The morning news., 1892-03-14
WALL STREET MEN.
HENRY cLEwS TALKS ENTER
TAININGLY ABOUT THEM.


Things Necessary TO Success-Honesty,
Qu,ck Judgment and Good Health
are Prominent QusnfcAtions-Tnose
Addicted to Social DISSIPATION, or
Excesses OF Any Sort, are Sure to
Come TO Grief.
From he Nss0 York Advertiser.
A slender gentleman OF medium hight,
somewhat bald, Of pale complexion, hign
forehead, head well formed, OF prominent
but refined features, eyes penetrating, aud
mouth indicative Of considerable nervous
energy is tolerably accurate description ot
Henry Clews, the well-known Wall street
broker aud banker. he IS 8 man at whom
one would look twice when passing. His
physique is compact in build, but not mus
cular; his hands are small. but well shaped;
bis attire is exceedingly plain, but excellent
in fit and make His voice is soft aud
pleasant in tone, but be speaks In that quiet,
impulsive way characteristic OF men whose
responsibilities are great He has slight
ssoop in the shoulders, but bis step is as
light and active as many men twenty years
Lis l1nAsEs hc NN6AS hO lCNIAA saw
plain gold ring, which be uervously twirled
between bis fingers while talking with re-
porter.
bis theme was certain phases or Wall
street experience, Of which no one has a
wider scQuaintance. Although his ordinary
manner Of speaking Is terse and to the
point, his utterances up n this occasion we're
measured and deliberate.
when / first came into Wall street
q prnfrOlled
by set Of old fogies. most OF them ready
10 topple over with antiquity. The pre-
vailing idea among them was that shared
by the lawyers and physicians OF that time.
| am now speaking of lS4S This idea was
that the business of the the street. in order
10 be properly transacted, must be done by
men sufficiently advanced in years as to
make 1t necessary for them 60 lean upon
cane in order to insure success.
UNKNOWN TO YOUNG MEN.
"Young men operators were altogether
unknown, and ! think my advent on the
street flushed with young American notions
and inspired with the sanguine spirits Of
youth was the first of its kind, and this same
spirit, 50 far as am concerned, have kept
going ever since.
"fhe New York Stock Exchange was
then situated on William street, and the
united efforts of its old fogy members had
always been exercised in the direction of
keeping young men out. thus practically
creating a monopoly iu Wall street bust
nessn
Here Mr.. Clews, becoming more interested
in his subject. shifted his position, and, tax
ing sheet after sheet of paper from pad,
he occupied himself In tearing 1t into small
shreds and proceeded:
"Now things are reversed. Men who have
now become old fossils no longer find stand
ing room. as the younger ones, full OF youth
and activity, have driven the old men to
the wall. The same change, you will OBJ
serve, has taken place in the profession of
law and of medicine"
"How do the New York brokers COM
pare with those on the London Stock Ex
changer
~ think that as a body those on the New
York Stock Exchange compare favorably
with those of London. And in point of
activity and shrewdness the comparison, In
my opinion, is decidedly in favor Of the
New York stockbrokers.n
"a good deal has been written and said
about the opportunities Of making fortune
on Wall street. What is your opinion, MIR.
Clews. in that respectl'
Anybody who possesses the natural
qualifications fitting him for that mitch can
make fortune on Wall street. Those who
do not succeed fail for various reasons, the
chief one being that they have not been en-
dowed by nature with the possession of the
necessary attributes by which success is
achieved. In other words, they do not ft
their vocation.
ITO insure success a man must have in
tegrity, nervous force and energy together
with the ability TO see into the future. Luck
must also be included as an element. A
Wall street operator must always be on the
alert and esq ecially must be able on the in
slant to measure. accurately, cause and ef-
feet.
HEALTH AND BRAINS REQUIRED.
"Instinct also enters largely into the sue.
cessful pursuits Of Wall street life much iu
a different direction, as Instinct enters into
the successful newspaper mans life. Good
health and good brains is q valuable combi-
nation IN this particular.
"I have always found that people ad-
dicted TO accesses Of any kind, and espe-
cially with regard to wine and other forms
Of social dissipation, invariably come to
grief, sooner or later, on Wall street. And
the best that such men can do under such
circumstances is to exc out q mere exist
ence.
with reference to the habits of Wall
street men generally, may say that the
business activity is so constantly increasing
that ii Is absolutely essential on the part OF
men who wish TO be successful that they
study the laws of health in order to cope
with the large volume OF business and TO
retain their physical and mental vigor. The
business that was done in "a year under the
old fogy regime is mere drop in the
bncket compared with the operations Of to-
dayo
Taking the operations transacted in
your own Office as an illustration. have you
any objections to stating the amount of your
annual transactioDsW
tine aggregate amount of the trapsac~
tions Of this firm last year at its twenty six
offices footed up in round figures at 81 ,000,-
900, ,000"
"At how muchp' exclaimed the re-
porter, thinking his ears had deceived him.
''At one thousand million dollars" re-
pested AIR. Clsws, coolly. my clerical
staff alone numbers 132 employees, and my
business is transacted over thirty-two pri-
vate wires. extending as far as Chicago.
Ny mail matter s metimes comes as high as
500 letters in a day. The business done
here is twice as great as that transacted in
any two brokers' offices combined"
As this was said without any attempt at
ostentation on tle part of the speaker, and
the information was only ELECTED In answer
to the reporters questions
"But TO continue" resumed Mr.. Clews,
1.-THE Wall street men of to-day are of
higher and better type physically and in
telectually than tno.e who controlled the
street before my time
''rhe men who have been most successful
have been those who have hoated them
selves here without any financial means, or
very little, Ia the way OF capital My ex-