National Republican., 1883-09-17
THE Man on rl11l AVENUE.
smnll rnlh Ahnnt nIcn nna nIeasures.


day or two ago in this pathetic manners
IL py fife hun rcd shares Of Rio Grande on
my prokcrs advise TO prco goes up two
point, / pellet they call it, undt my proker
say to me, SO dot market .seo hor poom.
You haf IA broft of tousand tollars. Led
your broits run; led her run undt den he
walks away ripping his hants undt smiling.
l led my bro6ts run, undt in tree or foro
tnys TO tam market sho flop. Mein
Got, nefer 500 nnyting5 run town 50 fast.
Before / knows IL Rio Grando is Off nine
points, undt my prokcr calls me for more
margin undt say it is healthy reaction
dell him it is q hollula reaction undt close
my trade, He dakes out commissions undt
interest undt ono thing undt another, undt
out of $1,000 only get pack $500. When
haf money to trow away again l keep it.
am glat | am alifo'
You ask me what makes seats on the
stock exchange of New York SO valuable"
echoed the broker. al will tell you. The
exchange has n membership limited to 1 100;
| 1t has an insurance fund of over II, ,000,000; IL
owns property TO the value of 50, 100000 or
S4,OOO000, and a ticket gives its owner a
financial standing ON the street. that is
equivalent to $4,000 or $4,000 in cash. A
member must own his seat clear you know.
He can't borrow money OH il. And, then.
the specializing public feed tho exchange
between Sl0,000O00 and $4,000, 900 year in
the form Of commissions. Cut that up among
1,lO0 members, and it will give to each from
$4,000 to $4,000. As q matter of fact this
enormous sum is divided among between 900
and 700 members. The holders of 400 or
800 seats are merchants, bankers, and large
manufacturers who do not show their faces
ON change q half dozen times year, and who
seldom do any trading on the floor.
| "several of the big firms take in $500,O00
in commissions every year, and 100000
houses are too numerous to excite remark.
| The Sl0,000000 or $15,0O0OOO is not split up
pro rata by any means. Some of tho mem
bers get along poorly and others make loads
of money. Take c. j. Osborne & Co., for ex-
ample They trade for professional traders
mainly, and their commissions run from
$4,000 to $4,000 a month. During the boom
of 80 the firm took in $4,000 or 100000 a
month. Scranton & Willard do business for
the public, and their rake often runs up to
| $4,000 month. The expenses of such houses
as these have mentioned, and of Princeton &
Whitley, and dozen others / could name are
not cent less than 100000 year.
They have special telegraph lines
to Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington, aud other trading centers. They
employ experts to watch the crops and make
their reports continually. The big produce
commission firms of Chicago frequently share
expenses with stock exchange house in ex-
penses Of this kind. Their interests do not
conflict, although their business is directly
and intimately dependent upon the crops,
and stock operations are affected by crops as
quickly rs produce markets. Talk about
the government agricultural bureau CIV
ing information about the condition
of crops ahead of anybody! That is fudge.
Dozens Of brokerage and commission houses
in New York and Chicago know all about the
crops weeks before agricultural people over in
the bureau can make an intelligent guess.
Look at Goulds facilities for obtaining
early information. He has thousands Of
miles of railways running through the cotton
and grain regions, and thousands Of agents in
his employ, every one of whom is required to
mako daily reports of the condition of crop:
in his particular locality. Vanderbit's facili
ties are equally good:
"Then Wall street houses are always ready
to pay for advance and exclusive information
upon matters having II bearing on specula.
tion. They pay for news just like q great
newspaper, and their bills are often enormou.
during certain seasons of the year.
"The race track has its professional touts
and Wall street its professional pointers,
both serving the same purpose. The point
ers' slip around and pick up ncws, whicl
thoy sell, and many of them make a good
living. They are generally rascally lot OF
fellows, however, and stand deal of watch
ing. One favorito trick is to concoct
plausible story of the sayings or doing
of some leader calculated to depres
the price of some stock. This tho imaginative
pointer sells to a broker who pays for the
information by taking deal of 100 shares fo
the informant, accompanied by promise Il
carry IL to certain limits. The pointer OF
stock tool, then goes to another broker, tell
him n story exactly the reverse of the first
and gets the recipient to buy him 100 shares
on account Whichever way the market
goes the romancer is winner. Tho brokers
are OH their guard against such tricks, but
During the past four or five years quito
number of room traders, or scalpers as they
are sometimes called, have grown very
wealthy, and of late they have very great in
iuence in determining fluctuations. Anon.
the most conspicuous are Charlie Johns, Louis
Bell Charles Kirlkner, and SlaybacS, although
there are probably half dozen more o
nearly equal prominence. These men car
handle from 10000 to $4,000 shares of stock
each, and when they move upon the marke
in concert it is very apt to so their way. They
are thoroughly familiar with the ins and out
of the market, and whom they SEQ it gettin,
top heavy they throw 100000 or 2OO,0O
shares. This is certain to cause prices Il
yield from l TO q cents If they shoul,
chance to make n mistake and dump lot o
stock on rising market they lose no time II
getting out They will not stand a loss
When they think the conditions are ripe fo
rise they sail in and begin buying righ
and left, and produce the impression that the!
are taking advantagoof early information of
corner or something equally tain to caus
values TO go up. This scares the shorts and
they begin buying too, and the market goe
up The scalpcrs then get rid of their prop
erty at profit and slide out The room
traders have more influence on tho marke
in times like these than Gould or Wander
bilt, although they do not embark in lon
| holt IL