Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-01-13
WOMEN In THE OIL MARKET
SOME THING ABOUT THEIR seEcu-
lATlONS ON CHANGE
Ths stsAsgs STORY 81 Oss Ws0ss's Exps-
rtsnee-Devseing Her Life - ths Rsc~v-
sry sf 8er Hssb.sd's Messy, which She

TSs ssr.sx. STORY II Que Ws0..'s Exps-
rtssee-Dsvsssag Her Lite - tAs Rscsv-
cry Of a~r Hs.basd's Messy, which She
Lnss-As OH C.0pesy ~f wsoss.
There have been some pretty big f.
male pluuyrrs in the oil Ike. at one
time and another. There are still wo-
men spectators in most Of the oil ex-
changes in the region. hut there are few.
if any. If the high rollers" Jeff Oil
City has had more women spectators
in petroleum than any other town. al
though at one time Bradford had fair
quota The Globe Democrat correspond
ent learned today tina, there are but
three women who still visit the Oil Ex-
change daily and make regular bust
ness al towing with the oily tiger. These
ladies have been familiar figures about
the exchange for several years, and are
all that are left out Of several women
specularors.
Tii~-s, ladies do not come on the floor
If the exchange, and are not. in fact.
members. tut are in their seats in the
ladies gallery a. soon as the exchange
opens. and remain tolerably regularly
until the close at 3 o'clock in the after
noon. They deal, Of course, entirely
through brokers. nod being sufficient
order for broker to buy or sell 1000,
1000 or 10. 90 barrels Of oil. as the case
may be- 1t is not often that they go be
yond deal of 900 barrels. as the la
dies no are left IN the exchange. to put
il in the phras.ology Of a broker, are
'sying light. With few exceptions.
the ladies who have entered the lungles
Of the oily tiger have got the worst Of it,
The three. " no still cling to the exchange
are content to deal in 900 barrel lots,
and it is rot always they can do this.
4 number of ladies' prominent in the
charitable organizations and in society
mere have been successful spectators in
Interested in some large deals They
were not regular habitues of the ex-
change, and were frequent visitors to
the gallery, which is open to the public.
All their deals in the market have been
made through brokers. When there was
more activity in the market than there
is III present it was universal theme of
firesi1e gossip, EverY body speculated
in OIL from the minister down to the
porter in the hotel. and it is no wonder
the ladies fell under the fascinating spell
of the bull ring. as the pen ike place
where the deals are made on Change L.
called
During exciting times in the market ii
has been discussed quite as much in the
drawing room as in the counting room
In the system Of specuiating in oil the
persons Of small capital and no capital
at all have not been overlooked and the
servant girl is siven an opportunity to
take flyer in oil" if she is so inclined
During one big whirl in the market, fol
lowing the collapse of the Cherry Grove
field, it was well known that "a large
number Of servant girls lost their little
bundle along with the big fellows. This
was the most disastrous panic the oil
country ever knew, and it marked to q
great "xtent the end of Specializing by
women. 50 many of them lost all their
money that only a limited number of
them have had the courage to venture
back into the speculative whirlpool
The history of onc wouan's specula
tions in the Oh City exchange is curious
Her husband had been iii business in the
oil country for several Years and had ac-
eumulated considerable property, in all
worth about $4,000 He concluded to
70 west, and went t. several of the west
ern cities TO look aroua! for an invest
ueni He had effected "a sale Of his
property before leaving Oil City, and his
wife remained behind to settle up some
details. collect payments not yet due
and join him in the west, where they
were to make their future home. The
woman collected the money, and, doubt
less, ishin!s to carry a pleasant surprise
to her husband, she put the money into
the oil market to make a turn" The
turn went the wrong way and she lost
In the hope of getting it back she made
other Investments. with the usual result.
1t was not long before she had lost every
dollar Of the money that she was to carry
to her husband. II was some time before
she ventured to break the news of her
folly to her husband, and this she did
only after he had written repeatedly for
her to come on with the money. At last
she told him the story of her loss in the
oil market. where she had gone in the
hope of doubling their money The hus-
band had taken enough money with him
to buy small farm. and with this he
was contented to begin the business Of
money getting over again, but his wife
refused to share his lot until she had re-
stored to him the money she had lost
She declined to 90 west. but remained in
Oil City in the hope of recovering her
lost fortune.
This was ten years ago. and the woman
is still daily attendant in the gallery of
the Oil Exchange. She has had VARYING
luck. hut has never got enough money
ahead to make good the loss to her hus-
band. or ANYTHING like it. The Globe
Democrat correspondent was told that in
this time she has several times been re-
duced to the extremity of doing the work
of servant When she would get
enough money together to buy put
or u "ca1' she would again try her luck
in the market. She always dresses in
solemn black and evidently has but one
purpose in life, namely, to recover the
money she fooislly risked in oil and re-
store it to her husband.
There is not much likelihood that she
will ever succeed. Her husband contin-
ues to urge her to abandon her self i'm
posed task and join him on his farm in
the west. but she resoutely refuses to do
so. He has ma re two or three trips to