Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-05-29
The Science Of Privilege which I'm.
hOrSed Keenc.

AS q majority of people do not know
what sort of things stock privileges are.
it may not be out of place to say few
words on this subject A stock priv
legeis psrer signed bys sons we'll
known pel5bn, aid eatitli5g tl,s bearer
to put to, II CALI from, that person a
given aMpunt of gwen steck at a
given pre- within a gwen time, These
privilsgse~are paid-1sk--acc0s11hg to
their speculative value. their duration
and the amount of stock they are issued
for. They are practically insurance
tickets against losses in stock gambling.
A man who buys privilege cam not
lose more than the amount he pays for
tt. n he buys astock anu iegocs down,
he can put it TO the signer of the priyi-
lege If he sells it short and it goes up,
he can call it and cover his contract,
The so-calied puts and calls go only one
way, and the bearer can only either put
to or call from the sgner the stock con-
cerned. The spreads and straddles
work both ways; tie holder can either
put to or call from the signer the stock
concerned. The sellers of privileges
work upon the same plan as book
makers do at the races. They sell
stocks short aga INST their puts, and buy
them against their calls. As rule
they make a great deal of money, for
the figures of the privileges are usually
far away from the market, and the pre-
MUM paid for the privilege forms ii
most cases cleaf profit. =, The largest
dealers in privileges are Messrs. Russell
| + n.
S. w., White. Old Sage has made a
million or two by selling privileges.
Being a director in many corporations,
he always knows which way a given
stock is likely to 90, and sells his puts
and calls accordingly. Besides, he has
a large following, and can always make
rich people buy or sell certain stock,
and thus protect his paper. '1u- -.
Mr.. Keene had the disadvantage of
not being connected with any large cor
poratiOn, and of having no following to
speak Of. But he had a perfect passion
for selling privileges. A crisp thousand
dollar bill exhibited by a curbstone
privilege broker was to him like piece
of red cloth to, a, bull. He could not re-
sist the temptation to 90 for it. If he
had confined himself to the dealing. in
privileges he would probably have come
out ahead. But, being q large specu-
lator, besides, he was all the time Grip
pied in his movement by the puts and
calls he had out. He was probably the
most consistent and intelligent bear
for the last two or three years, yet he
did not dare to let the market go down
too far out of fear that an avalanche of
stock would come down on him. The
conquer: e was that he had to sustain
the market by buying stocks, and, as
prices went down notwithstanding his
| efforts, he had a mass of stocks put to
him besides. That game was going, on
for long time. and he was a big loser
| at it all the while His best friends i'm
plored him long ago to give up the priv
ilege business, and he has repeatedly
prom sed them to do so, but the fatal
passion was there, and he could not get
! rid of it. The, collapse had to come,
and it came. There can be no doubt
that he will make all his outstanding
contracts good, though it will probably
nervous tension to which he must be
subjected at the present moment must
be terrible, and thereis not man in
Wall street who knows HIM well who
does not deeply sympathize with him.
He was always the most open-hearted
and least tricky of tire great Wall street
men. Besides. he fought all his battles
!. single-handed. and-so Of them we're
mighty big battles, too. His pluck and
endurance are subjects of admiration,
even on the part of his enemies.-M. y.
| Sun. '-.'h