The Brookhaven leader., 1884-01-24
Curbstone Spectators.

San Fran ,isco," said a student of that
curious phase of Chicago life, the cal
lew around tho Board of Trade.
There is the sane spirit of speculation
among all classes, the same stories of
fortunes made, the same facilities for
specializing in small amounts, and the
same throng of hangers-on around the
board that was to be observed around
the Stock Exchange on California
street. Look at this alley. It's lined
with bucket-shops where anybody can
gamble in grain TO almost any extent
from dollar up. Yes, you can buy a
put or cali for a dollar, and may
be make ten dollars in a few hours.
This crowd that hang about here all the
time corresponds also with the mob of
curbstone spectators aroundthe Frisco
Exchange. There's the same general
appearance, the hungry look on their
faces, and from my observation of few
individuals here might add that their
do.ngs are much the same as the crowd
who used to block up the streets on the
slope when the bonanza was struck in
the Comstock lode"
Yes" he continued, these alley
fellows come here every day. It's their
headquarters. The place is a magnet
tSat draws them irresistably. hey
speculate when they can, and that's not
oten, in the case of many of the reg
ular hanoers-on. The alley is full of
broken-down men, not only spe u
lators, but merchants and professional
men as well They are down from one
cause or another, sometimes because
their luck has deserted them. Every
spe u ator knows how tickle his good
fortune is. The most fortunate on
Change are never particularly elatcd
over great gains. They must keep right
on specializing They can't resist that,
and the, know by numberless examples
that their new found riches are liable to
fly as quickly as they were ga ned.
Well, some of these bucket-shOp follow
ers have gone through that experience,
and the worst part OF it. It's remark
able fact that good many OF them
have been ri h. There is one who comes
in and ont who was once worth 5000
600. He lost it all in a single operation.
Now he complies figures on exports
that are excellent, and sells little cir IL
lars that he gets up himself to make a
living. Figures beat him. They will
beat anybody in the long run. The way
to speculate is to dash in and play your
hand until it's out, as the gam
blers say. There's fellow y
pointing to quiet man near the
stove, ''who illustrated that princi-
pie. He came into Chicago first two or
three years ago as a pedder of soap.
He invested five dollars in wheat, struck
it right, kept on, still winning, until in
very few weeks he was dining on
venson and Verzenay, in elegant
clothes and diamonds and plenty OF
money to sling right and left without
hurting his bank balance. Suddenly
his luck turned. His S25, 900 made in
two months melted away far faster than
he rot it. Now YOU see him. He will
hang around here the rest of his life,
risking whatever he can get hold of.
Once a Spectator always one. There
are three elderly men together by the
door. Each was wealthy at one time.
Each IS poor now, but still they hang
around. They couldn't do anything
else if they wanted to. The fascination
of the thing is too strong for them to
resist. But it's not always bad luck
that pulls a Spectator down from the
floor and dealing in hundreds of thous-
ands. to the alley and the bucketshops.
Sometimes it's the habits that the life
engenders There's a man who was
once the head of a dashing firm on
Change, the conductors of a successful
corner, in fact. Now he's down fol-
good, probably. Whisky. The same
cause with another man, one of the first
to solicit trade from the Wall street men.
, He used to spend thousands of dollars
month. Ups and downs in this pc
culiar life of Spectator. which once
having entered upon is never quilted,
are we'll illustrated by another man
the one smoking that pipe. He owned
an elevator, and big one, till bad luck
struck i'm, That oldish man beside
him with the bright eye Travelled
through Europe with a retinue like q
Prince. Why, he won $4,000 francs al
Monte Carlo and gave most of it away
before he left the town. guess he'd
like part of it now.
IAN these fellows speculate with the
old vim and nerve whenever they can.
There are numberless instances among
them of a recovery OF lost ground.
Why, the board itself is full of men who
nave hhOWn bOln tAIlCnlSo VI CllC Iludl'
cial ladder. The fellows who are just
now most talked about-there are four
If them as having made the most
money in the shortest time were absO-
lutely poor six months ago. One has
made S250,000 in six weeks, another
$500, 600 since last September, another
the same. Nobody wonders at their
success. It's part of the game of spec
ulation in grain. Nothing else is so full
of contrasts, and as the members of the
board never consider themselves as not
entitled to hope when they lose every
thing, neither do the curb-stone specu,
latOrs. Often fortune smiles on them.
Three years ago an old fellow came in
here with $50. He sold a COW to get it.
He made $4,000 from it in six weeks.
He pulled out of speculation forever
and bought farm. Another case is OF
a.sickly fellow who left $50 here with
blind Instructions regarding it. The
concern followed his orders as they in
terpreted them. When the consump-
tive was able to come down four weeks
later his 500 had increased to IS, zoo
The joyous shock restored him to
health. He went on the board and is
a big gun there now. Chicago Inter-
Ocean.
The new FL Dorado is Las Vegas,
N. NJ. The city is boiling with excite
ment over the discovery of gold within
&c limits No o;f;zan uho nc ahla "A