Telegram-herald., 1890-02-03
aARGOT" OF wAILsTREET
Where the Bewldering Slang ot
Brokers Originated.
A Dialect Ibat Ny.tiass ths Ostsr WoFid
soaae Of ths Leaders IA rroksrs' si-nx
sfths Ola Times sad To- Day DreS
ana ths slang whsngsrs
ccPYRIsHt Iss0


ccPYsIsHs lsso
no use cunning ia that quarter, l
tell yoa IL you've been caugnt short
best say nothing about IT, unless you
want 70 get the razzle-darzle
These emphatic remarks we're made
by ono Of lie Young Guard of Wall
street 10 an acquaintance al the HoH-
man House New York City, the other
eyenlug.
"But les an Of market. anyhow"
''N0t much 10 isn't I've bad a point
er. and 8 couple % days w.ll see things
swimming. see i: they don't Thers
won 1e q break in j.. q o. in month.
But its going 20 be quiet; there wont
be any twisting about it. It's gilt
edged ana the fellows who are in have
a claca "a e.
To tie uninitiated. the dialect OF
Wall street. OF which the language just
quoted is . fair example, is one OF the
marvels OF tne metropolis In the gal
lery OF the stock Exchange in the lead
ing brokers Offices. on the sidewalk
AMONG rho curbstone operators and even
IN the banks and hotels no hears the
peculiar. bewildering iargon. 1t has a
flavor OF shop about il; racy, breezy
technique that is found nowhere else
One VINO has never been down among
the bulls and bears might as we'll at
tempt TO "rakker Romanes' with
gypsy, and hope 70 make himself under
stood a. TO hold parley with a busy
broker TO whom the street and its dia-
lect mas become almost a second nature.
Even clover fnanciers who are not fre-
quenters OF the Exchange sometimes
find themselves at sea in attem pting
TO cope with this flood Of slang that has
been increasing in volume eyer since
the street became an established insti-
tuition
Ihiio.ogists have never stopped TO
inves gate the origin OF shis curious
development, although, spreading from
Wall street. the slang of finance has
invaded every city in the Union where
ever there is an exchange CT stocks are
dealt in as a business. In the early
days when the speculative markets
were in the hands OF a iew bold and ag
gressive pioneer spirits much as the
California gold field was forty years
ago -excitement found a means of ex-
preston in slang From 1924. when
the Board OF Brokers was organized,
till lS32 when Jacob Little, the Great
Bear OF Wall street" opened n small
office in a basement anc forthwith
began 20 show men how 60 make and
unma1e fortunes in an hour, the finan-
cial fraternity was rather a staid por-
tion OF the community. Every thing
was orderly; curbstone brokers and
panics were unheard Of; co rners pools
and cOmbinations-tho forerunners OF
disaster-were unknown. Little revo-
lutionized all this. His bold opera
tiOns made him the leader in every
speculative movement lie Was the
first American 10 be called M pol con
of Finance the first 70 be dubbed
Railroad King" and he was the father,
il not the actual inventor of the slang
phraseoiogy Of finance. Terms were
Invented TO describe the new system
OF operations ne introduced, and these
multiplied IS the tricks and devices
of tire new system increased. A
''breal ll' in the mark kct-a thing til then
unknown expressed the downward
movement where stock had been buoyed
up by artificial means according to
Little's system; covering his shorts"
described tho dilemma of s. broker who
on q rising marlc-. bought where he
could 70 protect himself on the day Of
delivery o. his contracts, loading up"
aud unloading" bearing" the market.
'long' and short wish other broker
age phrases that have survl we'd tlll now.
were among tho slang o. Little's day
and generation. Like many others.
his system failed az the critical mo-
nent and his own vast fortune. quickly
made. was as speedily swept away on
three different occasions
The panic of 1850. Black Friday" OF
1863 and tho great panic OF s55 all con-
tributed heavily 10 the dialect OF the
speculative class. After each period OF
unusual excitement tue slang became
more pronounced The greatest con
tributor of all was tho exciting period
of the civil war, from which sprung =
remarkable list OF word-coinages that
have bean hundred times discussed
hy the mon VINO were then the leaders
ON Change. u IS Impossible TO trace
- istory ot Walt street slang with
ont ln q measure. following tho history
of tho Street itso,f just how much %
Tins peculiar verb.are % finance was
cont~ibgted by men ike Henry Keep.
'the SILENT who. fom poorAouse
boCt1.are. became tremendous specu-
la-1r and who punched all his talk lnto
rrruner lI1 bfrs. how -r.rb f~n-s AMI tfrflo-