The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-11-08
LESSONS OF WALL STREET.

They Are Hard, Merciless and SOmeuines
Pathetic, but They Teach.
Brayton Ives, in North American Review.
1t IL q remarkable fact that Wall street 10 q
most successful teacher of humanity. Its lessons
are hard, sometimes merciess, but they are ct.
fecrge. And sometimes, too, they are pathe tic
During four years OF active service IN the late
war saw hosts of brave men and many deeds
of oven reckless daring But have met on the
floor of the Stock Exchange men OF as dauntless
courage and steady nerve as could be found IN
any army. have watched them fight losing
battle day after day, when their wealth was
gradually wasting, and when every turn Of fort.
unes wheel made their positions worse But
they fought Ramely to the end, with cool
bravery worthy Of success. Sometimes, how
ever. the overstrung nerves fail suddenly and
pistol shot ends career which usually deserves
at least some pity, but which rarely gets It IL
ia a proverb in Wall street that plenty Of pluck
and good bank account will ruin any man.
Nowhere can be found more striking exemplif-
cations of the truth of the old saw. ".hat he
who fights and runs away may live to fight an
other day"
Occasionally bold end dashing genius scores
lasting success. but the percentage OF such
cases is almost infnitesimal The men who con-
troll affairs who conduct great negotiations and
who amass large fortunes are, as a rule con-
sentative to the verge Of timidity.
Watchful of the signs of the times, and quick
to take advantage of them, they never fcnow
popular movements TO their end. Those who
greatest
that the strongest combination in business af-
fairs is q union Of speculative and CONSERVATIVE
elements. 1t 10 difficult TO determine at times
the line Of demarkation between them. / sup
pose that whenever anyone buys. with view
20 subsequent sale, anything for which at the
time Of purchase he does not see an existing de-
mand, the transaction 10 q speculative one. This
is as true of the small groceryman who buys
fifty barrels of flour or potatoes moro than his
usual quantity, because be thinks circum-
az inAi advyap in pr:ra Ia NJ
the trader in the Produce Exchange, who buys
So 600 barrels for the Same reason. IL the COM
moditss actually bought and paid for in
both cases, 1t is difficult to SEQ Why both are not
equally legitimate. The test seems to be not so
much in the kind Of transaction as in the de-
gree.
Bet there is another class, numbering far
more than is generally supposed, who consider
themselves and who really are conservative, but
who, nevertheless, are influenced by speculative
impulses. They are the men and the women,
too, land am bound to say that, proportion
ately. the women ortnumber the men), who are
content to 80 without present income from an
Investment provided il promises large rewards
in the future / call them conservative because
the gam bling element of chance does not con-
troll their operations. They act only after q
study, more or less careful and intelligent, OF
the facts in the case. and invest their money
with patient confidence This is the class which
buys unimproved real estate, and stocks which
do not pay dividends They would be shocked.
probably, to be told that they are the mainstay
Of Wall street. But it is true. nevertheless.
Nearly every one Of our great railroads has
bsen fostered by and reached prosperity through
their support The process Is familiar one,
and has been repeated scores Of times A road
10 built, and the stock is pitched into the specu-
lative arena, where 1t becomes q financial foot
ball Ii is almost never successful at the outset.
1t gets involved in debt, becomes bankrupt. and
the men who started 1t simply as a speculation
lose money. There are not only no dividends,
but there are often assessments. Meanwhile
tho country grows and business increases along
the line. Gradually the stock is absorbed by
this conservatively speculative class of invest
ors As the supply diminishes in the open
market and the prospects Of the road improve
Ii becomes easy for the professional spectators
to manipulate the price to suit themselves.
If the spectators had to carry all the load, or
could only sell to each Other, their careers would
be brief. But this small yet steady investment
demand becomes after q while important
factor in their calculations and they make the
most of it. Who're the cautious outsider buys
ten twenty shares the daring professional
trader will buy many thousand, and this is
the reason why so many of them are ruined 10
stocks which prove profitable to the genuine in
weston. The Spectator assumes too heavy loads
and has to throw them overheard at a less on
the appearance OF financial storm. while the
man who has bought no more than he can pay
for, waits patiently for the clouds to roll by.
There are illustrations of this process at our
doors Thirty years ago the stock Of the New
York & New Haven railroad was one Of the
speculative favorites OF Wall street. 1t was
ultra fashionable, for the treasurer in
dulged in fraudulent ovsrssus OF stock. The
road did net pay dividends and the price ranged
from $50 to 500 per share. Gradually the stock
WAS taken from the market until not enough re-
manned there to satisfy the demands of the trad.
ers, and now, with tho price above 500 per
share, transactions in it are few and in small