The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1890-01-17
high when solder secur

high when solder securities were selling be-
low par.
The management, assisted by the entire E.
& w. clique, laughed all such "bear" stories
to scorn, and when scorn seemed somewhat
insufficient they greatly increased the volume
of sales and maintained the price by tho ia
miliar, simple, but generally successful ex-
pedient of buying from one another through
many different brokers in the stock market.
The bear party rallied within day or two,
and returned to the charge with an entirely
new set of lies, besides an accidental truth or
two; but the E. e. w. clique was something
OF a liar itself, and arranged for simultaneous
delivery, at different points on the street, of
lot of stories so full of new mineral develop
ments on the line of the road, and SO many
new evidences of the management's shrewd-
ness, that criticism was silenced for while.
But bears must live as well as bulls, and
the longer they remain hungry the harder
they are sure to fight for their prey; so the
street was soon favored with fresh assort-
ment of rumors. This time they concerned
themselves principally with the alleged bad
condition Of the track and rolling stock in
the west, and with doubts as to the mineral
deposits said to have been discovered. The
market was reminded that other railroad
companies, by scores had made all sorts of
brilliant discoveries and announcements that
had failed to materialize, and that some of
these roads had been managed by hands that
now seemed to be controlling E. & w.
Then the Z. & w. management lost its
ordinary temper and accused the bears of
malignant falsehood. There was nothing
unusual in this, in locality where no one is
ever suspected of telling the truth while he
can make anything by lying. When, how
ever, Z. 81 w. issued invitations to large
operators, particularly in the company's
stock, for a special excursion over the road,
with opportunities for thorough investiga-
ton, the bears growled sullenly and began
to look for a living elsewhere.
The excursion start was a grand success in
the eyes of Mr.. Marge. who made with it his
first trip in the capacity of an investigating
investor There were men on the train to
whom Marge had in other days scarcely dared
to lift his eyes in Wall street, yet now they
treated him as an equal, not only socially but
financially. He saw his own name in news
papers of cities through which the party
passed; his name had appeared in print be-
fore, but only among lists Of guests at par
ties, or as usher or a bridegroom's best man
at wedding-not as a financier 1t was
gratifying, too, to have presented to him some
presidents of western banks who joined the
party, and be named to these financiers as
one Of the most prominent investors in E.
&W.
He saw more, too, of his own country than
ever before; his eyes and wits were quick
enough to make him enter heartily into the
spirit of new enterprise or two which some
Of the e. a. w. directors with the party were
protecting. It might retard little his accu-
IL ~ g. hut tba
would be in his favor in the end. To "get in
on the ground floor" of some great enterprise
had been his darling idea for years; he had
hoped for it as unwearyingly asfor rich wife;
now at last his desire was to be granted; the
rich wife would be easy enough to find after
he himself became rich. Unaccustomed
though he was to slumbering with jolting
bed under him, his dreams in the sleeping car
were roster than any he had known since the
hair began to grow thin on the topof his head
But as the party began to look through the
car windows for tho bears of the Rocky
mountains the bears Of Wall street began to
indulge in pernicious activity. They all at
tackled E. e. w. with entirely new lots of
stories, which were not denied rapidly enough
for the good of the stock, for some of the
more active managers of the E. e. w.
away. Dispatches began to hurry westward
for new and bracing information, but the
whole excursion party had taken stages few
hours before for a three days trip to SEQ
some of the rich mining camps to which Z. 81
w. had promised to build branch. No an
swers being received, E. 81 w. began to droop;
as soon as it showed decided signs of weakness
and seemed to have no friends strong enough
to support it the bears sprang upon it en-
masse and proceeded to pound and scratch
the life out of it. 1t was granted temporary
breathing spell through the assistance of some
operators in other stocks, who feared their
own properties might be depressed by SYM
patty, but as soon as it became evident that
E. & w. was to be the only sufferer all the
bulls in the market sheathed their horns in
bears claws and assisted in the humiliation
of the PROSTATE giant who had no friends.
The excursion party returned from the
mines in high spirits; even the president of
the company declared he had no idea that
the property was so rich. He predicted, and
called all present to remember his words, that
the information he would send east would
"boom" e. 81 w. at least ten points within
ten days. Marge's heart simply danced with
In him; If it was to be as the president pre-
dicted his own hoped for million by the be-
ginning of the stagnant season would be
nearer two. He smiled pityingly as Lucia's
face rose before him; how strange that he
had ever thought seriously of making that
chit his wife, and being gratifed for such
dowry as the iron trade might allow her
father to givei
The stages stopped at a mining village,
twenty miles from the station, for dinner.
The president said to the keeper of the little
hotel:
"Is there any telegraph station here7"
There's telephone cross the road at the
store" said the proprietor ut runs into the
bankin' house at Big Stony"
"Big Stonyp echoed the president. "Why,
we've done some business with that bank
Come, gentlemen, let's go across and find out
how our baby is being taken care Of"
Several of the party went, Marge being
among them. The president ''rang up" the
little bank, and bawled:
"Got any New York quotations todayi"
eyes" replied thin, far away voice.
Flows the stock marketp'
Pretty comfortable, considering"