Morning journal and courier., 1885-12-19
NO. 29S
London Types on 'Change.

| IF ioii Itie oFtnlSntIy Review.
 Types of character are plentiful enough.
 mere IS the Stock Exchange parvenu-the
 man who, with business qualities that would
 grace betting ring or public house, has,
 by dlnt of energy, enterprise, self-assertion
 or good luck, 'the architect of his own for
 tune, risen from the obscurity of office boy
 to the dignity of wealthy principal; who, | consp1euously oyerdressed, now swaggers l through the "house," seeking to impress his I fellow members with sense of his impor- 1 tance by boasting of his country house, his l town mansion or of his orchids of his four | ln-hand (which as a rule he can drive at the ! rate of about five miles an heur), of his | hunters (which usually know more about l hunting than their master does), or of his dinner parties and 'fat homes,'' by means ot which he engages the social services of his wife to knock in vain at the doors of rank and fashion at the West End. By way ot contrast to the parvenu there is the gentlemanly young broker (new-comers to l the Stock Exchange, almost invariably en- list III the ranks of brokers), often the son | of bank manager or some prominent city | man, who starts in business with a mode. ! rate capital and a small but influential oonneetlen; who, genial, active and pru- dent, hopes, 'Eby strict attention to busi-
 ness, to attain some day to the position of leading broker-and generally succeeds If he does not himself speculate, has a keen eye for character and ''cover' and looks : rather to the quality than to the quantity
 or ms business The business classification of the members is not very difficult.
 Among brokers there is the old-fashioned
 investing broker-a man who is regarded
 by his clients as the very incarnation of
 trustworthiness, wisdom and affectionate
 integrity, a man to whom his ''family con
 1nT13S aI,
 profit as is that of the family doctor, law
 yer or parson; man who invariably
 charges full commission and abhors specula-
 tion, and whose clients wait upon him at his
 office. Then there is the leading peripatetic
 broker, an active man of business capital
 and position, who is rarely to be found in
 his office, but who chiefly spends his time in
 running to and from the Stock Exchange canvasslng his clients-for the most part
 tinanciers, foreign bankers and merchants in the streets, courts and alleys between St.
 Swlthlns lane Bishopsgate street. where they do most abound. This broker is sort of slave to foreign telegrams, political and financial events and runors which latter he IS often instrumental in circulating It is his orders which suddenly influence markets, and he IS frequently intrusted with weighty conmlsslens, which he executes with clev- erness begotten of experience; he may al- ways be trusted to ''kneck out" a stock with skill and Judgment, or to lay out the ''stable money of his principals to the best advan- tage. Next there is the ''touting'' broker. who earns somewhat precarious living by speculation and the ''tape," who assidueusly reports or telegraphs every ''sixtesath'' change of price, keeps small army of touts on half commission to scoop in speculative orders, and who knows not the meaning of real investment. Lastly there is the quack broker, who waxes fat on purely nominal brokerages and keeps ''legitimate' gam bling saloon as distinguished from a mere bucket shop" who piles up money by "besting" his clients, and who is prolific in 'Etips" which somehow generally fail to 'Fcome off" Other intermediate varieties of brokers will no doubt suggest themselves to the reader. The jobbers may be almost sim ilarly chased. There are the straightforward and honorable jobbers in every market who are a credit to the ''house, and whom all men implicitly trust-nen of fair fame, large means and undoubted position, who would scorn to take any unfair advantage in business. There are, on the other hand, many whe grow rich by spsqHltegtsi5sfl sis5sflng ;.1 or sTofling markets, and by picking up" con hding brokers. Others there are whose only offices are their hats, and whose only capital iAthe change for a sovereign. These men paslazsle for existence by touting for brokers some few, I believe, a6-Es the markets and comes by making books on races