New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-03-20
HIS FIRST And ONLY Speculation.
A MAN WHO GAMBLED IN STOCKS "lIhool
KNOWING WHAT HE WAS DOING

| A NAN WHO GAMBLED IN STOCKS "lIh0oA
| KNOWING WHAT HE WAS DOING.
| 81 never speculate said man who has acquired
| y fair share Of the worlds goods. and who enjoys
| them as much perhaps as any other man Sii'i'riy
| situated And yet | made nv first real start Oh II
speculation I won at it and quit ahead oi the
| game as gamblers say ! have remained ancau Vi
| that game ever since.
| at WINS on, in California that led into nv
| speculation. II was in the days when mining S'ocNS
went ND into the sky like rockets and came down Ike
| The sticks inst as certain wanted them 10 o"'
went out there TO make my fortune but III some WI.
| It would not make. l really believe in iucN for |
did have the worst possible kind of nck. ana dheh u"
! a sudden-but, will come 10 that later
Have You ever heard Of the man who VIA so poor
| that he always earned his breakfast; ate W carmen
his dinner ate II earned his supper; ate it, ana then
slept where il did not cost anything Well WIS
a good deal poorer than that man, for ate my break
fast, and then earned ii. 1t was demoraI'zhg w"
may be sure. But happened 10 meet man III Sah
Francisco who making big stir out there III
| those days lie was throwing stocks wherever lie
| plea.ed and that meant everywhere. The way that
| man made money took every ones breath away FOR
some reason he took Interest IN perhaps IL was
because could not make cent where he could make
millions.
".Yo,ng man. he said to one day. do you want
10 make money p
al thought | did. | thought II so empha'lcalY
that ! impressed him with my earncSines'.
"'Well' he said. give me 800 aud I'll fix 1t Tor
you 50 that you make something
"A hundred dOllarsr said. If had 800 Ia
get out of this country l haven't 100 cents
"sYou haven't, ehl Then III lend 1t to YOU
"'I never could pay you said
eyes YOU can. You can pay me some day. just
sign note for il. Business is business, you Know"
Then 90 away and don't ask any questions. Just
keen still till get ready TO talk
al went away, richer and no poorer. save that
my name, which wasn't worth anything 10 any body
was at the end Of a note for 500.
Il did not know much about stocks, and did not
care much abou, them. | only knew that there was
a madness in the san Francisco market few DAYS
later some stocks went up and some went down.
The stocks up out of sight Then hurricane
| struck the whole market and blew 1t away.
"A few weeks later met my friend.
on by the way he said, Il have note OF yours
| in my pocket
eyes, gtlped, feeling the strings OF my heart
tighten, but can't pay II now. warned yod-
".Never mind about that now, he said. Here's
your note. Now I'm going 10 give II back 10 you on
one cOndton-that you promise me never to Speculate
again.
II made him the promise.
".YOung man. he said then. Won have been In tle
ket You have won | knew you wond WIN;
That's why let YOU try IT,. But young man., and
lie raised his hand, pointing eloqucnty with his finger
Won never in the world could have won II II you hadn
been on the inside. That's why made you promise
Then he looked al memorandum, wrote me out
a check which made me speeches. and sent IN" away.
l DO not to this day know what is the process Of
gambling In stocks"