Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-11

us I'M IL battered utterly out OF shape, MS coat
Is either rent down the back or deprived OF q
skirt, one OF his boots. n not both, has parted
company with his feet, and bis vest and linen
| are mussed In Q way to make proper house
wife groan with despair. But the ordeal lie now
past, the new man has become broker In good
| standing and Is ready an hour later TO join his
prosecutors In new mischief or to contribute his
share to the uproar Of . struggle between bulls
| and bears.
| STRANGER GETS IN AND GETS OUT.
bu1 there Is no delight so enjoyable to these
mischievous merrymakers as that Of catching q
/ stray countryman on the floor. The Stock Ex-
change seems to have particular attractions for
our bucolic friends coming to town on a visit.
They have heard q great deal about it, and,
being In town, they want to see what II is. 1t is
against the rules for any person not q member
70 go upon the floor, but occasionally gentleman
| from the rural deestricks," equipped with
carpetbag and umbrella, and knowing nothing
| about this rule. slips past the doorkeeper I'M
noticed But If the doorkeeper overlooks him,
| the boys do not. The instant he is seen two or
| three brokers move quietly between him and the
door, and then elbow and push him forward.
apparently by accident. until they get him a
considerable distance from It, One of them
then cries out: New TennesseesI"
| The meaning Of this is known to all. It is a
signal that stranger is on the floor. Instantly
the whole business of the place is suspended. a
| terrific yell is raised-one that would do credit
10 any band OF sayages on the continent-and
the frightened and bewildered countryman finds
himself pitched and hustled hither and thither
up and down. across and around, by a surging
screaming, laughing crowd. and. if he looks up
| ward, he may see his hat dancing through the
| air In one direction, his carpetbag IN another
and his venerable umbrella In a third But. for
tunately for the stranger there is help at hand.
one OF the doorkeepers dashes into the crowd,
grasps him by the collar and pulls him by main
| force to the door, whittier his hat, carpethag
| and umbrella follow him, and he makes his way
20 the street as quickly as he can, hardly know
ing whether he has escaped from band of In
dlans or lunatic asylum, but very glad to have
Injured in these sports of the brokers' The play
may be somewhat rough. but there Is no inten-
ton to hurt, and nerves and clothing suffer
about the only damage that is done.
HOW REPORTS ARE MADE.
At one end Of the main hail. and facing the
gallery, is spacious rostrum. where seats and
desks are provided for the officers of the Board
At this rostrum most Of the official business OF
the Exchange is transacted. But the brokers
do not seem to have much more respect for Off
cial than for personal character. All formal an
nouncements to the Board are made by an officer.
generally the chairman. The brokers are scat
tered in groups over the hall, buying and SELL
Ing, and keeping up din that swells through
the whole building and out to the sur
rounding streets. notice, perhaps of a
failure is to be read and the chairman rises with
piece OF paper In one hand and large gavel
| that looks like carpenters mallet In the other
he pounds-not merely raps-on a desk with the
gavel for several seconds before the brokers
come to order. One after another the groups
separate, and the men crowd up in front Of the
rostrum They become comparatively quiet.
(They are never wholly SOL The chairman
reads something from piece of paper. IL the
communication be an important one they at
tend with considerable interest. If it be insg-
nlf1cant, they simply receive it with a howl OF
dersion. sort Of prolonged "A-a-a-h-hl" that
rings and reyerberates through the hail. and, in
less time than 1t took to read the notice. the
groups are formed again. and the struggle of
bulls and bears is resumed.
often the announcement Of failure has no
other effect upon them than to elicit a thunder
ing "B-a-a-h," followed by long, loud laugh
put 1t is not Indifference to comrades msfor-
tune that causes the boys to act in this manner
when he gets into trouble.
THE SMALL BOYS.
During business hours In the Exchange the
entrances to the hall present the spectacle OF q
continuous stream Of men and boys passing In
and out, each human atom in the stream appar-
emily impelled by q conviction that to GO at
everything like the rush Of tempest ia the
chief object OF existence. The men are mostly
brokers', going to the floor or returning from it.
and the boys are messengers, whose business il
to carry notes from the board to the various
offices in the neighborhood or rice ue,-sa The
boys are In uniform, and are employed by COM
pany They are not permitted on the floor
among the brokers, where they would be in the
way, but stand behind railing that separates
the privileged from the unprivileged ready to
ny off like young Mercuries the instant an order
is given.
sengers. mingle with the surging group of
brokers. Their business is to call out the names
OF brokers' who are wanted by messengers at
the railing. and to deliver notes on the floor
The vocal powers Of these youths is simply ire
mendous. No matter how deafening the clamor
may be, they have no difficulty in pitching their
voices above it. They walk quickly through
the hall, past one group after another, with
head thrown back, mouth open, and voice
raised almost to yell, shouting the name Of
some one who Is wanted, and this is kept I'D
from ten in the morning til! four In the after
noon III their Threats cannot stand the exer-
else better than the ears which hear them 10 the
gallery, their region of thorax and larynx is
probably often out Of order.
REPORTING QUOTATIONS.
In different parts Of the hall, but SO placed as
not to be in the way Of the brokers, telegraphic
instruments are In constant operation. At each
instrument sits an operator, and each operator
is assisted by reporter. whose business is to
visit the groups on the floor (each active stock
the various transactions. These are quickly re-
ported to the operator, who Immediately trans
mts them to central office. where they are in
stantly repeated upon wires which connect with
hundreds of indicators" in brokers' offices.
banks, hotels. and even private residences
throughout the city. By the aid of the indica-
tors, and, in many cases, by the use of the tele-
phone, the course Of the market NAV
be watched as accurately In a hotel or
private house anywhere up town as I'm
the Exchange itself. The transmission of
quotations Is almost instantaneous and gen.
orally correct. The indicator points on q paper
tape the name of the stock or security mot the
full name, Of course. but the abbreviation by
which the stock is KNOWN and the price for the
moment, Immediately after the transaction is
made. Many Spectators of the smaller class
and some Of the larger content themselves with
observing the course of the market as it is
shown by an Indicator two or three miles away
from Wall street and teIegraphing instructions
to their brokers instead of visiting them person.
ally. In almost any Of our large hotels groups
OF eager watchers may be seen around the stock
Indicator during business hours at the Ex-
change, intently watching the quotations as
they successfully appear. These men are all of
the dear public" class, and there is scarcely
one among them who has not lost money by the
destinations Of stock gambling.