Milford chronicle., 1888-06-29
LUCK ON WALL STREET.
SIGNS WHICH BROKERS BELIEVE IN
plcATIvE or BAD FORTUNE.

wan Street a HOtBed Of Superstition
How HunchbAcks Ansct the Market
The Wrong Foot ForemOst-The Mum
ber ls-Lucly sults of Clothes.
While eating lunch the other day Will
a prominent broker, chanced to ask hin
about the stock market. Before the ques
tion was out Of my mouth his hand went
under the table like flash and three omi
nous raps greeted my inquiry.
"SpiritsY" said |, distrustfully cycling
him.
Luck, - he answered, slipping his coffee.
Il raped for luck, as every sensible man
should when the market is referred TO in
a restaurant"
Outside the circle Of spiritualists hun
dreds of prominent persons are supersti-
tious. We consider ourselves at the me-
ridian of civilization. but, as Emerson
says. we are only at the cock growing and
the morning star. Hundreds of people
consult swindlers who call themselves as
trologers. A large proportion Of the pop
ulation here believe in signs indicative Of
good luck or i'll luck. or else they believe
that certain persons are favored with good
look, while others are naturally unlueky
The ROthschilds viii have nothing to do
with man whom they consider unlucky
Commodore Vanderbilt, one Of the ablest
railroad fnanciers this country ever pro
duced, believed in luck.
BAD LUCK ON FRIDAY.
Hundreds Of intelligent persons have a
superstitious reluctance to engage In any
Important enterprise on Friday. This In
/ cludes as cool and matter Of fact man as
| Jay Gould. Under no circumstances will
he use an elevator. The late Jesse Hoyt,
/ the millionaire grain merchant would
never engage in any impOrtal4 business
undertaking on Friday, and many of the
| spectators on the big exchanges are SINH
larly superstitious. They consider every
Friday a Black Friday The prejudice
against Friday probably dates back to the
Middle Ages, or to even a remoter period,
as the day on which Christ was executed.
It Is only one Of innumerable old super
stitions which still survive.
Many investors and spectators in Wall
street are superstitious about dropping
things. If they find themselves constantly
dropping articles which they happen to be
carrying they take it as a sign that they
must sell their bonds and stocks Many
have superstitious fear of holding stocks
over a holiday.
Some firms will not display the ominous
IL If it happens to be the number of their
places of business
Il confess, said the manager of large
banking and brokerage house, that /
have a superstition about the 18th day of
the month II is not generally a lucky
day. One uniueky instance / remember.
too, about Friday. A big lake steamer
that piled between Buffalo and Chicago a
number of years ago was launched on
Friday, sailed on Friday and sank on Fri
day"
Some stock brokers think it is very good
luck to see a hunehback. II they can
touch the deformity 1t will bring big
gains. Such touch is also supposed to
cure headaches. To see a negro the first
thing in the morning is q favorable sign
In the play Henrietta" a youth who
speculates in stocks when asked by his
broker whether he wishes to buy or sell
answers gravely, Il will consider II.
Then he turns his back and tosses a cent
to determine his course. This is really |
founded partly on fact. A person in the |
habit of speculati9g in stocks found he |
was losing steadily At length he hit |
upon the idea of tossing a half dollar |
which he always carried for luck, and If it |
proved to be head" he bought the frs; |
stock that came out on the tape; If it was |
''tail" he sold. For time at least he /
was far more successful by this method |
than he had ever been through the exer |
else Of common sense.
THE WRONG FOOT FOREMOST
Some persons ON rising in the morning
have a superstitious fear of putting the
left foot out of bed first Others believe
in always putting on the left shoe first.
If they meet negro or a cross eyed
woman they spit for good luck Every
body wants to pick up horseshoe.
On the Cotton Exchange there is one
prominent member who eonsults the
spirits" for points on the market. On a
dark day, when the gas is lighted, some
OF the brokers consider it a sign that the
market will advance. Others say it is
good luck to meet Sister of Charity.
Il shouldn't care. said n popular ois
operator, ito be long Of 1900 barrels of
oil here and short that much in Oil CITY.
| would make it IA 600 at all hazards. ar
course it is all nonsense. but / should feel
better to change the figures at once
Then have an unlucky suit of clothes.
It may sound laughable but it Is so.
have a fine gray suit at home which ]
have only worn four or Eve times in the
last three years, and 1t has already cost
me ten times what | gave for it, / Dor
-owed diamond ring from a friend and
thought it might give me luck 1t was
Just the reverse. As sure rs I wear that
diamond ring the market breaks. An.
,ther thing, never trade on Friday If
nave seen that day cross eyed woman
n red headed man"
One Of the best known traders in the
Ill ring of the Consolidated Exchange will
lever cross a street diagonally, but al
Ways at right angles. Between Wall
treet and Exchange place on narrow New
treet, on which both Sock Exchanges
but, the brokers walk in the middle of
he street about as much as they do on
he sidewalks; but the oil operator re-
erred to always keeps carefully to the
idewalks, and if he has occasion to cross
t the intersection Of another street al.
axes in each corner on the way rather
han cut across cata-oornered. He has a ;
ierman coin that he could not be induced
o sell. It gives good luck.
Hundreds of brokers on the two Stock
Exchanges consider that they have their
1cky suits of clothes.
On the Consolidated Exchange, espe-
tally in the shouting. gesticulating, push L
lg and rollicking oil group, it is consid- i
red very bad omen to open an umbrella l
nd raise it over the head. Putting up J
n umbrella in board room would seem v
nder all circumstances to be unnecessary. t
is worse. It brings bad luck. There b
skeptical wag in the crowd, however 1
-ho on dull days, when the brokers are S