The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-05-15
Oil in the Treasury.

''O1l GOWN 10 JIS Sdiu one paic,
sad-eyed youth 10 another, as they
stood at the dairy lunch counter on
Fifteenth street one day last week.
''The deucei" said the other, as he
quickly laid down his piece of pie,
with only one bite out of it, and hur-
ried off. Such recklessness in regard
to lunch by government clerk alarmed
The Capital gossiper, who hastily
poured down the last drop of his but
termilk and started in pursuit The
gossiper was just in time to see the
thin legs of the youth disappear into
hallway on Fifteenth street; upstairs
they flew, and into little room where
was big black board, around which
stood a group of men studying a row
of figures. AT desk sat smooth
faced youth who was busily ciphering,
while two or three men watched him
with pleased expressions. just then
there was ring at the telephone.
"Hello!" ''Yes. - .'92s." '.All rightr'
'.Well, we made short turn, got in
at 92s, and closed out at 92s. That nets
you $3.50 on a syndicate" said he as
he hung up the transmitter.
There was general smile, and the
treasury clerks glanced at the clock,
which pointed to 1927, and hurried
out, so as to be back before the hall
monitors could give them black mark
for tardiness.
''Can | do anything for you in oilp"
asked Smoothface of the gossiper.
''Not to-day, but 1 would like to
know q little about your business. Do
you do much with the department
clerks?"
''Yes; nearly all of my customers
are from over the way there. / have
about three hundred on my books"
''How do they manage to have money
enough to speculate on?''
ooh, it doesn't take much. Very
few put in more than 5000, which buys
syndicate" the bulk of them are in
for less than 500. We take as low as
$20 which buys 100 barrels"
''How is that? Do you actually buy
the oil?'
"Our principals do. But in effect
we deal on margins, except that if you
should buy a certificate for 1000 bar
rels for $200-that is syndicate-at
80 cents, you can take and hold the
oil at that figure as long as you please
by paying 60 cents per day storage for
Suppose it was to 60 down to 80,
how then?'
''Well, you would have to put up
another 5000"
$50, after all, it is only operating on
a margin of 20 cents a barrel"
''Yes, except that someone is manip-
ulating for you who knows something
about it, and who stands right in the
exchange and watches how the cat
jumps and tries to jump with it, Of
course we lose something, but we
| orally win. We are very csr-' sen,
naHo = 'eih wneho' - we can. We
i haue ooAo Lurns last month and
io'' :. only one. Our customers made
S52. so on every 5000 invested in the
last twenty days of March"
.'How do you make money out of it ?"
''Oh, we have the best of it. We
charge So on every transaction, and If
| operating for rise, we charge 60 cents
a day for the storage on every 1000
barrels"
''Very much like the splits in faro. F"
"Well, something like it,
':Do you have any big dealersP''
| "a few. There is one clerk in the
sixth auditors office who has $4,000
| up with us. He made over 81. 200 last
month. Then there is a well-known
military man here who keeps from
$4,000 to $1,000 in all the time. Nearly
the whole of it represents profits since
| last October"
''How much oil is bought and sold
this way in Washington?n
Probably 500, 900 barrels are carried
here all the time. The business is
| growing every day.
HAS the oil speculation reached the
| other departments"
Eyes. There is not a department
in Washington but has its operators;
and there are some at the government
printing-office, even. In fact, if
keeps on, expect to see ticker
in every government building for the
convenience of the clerks
''Do any of the female clerks invest?'
Not with me. if | know it, said
Smoothface. .'They are kickers from
the word go. They kick first, last and
always" he said; '.if they lose. and if
they win dollar or two or $50 they
TAX US to death. They are governed
! by dreams and seances, and if the mar
ket goes against them they swear by
the dream and say they have been
swindled. A friend of mine took $500
for one of them month or two ago
and her husband got after him with a
| gun. She dreamed about oil, and
walked the man up by crying out: Its
gone down to 80 and that broker has
lost my money She had pawned her
sealskin sack, diamond engagement
ring and watch to raise the money TO
i put up. No women for me, if you