The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-08-16
JIM KEENE AND HIS BROKER.


In Jim Keene's palmy days, when he was
at the summit of his power, Samuel w.
Boocock was his broker, or at least his
favorite broker, through whom he con-
ducted his great operations. Boocock has
stuck to keene since then, and stood by
him in his darkest periods. Their relations
are and seem to have been founded rather
on warm personal friendship than on bust
ness ties. Whatever keene's future mey
be, Boooock will always be his most trusted
agent. He is quiet man OF domestic tastes,
is not seen about Delmonico's or the hotel
cafes, doesn't go to the races, and is not
known by sight 10 one man in hundred
who hurries past his Office. He is of an
entirely different family from the ex-
speaker of the confederate congress. The
fact that he never is Hurried has made
Boocock invaluable as confidential
broker. His singular ability has enabled
him to follow up this advantage; the same
orderly, q8iet and cool carelessness-it that
term may be applied to the studied absence
of furry and worry-chsracterizes the
Office as the man. Throughout his suite.
on the busiest days, you can
hear pin drop, even while
an enormous business is being transacted
there. Nobody seems to be in hurry. In
the heat Of action, while closing operations
which mean hundreds of thousands to his
customers, Boocock is apparently more
closely occupied in fecking a bit of dust
from his coat sleeve than in stocks. He is
q man Of pleasant manner, of medium size
neither dark nor light, aud about IS years
of age. 1t is in Mr.. Boococks office that
Mr.. Keene makes his Headquarters, Dur
ing this long period of retrieval Boocock
has had the manipulation of Keene's Or
ders and has been largely instrumental in
the restoration of keene's fortunes. Per-
haps he is the most skilful manipulation of
orders in the street. Esin turn, of course
has his confidential broker, with whom he
communicates by private wire and tele.
phone in secrecy and privacy. None OF
these great financial operations need dis.
close its manipulators nowadays to the
! public ken.
Jay Gould used TO say, 81 change nv
! brokers as do my coats" There was a gooc
deal in the papers about Washington Con
nor when he ceased TO be Gould's partner
and broker. Conner is a small, delicate
man, Of very refined manners and quiet de
pertinent. He is little under the medium
! height and Ia age no doubt is well up in the
''roaring forties." He has slender blonde
side whiskers and blonde mustache His
| blue eyes evince great intellectual acumer
it is singular how many blue eyed meT
! H.,
is Clews, for example-and he does more
! thinking than talking.
1t is said of Conner that when he gives
| his word he means it, and that is a secret
of his hold on Wall street men, 1t is al
interesting fact that in no other occupation
or business is thickness so quickly un
yelled and SO thoroughly despised as in tn.
street. This, too, in spite of the popular
Impression, which is exactly to the con
trary. Most people seem to think tina
Wall street brokers thrive by cheating tn,
public and wind up by deceiving them
selves. The facts show that a reputation
for integrity-and in Wall street it mus
be deserved to be borne-is the most power
full factor there. Mr.. Conner is wortl
about s., 000, 900; it is another curious fac
about Wall street that the values of mem
fortunes are invariably over estimated
A SIX the first man you meet on the ex
change what Conner is worth and he is a
apt as not TO say ten or even fifteen million
As matter of fact the same tendency t
exaggeration tinges rumors of losses, S
that if an operator drops three hundre