The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1890-01-10
HOW A WALL STREET BROKER KEEPS
POSTED ON FLUCTUATIONS.
His swift aud Trustworthy Messengers ElJ
from the street to Ncw Jersey Farm In
an u ur- Winged Competition with TeIe-
phone aud rcIcE aph.

buggy, and, with my Chicago friend at my
silc, was soon lpg-ng garouud the track have
mgdc TO exercise my horses on.
We are at thc far side OF the track when one
of the stahlcmcu comes ON run from among
the building, and waves something m his
hand quicken the pace OF the horses and
i'm an instant We are where hc stands lie steps
t. nv side and hands me small slip Of paper
folded up very conpacty ! uuroll the slip
aud read the writing which Is crowded on It's
surface Then, turning Ia my friend.
Prices have not changed since morning,
and my manager SAYS that the market Is very
duh That slip has jest been one hour in com
ing from my office in New street. "ls IL "A
telegram queries my companion. mo"
"Then how dill it get hercr "By carrier
pigeon, and with that signal 10 the horses
and woarc once more spinning swiftly around
the track
FAILURES AT I1UsT
About five years ago | bought nay farm,
Chetolah. in North Branch township Somer-
set county y. J. about forty miles Toy
the Jersey Central road from Commmupaw.
The railroad depot, where there is also "A tclc-
graph station, is about two and a half miles
from the hou-c.
To spend my Sundays there with an odd
day now aud then thrown IN, or pcrhap, a
fcsy days at a time when summer dullncss
settled on the market, seemed the best that
could he hoped for But, once tasted, country
life presented a thousand charms and attrac-
tlous that had not been drcamt uf The chief
objection 90 bcstowing moro liberal share
u my tim, on " was that uf keeping mp com
muuiclti0n with tine street II was com
pgTativelY easy to get tolcgTumS from the
farm 30 my New York residence, bat the
more important messages from Wall street
which would keep me adv isod of the condition
OF the market or of any sudden development
that might require my presence or action
were exnsperatingly slow in reaching me.
Then the more or less aminhle young ladies
who successfully had charge Of the tolographic
department Of the station had an unac"punt
able habit Of going home for lunch just "a an
important message was about 10 come over
the wires. At this juncturc the idea sug-
scstcd itself 10 try carrier pigeons | had
taken some interest ia the performance, Of
these remarkable birds. The distance from
my Office, close ~ thc Stock Exchange, 10
the farm is about forty three miles Birds
were constantly making longer journey than
that II seemed like good plan aud H. was
forthwith put into execution.
4 dozen bird, or - were accordingly pur.
chased from "a fuucior ia New York aud In
stalled in n loft over the barn. Ny fret essay
at employing carrier pigeons was uu-uccc,s.
ful. After they had become presumably nc-
cu.tom"d 10 their now home they were taken
succc5sivoly t. town anl let loose, but only
few ever came back. The majority may huyc
returned to their original homo, guuucrs may
have picked thcm or or prospect, of food hnl
rest may have seduncd them into cOu-ortiug
.tt. .#. L.. Il. .I.
tion wore "A decidedly bclri,h appearance
AZ this point unexpected assistance Wa
rendered me. ono Of my best friends M Wall
street wa. that prince Of sportsruen nud stock
operators. the late Charles i. WucrlshoTor
~ whom had couGdod my difficulties ns "A
pigeon fanclcr he knew Of famous breed
pf carrier bird, somewhere IN Germany. IN
a short time Eve pnrs Of males were brought
across the Atlantic and domicilod in the cotnI
had risgo1 up Tor my birds. From these,
with some admyture pf strains II the best
carriers 10 be- found IN this country, my pres
ent efficient little corps Of messenger, are
dosccnlcd.
now ~ rs povE
Better luck attended thi. experiment but
Il required care and patience. The cote was
1rraigued 80 that IL would be- attractive 10
the birds Constant efforts had - be- mndo
20 n - test aud educate them. They were
taken sJmc Il s'au"o from home and lct 1y IN
a flock all arriving safely. Then they were
tested separately, first on short distances
then on Increasing lengths In this way the
strong aud capable birds were separated from
the weak nul uncertain ones At length the
nock wa wc,del out, aud those that remained
can now be dcponlcd on 10 perform their
duty satisfactorily
As Young birds nre bred they urc expert
mcntcI with aud only admitted ~ the select
band il they show the proper ability aud in-
stinct Thi, b. the origin Of the Wall Street
Fria Messenger company dimitoh. ~
practice IL Is simple enough. 4 hamper with
several u the birds is kept nt my office They
are only fel Or watorel sufficiently o. keep
them in condition while 50 detained. Spring,
summer aud autumn, when not in town, /
feel that I can With perfect security aud
serenity stay Ht the farm or take a train 10
town early IN the afternoon. II quotations
change, or IL message ~ any kind has 10
b. srnt 81 me, it b. written on pad of very
thin paper The blanks are printed with tins
names II stocks, 70 that quotations ran be
readily jotted down.
Folded up into "a narrow strip. this ia
wrapped with light wire % the tail feather
wind0ws. tho intelligent creature rises up
above the roofs ~ the surrounding buildings,
and with perhaps a preliminary circle Or
w. strikes out across the Hudson, over jersey
City, and steers o straight course % IT, cote
among the hills ~ Somerset The maze Of
telegraph wires that surrounds the Stock TX
change sometimes offer a temptation b stop
and rest awhile before starting on the jour
ney. But this, with the older and well
trained birds. b. rare. a n rule they per-
form their mission with a CELEBRITY md dIs-
patch that would put the district messenger
service 20 the blush.
They can b. relied upon - make the die
taIice iu an hour. AMI this time b. rarely *.
ceedeI ave by young OF inexperienced
bird. stours and guns in the hands ~ boys
auI fools vmetimes cause unaccOUniabls
di.appaarauccs But. on tie whole the in-
stiuct that draws the bird o. its home can be-
dspended on. The detsntions OF accidents
are no greater than would be the case with
telegraph line All the misconduct that my
bird. have ever been guilty of doe not com-
pare Doe ~ annoyance with what ono gen.
eraIlv .uffsrs from that necessary evil the
talephone in fact, the experiment shows
c9nclua yoly that for Moderate distances the
h1ming pigeDn can be male usiul adjunct