Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1890-04-11


and many a suffering yoatls, unmindfuI
of pain, has hurried along to make his
deliveries and save his employer from
loss.
Like every other institu ton, the Board
of Trade has nomen clature peculiar to
itself Those who believe the market
VIII advance, and play the game on that
theory, are called bulls while bears"
are men who expect to see prices decline
and accordingly sell that Ehey may profit
by the fail. strong or rising market is
termed ~bullish, and ~bearisb" when
falling.
Bulls and bears, In the Just sense OF
the terms. ara your true spectators. /
They adhere to their theory of an ad-
vance or fall. and don't turn aside from
1t until convinced OF their error
The ~scalper" may be termed the bush
whacker OF speculation. He acts IN the
present He Is a bull or bear as he
can see q chance to nip small profit,
say a spit. or l-16 Of a cent. He
watches the movements of other and sen
orally larger operators, and takes advan-
tage OF little advances and breaks which
may continue but a few minutes, and
which the genuine specula5or, particu-
larry II he he a "plunger" or heavy .Oper-
ator, contemptuously ignores. The
scaIper is of Il cOWaIdly nature, pos
sessed of but small amount Of gimp"
or snap.
~ 1871 ~SA@1CA - AELGGtg EC44C4 bl1g
understood, and is not confined to
Board Of Trade transactions. Tt means
the controlling of the visible supply in
the m 3rket of the particular commodity.
By this means prices can be forced up to
almost any figure desired, since shorts"
those who have sold-cannOt obtain
the goods to deliver to the Longs"
who have bOught-withOut paying the
price demanded.
The trouble with corners is that the7
very often-in fact, in a clear majority of
cases-fajl to corner, and in that event
the losses are commensurate with what
the gains might have otherwise been.
Not only are millionaires thus bankrupt
ed but thousands of small fry, WHO have
pinned their faith ana invested their last
dollar in the success or failure Of the
! scheme, go down with them.
Puts" and acalls" are terms of very
general use. They are frequently called
privileges. The buyer of put" pays
certain sum for the privilege of selling
during a certain time, usually a day, q
certain thing at a certain price.
A "call" Is the privilege of buying on
the same terms. They are sold for Small
sums, and the purchaser generally drops"
the amount invested. In cases Of IN
usual huctuation, however, large profits
are made on puts" and calls" In the
history of the Board, $4,000 has more
/ than once been made from an investment
of 500. A "straddle" is a combined put
and call, and is taking chances both
ways.
A large portion of the buying and SELL
/ ing is done by brokers. Many of these
| act for wealthy operators, who not in
| frequently have several brokers' on the
! floor at the same time, operating, to all
| appearances, at cross purposes. There
! are many tricks among spectators, and
hnessing is as useful on the Board of
/ Trade as in a oama of whist.
M any of ChicagO's people speculate
! through q broker on the board. The real
| harvest of the latter comes, however,
/ from the cOUntrymen, or more properly,
! the residents of small cities and towns.
! These, daZzled by the fortunes OF which
! they continually read as having been
! made in a day, are constantly pouring
/ money into that insatiate hopper of
/ speculation, from whence it passes into
a mill, the tolls of which are exceedingly
/ heavy.
Granting that the small outside oper-
! atOr Is as likely to win as lose, and has
| capital to carry on his speculatiOns, he
| is, in the long run, almost certain to quit
/ loser; for. by reason of continual
/ grinding, the entire grist is consumed by
! the broker in the form of commissions
! tolls.
| Board of Trade men are, for the most
! part, a rOIlicking set. At times they act
! like a lot Of schOOlbOys, playing on each
| other all manner of pranks. If one had
| the value of all the hats that have been
J destroyed on the Chicago Board of Trade,
! he would be a wealthy man. Sticking
/ burning papers in hats, and emptying sam
| pies Of -four over each other, are common
/ amusements.
Many of the large fortunes of Chicago
were amassed on the board, and many Of
the heaviest operators were once poor
men, and that not many years ago, either
MANY a man, PROSPEROUS for q time,
has gone down under run of Ill-luck,