze the fact, and acknowledge their rule.
There is no hope of anything good from
this Nazareth. The country is the only
salvation.
IMMIGRATION.
A.