The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1879-11-29
Our BfOadbl.iln Letters.

The Stock Market-How Fortunes are
Made and Lost-Raid on Lotteries "A
Young Thief and her Work Seventh
Regiment Fair-Defnition Of Stock
Banker Of Railroad Stock Gold
Weather.
New YORK, Nov. %, 1879.
EDITOR CHIEF:
Two things have completely over
shadowed everything in the city
during the past week, and those have
been the doings in the Stock Market,
and the Seventh Regiment Armory
Fair. 1t seems that New York must
have some kind Of craze if it is not
Z walking match or some similar in
tellectual entertainment, it must be /,
first-c murder or 4 superlativc
bank robbery, a startling elopement
or an extraordinary suicide; some
| thing q ut Of the common place we
must have, our appetites are palsied,
and we need highly favored food.
The stock board is never a pleasant
place to go in, unless your broker has
made five or six points for you in the
course Of the day, and then when you
fee! that your margins are safe, and
you can see your way we'll out of the
woods, it will do to pay it a visit. At
the present time, if you can imagine
a sombre colored room, the active
portion of which, is about fifty by
fifty, and crowd it with the widest
nlaniacs that you could rake or
scrape from all the lunatic asylums
III Christendom, OF out Of it, and then
throw into the midst of the crowd. a
hundred pound torpedo filled with
nitroglyeerine, and imagine them all
screaming and jumping and trying to
get out OF the way, and you might
have Il faint idea of the stock board
about the hour Of high noon, when
stocks are booming. One class of
men are bound to make, if they only
stick to their legitimate business, and
avoid the temptation to take hand
10 the pool, and gamble a little on
the outside, and that is the brokers.
One day last week, the transaction in
stocks exceeded that of the greatest
day that Wall street has ever known;
between the opening and the closing
of the board, nearly seven hundred
Thousand shares of different kinds of
stocks changed hands. Now seven
hundred thousand shares offs tock rep
resent at par, seventy millions of
dollars, and the simple commissions
alone in thaC days transactions, rep
resent over a half million of dollars.
1t is very trne that there are not
many sncb days as that, but it would
not take many to absorb the hundreds
of thousands that are now being sent
into Wall Street by gndgeons from
the country, who are expecting to
make fortunes in day by puts and
calls" Monday there was feverish
feeling that there was danger in the
air, number of the heavy guns had
been quietly unloading, and by Tues
day, few who had the tip, got out
of the rain as rapidly as possible. On
Wednesday, the squall struck with
its full force, and as usual, thele was
i, regular panic. Every stock along
the whole line was affected, even the
dividend paying stocks, which only a
week ago touched hundred and
thirty and forty, were dragged in the
general whirlpool. One class of Sc
eurities remained mshaken amid the
storm. aud that was Uncle SamueTs
promises to pay. United States Sc
carlties never budged hair, but all
sorts of stranded financiers wl,ese
little Hedges were dragging, looked
to Mr.. Shermau's four per cents. as a
sort OF sheet anchor, which would
hold them safely through the storm.
Erie, New Jersey Central, Kansas,
Pacific, and several other stocks had
been great favorites during the gen
eral boom. Erie tumbled from 4o4 to
435ss; and fall of from 3 to per cent,
marked most Of the other stocks. On
the day of the panic, the defunct Pa
citic railroad OF Missouri, which last
week brought II on ;ehauge, was
kicked out of the stock board by Or
der of the President, whcreat there
was much weeping and wailiug, and
gnashlng Of teeth. The lame ducks
all have crepe on their bats, and it is
quite probable that for many of them
the period of mourning will not be
less than sixty days. While disaster
has ngertaken " the shorts and the
tate" it must not be supposed that
Wall street has been laid out on its
back, nothing Of the sort, the insiders
have lined their Golfers, and can af-
ford old Duff Gordon with their tyfn,f
ties, for the next six months to come.
The farming community, speculative
ministers, and country merchants