The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-12-04
Stories of Will Street.

"A letter from New York to the Phil.
adelphia Times says. There is now in
the street man who came from Con-
necticut n few years ago and made
$780, ZOO in six months. He had 81. 600
to start with, partly money that he had
saved and the rest borrowed. In what
ever direction he reached money seemed
to answer the touch. The news of his
luck went back and fairly bewildcred
the town from whence he came. OF
those who took the fever seven gave up
their employment and came to the city,
making here little bunch of spectators
like many another that may be found in
wall street, drawn together by like
causes, from many parts of the country.
1t is just as when somebody draws u
prize in lottery; straightway half the
people in the neigh borhood go to buying
lottery tickets. And for the same reasons
you may find in small cities or towns
remote from New York communities
who seem to have bent for stock specu-
lations. Ask why, and usually you will
discover that somebody from that town
has gone to New York and taken up the
STOCK business or mt some time has made
a big hit there.
Among those who followed the man
from Connecticut was a young fellow
who had about $50, ,OOv, his share of q
fortune left by a relative. This made
him rich in his country town, but he
was dazzled by the then rapidly increas-
ing fortune of his successful fellow
townsman. He began putting small
bites of his $4,000 into the Wall street
sharks mouth and lost steauily, but not
enough to alarm him, for he had no
doubt his luck would turn and give him
as much money rs the man who had
struck it rich had made. He met that
fortunate individual in the street one
day and said: " You've got 5000. 900 ;
enough for anybody to live on. Why
don't you take it and get out and keep
itp"
Because I want to make it round
million; then I'll clear out"
In less than two months he lost every
dollar of the 100000. Luck went as
persistently against him as it had been
for him, and in a desperate endeavor to
regain his losses he stacked up his mar
gins until the whole great fortune melted
away. 1t took the man with $S0,OOO a
year to lose his money; he made smaller
ana more cautious operations, but he
lost it all the same. He couldn't with
stand the fascination of the street, and
HoW uc Is Tile cashier OF small banking
concern at q salary or 81, 800 year
The 100000 man stuck to it, too.
Sometimes he was well clad and again
not so well. Occasionally he made lit
tie strike of a few hundred and speedily
lost it all. When he got particularly
hard aground he would slip up home
and stay awhile, but he soon would re-
turn with Il small capital and try again.
On August last he appeared with 500,
which he put Up as margin with n
broker who had handled hundreds of
thousands for him in his flush days and
began to buy stocks. He struck the
first of this great fiood-t de that has in
undated the country and carle in with
it. AS his Profits increased he kept on
buying steadily, putting in all he had
with the nerve of q soldier; and with
wisdom gained OF previous experience
he stopped short three days ago, when
the market became choppy and uncer-
tain, and rested on his oars with $780,
600 in bank. This safely invested in
four per cents would give him an in
come of Sl2, 900 a year, enough for Il
man of simple tastes to live on COM
fortably; but he sticks to the street and
is still going to make it million, and
in all human probability he will keep
at it until he is down again. and will
wind up by joining the small army of
curbstone brokers who lead wretched
existence and finally fade away nobody
knows whittier.