Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-16
PRIVATE WIRES.
A REVOLUTION BROUGHT ABOUT IN
METHODS OF SPECULATION.

Marvellous Growth of the Use Of Private
Telegraph Wires by the Brokers Of
Wall Strcet-How Some Big Deals are
Made-Tkey arc Expensive.
"Nothing ia Wall street shows a more mar
vicious growth in a short time than the use Of
private telegraph wires. Only few years
ago man would have been thought a crank
if he had suggested the possibility of a stock
broker enjoying the expensive privilege Of
having a Geographic service 800 miles long
for his own exclusive use. Now there are
fifty houses in the stock and produce ex-
changes which have leased lines The West
ern Union company alone has 100000 miles
of wires leased for private use, and the Bal
timore and Ohio, the Postal and other COM
panies have about $4,000 miles more. The
private wire has rcvolutionized the methods
of speculation and stock gambling in five
years time, and has about completely super
seded the old ways of business"
The speaker was a smart telegraph operator
in brokers' Office. Business was over for
the day, ard lie stood in converse with a re-
porter among a crowd of Wall street men at
a popular resort not far from the stock eX-
change The artist behind the bar had COM
pletod an exceedingly satisfactory creation in
the way of silver fiZZ, and the operator dali
lied with it as he continued: Expensive?
Yes: the rent OF It special wire between New
York and Chicago is from $4,000 to $4,000
a year, and there are at least twenty of them
in use. All the big stock and grain houses
have them, because what one does the others
must do 10 keep up with the procession. The
speculation in grain on the Chicago board has
grown 50 rapidly and enormously in this city
that New York now almost controls the bust
ness in Chicago. Instantaneous and constant
communication between the two cities is a
necessity for this gamble.
"Then there are scores of wires to Boston,
Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Al
bany, and in summer to Newport, Saratoga,
Long Branch and other watering places OF
course, tie rental of these shorter lines is not
so high as the Chicago circuits, but none of
them costs less than IS 600 a year each. The
average price is $50 per mile year.
PRIVATE WIRES INNUMERABLE
"As to the private wires in the city con-
Meeting Wall street with the up town and
Brooklyn branch Offices of stock exchange
firms and produce exchange brokers, they
are innnmerahlc. One big house alone has
eighteen branch Offices in New York, Chica-
go, Boston, Philadelphia and elsewhere, all
connected by private wires. Sometimes ON the
more expensive wires, like Chicago, the cost
is divided between two firms, one in New
York and the other in Chicago. Then, again,
some lines are quadded or quadrupexed.
This splits the wire, or enables two distinct
circuits TO be worked over at the same time.
In this way four parties-two ut each end Of
the line-may use the same wire without in
reference. The conn auies keep the leased
lines in repair, but the brokers hire their own
operators
The private wires have been the salvation
of Wall street speculation Brokers complain
of dull times now, but some of them couldn't
make enough TO pay for walk home if it
wasn't for the new business which the pri-
vate wires have brought into the street.
Practically, all the principal cities in tho
country have been put into instant communi-
cation with the stock exchange. \ man may
sit in an Office i'll Chicago, 1000 miles away,
watching the ticker reporting New York
stock exchange quotations, and he may order
the purchase or sale of stock in Wall street,
and have it executed five minutes later He
couldn't do it quicker if he was in New York
on the floor Of the board room. BY far the
greater portion of the transactions in the
stock exchange now are on out of town orders
by telegraph The biggest operators in the
country never come into Wall street, and
some of them rarely come to New York
during their deals. All their opera
tions are conducted by wire from
a distance with the same care as though
they were in the exchange in per-
son. Some Of the biggest deals on record
have been carried out altogether over the
private wire. Fortunes are made and lost
every day by the tick of the telegraph key,
and the man 600 miles away can, and does,
speculate in Wall street with same opportu-
mites enjoyed by the operator who hangs
over the tape or watches the blackboard in a
Broad street Office within sound of the
tumult Of the board room. New York
Herald.