The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-04-09
BROKERS, COMMISSIONS.
Come and Go, but These 10 On rore'o'
IN Impoverish the Wall street Gamblers.

The market was dull, the weather was
miserable. and everybody felt depressed
The veteran sat in his favorlte corner
of the brokers' office, lost In thousht'
"Well. what is Horatio dreaming Oh
now? p" asked n tocular acquaintance:
rs # the emptiness of life and mockery OF
living. or is he mourning the innocence VI
YOUTH"
Not a muscle in the fine, smooth race OF
the veteran changed. He simply hIleu
his gray-blue eyes slowly and allowed
them to rest thoughtfully upon the face
Of his friend.
II was thinking" he said in his calm,
deem voice. about the curse Of the wall
street Spectator, the brokers' commits
sion Whenever the weather Is dismal
and the market is fiat and ~ltfeless. wheh-
ever the excitement which makes my eX-
,stence tolerable has died out. i think
81 this nightmare. IL hauntS me ike Il
eloating demon. and its hollow smile OF
conscious triumph tightens my heart
strings until they are ready TO burst.
7 toll Won the thought Of this bette noir
has had a most terrible influence on my
life and has at various times. when my
shirts were peculiarly low. almost driven
mo n self-destruction. | should have
been rich a dozen years ago If 1t mad not
heen for hat curse. 1t has broken my
shirt and made me resigned-a thlng l
hate in any man. When he gets to that
noint he is no better than an old woman.
and have several times considered the
propriety Of putting or petticoats ana
letting the world know what a weakllng
/ am.
you are very comical." said his ac-
quaintance.
Again the veteran concentrated his un-
4" 1910 ..... ~. AthcVfg fqnn
NO he said calmly. II am very Sc
rious. Why? I will tell you. I have
spent many years in Wall street. I came
here a buoyant, light-hearted, ambitious
young man. | have experienced many
strange and many unpleasant things. !
have seen and studied much Of the life
Of the street. I believe that I have learn
ed more than the average man OF the phil
osophy Of that life. because I have been
unusually o~bservant. And the result OF
Il all is that / am convinced that the CHIEF
obstacle 10 the success Of an intelligent
~speculator IS the brokers' commission
I believe every Spectator has had the
same experience with it that I have. II
he neither wins nor loses on his opera
lions he will still be a bankrupt after a
short experience in the street. Why? Be
cause all his money will go in commits
sions. He has to pay his broker so for
every hundred shares he buys. don't he,
and the same amount for selling them
again? That means so on every turn Of
100 shares. doesn't il. Take a man who
deals in thousand share lots and'how long
would IL take him 10 a out a fortune IN
commissions?
THE fact is. gambling is alike every
where. There is a rake-On or a kitty in
every game. whether It be faro. roulette,
poker. or stock gambling. The dealer or
broker always has the advantage, and
the PLAYER or speculator-call him what
YOU will. he is still a gambler. depending
on his luck and skill. but principally the
former. to win-always has the worse end
Of the deal.
"A friend Of mine, who is a big grain
broker in Chicago, has been telling a
story, which illustrates my theory, for
some time. Several years ago a man
went into his Office and pulled a s. bill
out Of his pocket. There said the man,
I'm going 70 gamble in wheat with this.
He had extraordinary luck and ire
mendous nerve Everything he went into
was successful. and I'm six months he had
won 800. 900. He continued his operations
for two years with fair luck-that is
winning sometimes and losing sometimes.
at the end Of the two years he hadn't a
cent left-not even the original S.. Whe~e
had il gone? In commissions, every cent
Of H.. That story is true. / have seen
cases like il in the street. n / feel sad
whenever / think Of them
The listener shrugged his shoulders.
smiled. and passed on. The veteran re-
lapsed into silent reverie.-New York
Sun.