The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-11-03

woods aud cool waters, warm sun, and
prolific soil, we would meet. and build q
city-a city OF refuge-where every Be-
hemian might come and have q home,
rest, peace, plenty, so long as hs or she
should live or care to stay. / even drew
up plan Of my city, and framed % few
brief laws for It's government manned
1t Utopia.
three different brokers-one q "bpll'
house. one shear" house, and one q
conservative" house. By this ] hoped 10
get ali sorts Of opinions. I got them.
With my "bears" l sold st. Paul shart.
There was talk Of rust, grasshoppers, rains
and floods. St, Paul would tumbls 70 the
center. Il had already advanced from
eighteen TO TO sixty-nine. 1sold at sixty
nine, seventy, aud seventy:one.
With the "bullsn bought Pacific Mall.
No danger Of grasshoppers on the Pacific
Mail. No drought, no floods, or rust. Pa.
cifc Mail had fallen from sixty:two and
would surely 20 up to eighty. bought
Pacific Mail and sat down. 10 -wait for It to
20 up and St. Paul to go downs==-
Things began tosmove my way. be-
gan to work vigorously on the plans for
my city. had arranged to bring my dear
old parents away from the far west wilds
OF Oregon, where they had dwelt for Q
quarter OF a century. They had never seen
the great city. Now they should see II,
hear the mighty preachers, and sail on the
Atlantic. Well, I was
short OF St. Paul and long Of Pacific Mail.
| expected Pacific Mail TO go up and 81.
Paul To 60 down. They did, and | had
32l, 900. But that was not enough to
build city with. / held on.
One day It was rumored that the rust
was not SO bad In ST. Paul after all. 1t be-
gan TO start up! Pacific Mail began to
shoot down. It was said the Chinese had
started an opposition line. tell you 1t
takes big man to sit on two benches at q
time. Ten to one he will split himself be-
tween the two Just rs sure as he attempts
1t.
I sold some St. Paul and bought more
Pacific Mail, but all TO no purpose. They
kept right on. Then got out OF Pacific
Mail at the lowest figure 1t touched, and
bought Wabash. 1began TO founder, and
got frightened. l sold and bought, and
bought and sold. frequently saw in the
papers that was getting rich in Wall
street, and kept on working like beaver.
The end was only question oftime.
One day my broker too me by the
sleeve and led me like lamb, as | was,
aside. My fun was over. And Utopia is
indeed Utopia.
No one with so ittlemoney ever entered
Wall street under better advantages. All
men were kind and good. think no man
there ever attempted to mislesd me. But
itissimply impossible to make money there
and kept it. Let me mention here that
during six months there paid my brokers
in commissions s1l ,425l These commits
sions alone deyour any possible profits.
OF course, it is not pleasant thing to
admit ones self beaten. But II this brief
history Of my venture in this dangerous
land will diminish at all that tired and
anxious army OF tape-holders who waste
their shekels, their days, and their strength
in vain waiting-Why, willingly bear
the reproach.
And, after all, lost but little, having
but little to lose. And / learned so'much,
having so much TO learn.
JOAQUIN MILLER.