The morning news., 1888-10-16

! oLedlS I'LL IlODU. FtHbeItA blS NNNCutiPAt
1 as wei as | could, in tGe general roar OF the
room, on tie Widows and Orphans Soon
| heard break of an eighth. Then of a
quarter; then of half; then one per cent,
then two. Ny head swan, my heart beat
quick and hard; my knees almost gave wav,
and big beads of cold perspiration covered
my face. | went to the street to get fresh
air perspired until it made me thirsty
| | went into a restaurant for a lemonade
| While waiting l heard man near me ask
| his companion:
| "'What is the matter with W. & or
| which was, as you know, the room and
street contraction for Widows and Or
phans' Railroad stock
"'Why, haven't you heard of the falling
Off in receipts, as shown by Yesterdays re-
port. The Street il losing faith in its man
agement, and holders are uni ading.
Just then man entered the room, and ,
addressing the two / have spoken of, said ::
1.-The bears are making carcass of w.
So
AT this there was a stampede from the
restaurant, and l found myself leaning on
the bar counter for support.
II was SO weak | asked the bartender to
| give me a dri OF whisky. l left the
| lemonade untouched, went out and clam
F., bere up the steps to the Exchange gallery.
81 found the floor of the room perfect
! Bedlam. 1t seemed to me that every man
on the floor was trying to sell w & o.
| and no one wished t. buy. ] was too much
confused to think. | tried to estimate my
| loss but could not. | thought of going to
see Long, my broker, but / was afraid he
would call for another deposit as margin,
| and as he had talked so kindly and so SYM
| patneucally, when advising me to buy, |
| thought he would not let ME suffer, as he
was friend and had known my father and
family intimately for many years.
Meanwhile. as in a delirium. | heard
| the roar below and the dropping of my
| stock. l was dazed. At Q moment was
| impelled to run to Longs office and close
| out. The next thought was. if | do, my
| loss will be terrible and certain, whereas, if
| | wait, the market may rally aud | may
| get out even, or with a small loss. Thus
hope dallied with me and fear consumed me
until the hammer fell at three o'clock.
Il went on the street to learn the closing
| figure of W. & o.; anxious to know, yet
dreading to ask. heard broker passing
| say w. & o. had broken twenty points.
That meant $40, 900 and commissions as my
| loss, nearly oil of my patrimony gone in
one day, unless | would hold on and take
the chance of a rise the next day.
81 went to Longs Office 10 get his advice.
| AS | entered, | saw marked difference in
| his manner, though he was courteous. He
| offered me chair. There was pause. He
seemed reluctant to speak and did
not know what to say. After a few mo-
| meets he said:
al thought you were out of the city. l
have been trying all day by telegraph to
find YOU
81 told HIM did not go, that I was de-
tanned in town.
''He then said with an air Of indifference
that cut me:
| "'Well it was unfortunate for you that
could not find you. Greatly to my surprise
w. & o. took tumble to-day and, as your
margin was soon exhausted and could not
find you, to protect myself, | had to close
your contract. | am sorry, but it was un-
avoidable.'
Though crushed in spirit by my fearful
loss, l was aroused to feeling of indigna-
ton by this turn in affairs and by the lack
| of sympathy for me as indicated by his
| whole manner aud tone. | said:
"'But Mr. Long. you knew l was good
for the money; why, then, close me out?
You might have carried me for one day,
it seems TO me, considering our friendly
relations
HE replied in monotone:
"'Mr. Margin, business and friend
ship are very different things.
Brokers have no friendships in
business. We are merely mediums through
which the public speculate. People will
gamble for this is nothing but gambling),
and brokers are simply their servants or
dealers. They choose the card, so to speak,
and do the betting. If they win we do not
share the gain; if they lose, should we bear
the losss Every mau who enters on this
| slippery way must know, the first and only
| thing he has to do is to make hi' margin
good. When he docs that, his broker is mis-
servant When ne fails, positions change,
and the broker is his master.
"I did nothing but to act on that rule to
| bod nnt cAl1
loss would have been greater. A panic had
seized the holders of w. & O., and when q
panic takes hold of spectators thy are as
senseleSs as women and children in q
theater at the cry Of Fire" The noise
and uproar you heard in the
Room to-day, were but the echo of what
was going on outside"
Not feeling any interest in his disserta-
ton, or the ethics of gambling, as he called
it, and seeing how little he felt for me in
my distress, | asked how much j owed him
and giving him a check for the amount,
bade him and his gambling farewell and
went out wiser, sadder, poorer man.
THAT night, until | fell asleep, was the
most miserable of my life. tossed in
anguish for hours, like cookie on tumb
ling pillows. ] thought Of my sainted
mother and my noble, patient father, and
wicked as it was, drew some consolation
from the fact that they were not in this
life to suffer by my folly.
II thought of tner economy aud pains
taking TO save, not for themselves, but fol
their children--for me; how my father
would gather and lay away for use old
nails, old hinges locks aud Keys, pieces OF
rope, of chain, crocus bags, and even
strings, which he would wind around a
piece OF paper into ball; how my dear
tender old mother darned oul
socks, patched or pants and shirts
late at night after the children
had gone to bed, to make two suits o
clothes last us year. This they did, no
from stinginess, but on a principle of econ
omy, that nothing should he wasted. AnC
when | thought of how J had thrown away
in one day what had cost them twenty
years of hard work, the closest econom,
and elf-denial to accumulate to help thei
children, l cried aloud Fool! Fool! that
ann | felt as | have often imagined
Vathek felt when he realized he had los
all"
"Who is hel One of that fellow Rocker
victims~ asked the speculator.
'No, he was Caliph," explained tn
broker.
"a whatl a calf" the speculator asked.
"No, sir; not a calf--a Cal-iph-l higl
ruler among Mohammedans.
"Oh, one of them internal Turks. Well
what about himi Is he big speculat TO
and been caught" inquired Mr.. Smiling
very much Interested by the fact tina
Vathek had lost all he had.
''Vathek," the broker explained further