The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1883-03-29
Women on Change.

"Man About Town" in Brooklyn Eagle.
The fascination of the street for women is
very powerful. Many of the wives, sisters,
cousins, and aunts of brokers display the live
liest interests in the vagaries of the stock
market, and not infrequently invest their pin
money in stocks. They lose themselves in
the excitement of the game, however, when
they 60 in too deeply, and are most unreliable
Spectators. Ii is astonishing what easy
dupes these women are to sharpers who have
uptown offices labeled as branches of promi-
nent downtown firms. In the vicinity of
Union and Madison squares there are dozen
or more Ladies' Banking houses" "Uptown
Branches of Stock Exchange for Ladies'"
and similar institutions, wherein women are
encouraged to invest their money in stocks.
That thousands of women do this the prosper
ity of these establishments attestS. OF course
| they are victimized, as legitimate commissions
would not support the establishments. The
women have only small means to squander.
When once they have experienced the fascina-
ton of the game, they find it difficult to desist,
and they usually wind up by borrowing money
| at heavy interest from the proprietos of the
concerns. / went into one Of these Offices not
long ago on the west side of Broadway, Just
below Fourteenth street. | was surprised at
the elegance of the place. The reception
room, with plush carpet and heavily curtain
ed and furnished lavishly, was quite vacant
when stepped in, but a moment later we'll
dressed and rather handsome man walked
from an inner room and asked me softly what
he could do for me. l told him / wished to
look at the place, and he said he would be
happy to show me about, but there were
number ladies in the inner room, and as most
OF them were nervous about their operations
being known he could not take me in. AT
this moment the door through which he had
passed opened, and richly dressed woman
started out. She sawme and hurredly retreat
ed. l caught a glimpse of handsomely
furnished office with several ladies sitting
around, and heard the notes of the musical
''tiCkerS" as they reeled off the quotations
from the Stock Exchange. The man had soft
and agreeable manners, and was by no means
a bad fellow. He told me quite candidly
that ii would not do for a man to 90 into the
inner room, as the ladies depended upon his
privacy. asked him if his feminine custom
ers bought largely, and he said they did not
expend large sums at any one time and few
orders exceeded $Ioo but that they came in
very often, and dropped in dribbles that in
time amounted to a very fair sum. gather
ed from what he said, although he did not tell
me SO explicitly, that the whole thing was run
on the bucket-shop principle, in which the
house stands as a sure winner every time
But women are certainly not successful, either
single or as a class, in dealing with the Stock
Exchange.
The House has adopted an amendment to
the School Land bill providing that any actual
settler in good faith on any such lands in any
county in this State where the lands have been
appraised in accordance with sections and z,
act of 1881, and appraisement has been filed,
shall be permitted to purchase not less than
100 nor more than gao acres of the land upon
which they have settled, so as to include their |
improvements at the appraisal price, but shall |
pay rate of interest fixed by said act and shall |
be permitted to pay all or any part of the pur- |
chase money at any time such purchaser shall |
IN all other respects conform to the provisions ,
OF this act; also that applications to purchase |
be made in six months after this act to that !
effect, together with the first payment and one |
years interest, and affidavit and proof ofbeing |
an actual settler in good faith. with interest to |
purchase, provided that such preference or
right to purchase shall not extend so as to in
clude any minerals, but the same shall remain \
the DrODertV of the cOmmOn school