Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1894-02-25
WALL STREET GLIMPSES.
Tho anksr-Promotsr or the promoter
Banksr-Hls UsefGlness.

NEW YORK, February 24.-4ne oau n
ar who il a promoter or the promoter
who is a banker, whichever way you
choose TO put II. is one OF the features
of modern life in and around wall
street. He Is the result of the rage Tor
consolidation and combination that
has prevailed for the past Few
wears. When the English capitalist
began to lay his hands on Amer
lean industries five or six years ago.
and buy them up, or carry them
] over" as the Britisher calls IL, many
Wall street banker pricked up bis ears.
J He saw the chance for new and profit
able liue'of business. II there were so
MANY breweries and manufacturing
concerns OF various sorts in this coun-
/ try tempting enough TO attract the gold
Of Great Britain there ought to be soma
left here and there in odd corners that
would entlce the native and home In
vsntOr.
Hence arose the contemporaries. de
differs from the ordinary promoter who
! simply hustles around to get options on
millions of dollars worth OF property ana
/ vet hasn't a red cent in his own pocket.
! He is quite another individual from the
seedy citizen, who wears hat OF the
vintage Of 1870, and carries a cane lelt
over from a long line Of ancestry and
psddles options around after the more
! imposing negotiator has abandoned
! them. The banker that promotes
is rich and reputable. lie has
built up large and Legitimate
trade in the regular way anu mas
thousands of customers who pin tnelr
investing faith upon his recommends
tons. He took up industrials, as tho
stock tickers now call them, because
they were new in the fpanciaI neld'
were prosperous in their branch OF ouS-
! mess and showed handsOmer ProntS IN
! the way of dividends and larger com
missions than the old securities listed
on the Stock Exchange. While mum
her OF the enterprises so floated above
have not turned out rs expected, the
majority Of them stand on an equal
footing with railrtal, gas and water
/ projects.
:. V. White was one OF the first Wall
street men 10 take up and issue 20 the
public the shares Of industrial establish
ments. lie was in his prime when he
! began and was millionaire. Every
body knows the cbeckered career OF the
ex-pillar of Henry Ward Beecher's
! church. He is millionaire one year
and bankrupt the next. The third year
be pays off his debts with interest to
! date and the fourth year he makes
lucky speculative hit and is able to draw
| checks for large sums. When he took
no industrials he was having one OF his
fortunate years. His success in the
new domain OF finance was instant and
| striking. He brought out half dozen
companies that were well known and
whose securities the public quickly and
eagerly subscribed for. Had he stuck
to the legitimate promoting Of such en-
terprises, he might have avoided the
! failure that came to him from attempt
ing TO corner wheat and bull sugar
Connected with Deacon White in a
great many Of his projects was Wash
ington E. Connor, the head Of the firm
of Conner e Co., whose dingy Office on
lower Broadway have been the scene
OF many ricn specuations and turns In
the market. Conner was one OF Jay
! Gould's trusted brokers. He is to-day
the shrewdest manipulation OF the mar
ket for Russell Sage. He is a close
friend of Sage's and his Offices shared
somewhat in the wreck caused by the
efforts of Norcross. the bomb thrower,
to annihilate the famous money lender.
| Conner made lot OF money with
White and be was clever enough to
keep IL. He liked the industrial line
! and followed il after White went under.
He will probably be heard from again
in this connection when the times i'm
! prove.
John II. Davis & Co., is another bank
ing house that promotes on large
scale. 1t mas sold millions Of dollars
worth of the preferred and common
stock OF industrial concerns during the
mast four or five years. Nearly all the
undertakings in which Davis was inter
ested have PANIED out well. The firm
has not abandoned the department, be-
cause IL is altogether too profitable.
Just before the panic began it offered
bonds OF q western brewery, and for
the past week or two the house has
been given considerable prominence In
connection with a statement that II
was backing one Of the numerous
schemes for underground rapid transit
here in New York. The firm seems to
be cooped up and cramped in its small
suite Of Offices on upper Wall street,
but the offices are large enough for the
conducting OF big negotiations.
A. NJ. Kidder Co. Is another banking
concern that makes q speciality OF pro-
noting. 1t is situated on Wall street
and right next door to Davis. II was
rather SLOW in starting In the fresh
financial departure, but its conserva-
tive course made 1t power when ii did
begin. The success that crowned most
| of its efforts in this direction showed
the standing Of the firm and the stabil-
ity of its clentage. Most OF the mem
bers Of the firm are young. Mr.. Mon
/ roe, one OF the partners, is the chief
factor In the promotion Of the projects
that the house undertakes. He is full
OF activity and is shrewd and far-seeing
in his operations.
The other side OF Davis, and nearer
Broad way, is the firm Of Chrystie 81
JanneY 1t has acquired an enviable
reputation in the promotion field. Both
che partners are young, but the vigor
and ambition OF youth have made them
all the more successful. They are said
to be especially sagacious In their selec-
ton OF industrial enterprises. They
rarely fail to push their projects 10 a
| successful issue. Chrystie got his
training. first as q clerk IN the National
Park bank aud afterwards acting 10 a
confidential capacity for the big bank
ing house OF kountze Bros. Janney