The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-05-21
The CIarksYille Panic.

The New York Times funny man thus sizes
down the Wall street panic to its true proper
tions: The panic In the GAINESVILLE school has
naturally cast gloom over playground and
dormitory, and 1t will probably be long before
the game OF marbles RECEIVERS its former stand
ing as reputable though risky game. The
panic was distinctly due to over-trading in
marbles. An immense business was done with
insufficient capital, and shrinkage in the
value Of rabbits or other securities would have
precipitated panic at any time during the last
three months. The failure of James Smith
was, of course, the immediate origin OF the
panic, but the firm could not, in any event,
have kept itself above water more than week
or two longer. Master James Smith Is not
only skillful marbe-player, but he is fiuan-
cial genius. AT the beginning of the present
school term he conceived grand scheme for
enriching himself and all the boys who had
confidence in him. He proposed that he should
borrow marbles at a high rate OF interest, and
pay both this interest and large dividends out
Of his winnings as marbe-paver. To every
boy who should lend him six marbles he offered
to repay nine marbles within two days, and in
case the lender should reinvest both principal
and profits he undertook to repay him at any
moment with profits at the rate of fifty per
cent every two days. The offer was so tempt
ing that there was general anxiety on the
part of the boys to lend their marbles to James
Smith. and in the course Of the week every
boy in the school had invested in the marble
pool. It was understood that James Smith
was to win marbles from boys unconnected
with the school; but curiousy enough, no one
inquired where these boys were to be found, or
at what hour in the night James Smith was in
the habit of secretly getting out of bed and
going off to play with his unknown adver-
saries. The boys were, however, perfectly
satisfied with his method OF conducting busi-
ness. He never failed to tender large quanti-
ties OF marbles to his patrons whenever, by the
terms of his contracts, they we're entitled to
dividends, and they never failed to re-invest
the whole amount with him. Each IT them
had decided to make at least a million OF mar
bles before closing their accounts with James
Smith, and they were eager not to draw mar
bles but to add to their investments. The local
storekeeper who sold marbles consented, after
the boys had spent all their money, to sell them
marbles on credit. provided they would place Sc
curities in his hands. Most Of the boys kept rab-
bits, end they pledged their rabbits, their tops,
their jack-k knives, and other negotiable securities
with the utmost reclSlessness. Last Thursday
night the books of James Smith showed that
twenty eight millions OF Marbles in round num-
bers, were due to the sixty-four boys of the
GAINESVILLE school. On Friday night James
Smith announced his insolvency, and assigned
two hundred and three marbles to the Greek
professor in trust for his creditors. The disaster
was precpitated by shrinkage in the value
of rabbits, caused by the breaking out OF a dis
temper among the rabbits hypothecated with
the SC0reKeeper. Inc latter not knowing at
what moment all the rabbits might die, de-
manded that they should be redeemed In
order to redeem them their owners were COM
PEELED to call in the marbles that they had in-
vested with James Smith. The latter was I'M
able to respond to the call; a panic followed
and the unfortunate boys lost both their mar
bles and their hypothecated securities. The
principal of the school investigated the affairs
OF James Smith on Saturday afternoon with
three consecutive apple-tree switches of the
largest size. He found no assets worth men
tioning. James Smith had played marbles
with the son of the janitor of the female SEM
mary on two or three occasions and had lost
heavily. The dividends which he rendered to
his victims were simply the investments made
by other victims. He had not won a single
legitimate marble during his entire career as a
marble financier, and, as the principal coldy
remarked whenever he stopped to select new
switch, his conduct had been no better than
that of a professional pickpocket. At present
the GAINESVILLE school boys have neither pocket
| money, marbles, rabbits, nor any other nego-
table property No one can palliate their folly
or feel much sympathy with them in their
losses Nevertheless, although no grown per-
son would for an instant be guilty of like folly,
1t should be mentioned that James Saith in
formed the boys that he conducted his bust
ness strictly in accordance with Wall-street
methods. and that they actually believed that
he spoke the truth"