Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-06-10
SHORT NAMES FOR STOCKS
STOCK EXCHANGE PARLANcE OF
DRoISERs WHO TALK QUICK.
Names of Wen known Railroads
and Trast- That Puzzle the seo-
phyte--Nortbern Pacific Known
rs the "Nipper'' by Them.
New York World.

New York World.
Things move SO fast and breath IS so
precious down In Wall street that the
brokers have to resort to a shortening
up Of the names OF the stocks listed on
the exchange. To designate them by
their long winded titles in the course
OF the days business would be abso-
lutely impossible; hence the abbreyia-
tlons, some OF which are facetious, and
to the initiated meaningless. The
stock exchange list contains the names
OF seventy-six different stocks, for al
most all of which there are character
istic authorizations.
For instance, when buying and sell
Ing or giving orders to clerks over tel
ephones brokers cannot take time to
repeat such a long name as Chicago,
Rock Island and Pacific. They simply
say Rocky" or an, l." Another long
drawn-out name ~ that OF the Rich
mond and West Point Terminal Rail-
way and Warehouse company, which Is
boiled down In brokers' parlance TO
IN. IT. Columbus. Hooking valley
and Toledo Railroad company is cor
rLpted into Shocking Valley" while
General Electric is spoken OF as Gen
cral Alec" "pede" Is much quicker
and easier said than Peoria, Decatur
and Evansville. yet the former means
The latter.
Some OF the other stocks which have
had their MINES trimmed down to suit
the convenience or fancy Of Wall street
are the American Sugar Refining COM
pany, which ~ called sugar" Chi
cage Gas Trust company, Gas" aud
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy rail
road. Burlington" The preferred
company Is known us "Nipper;" Toledo,
Aun Arbor and Northern Michigan is
| easily handled as Tan" United states
Rubber compnny's stock Is fhcetiously
called Rubber Balls" on account Of
the violent manner in which the stool,
bounded up and down when 1t was
first put on the market.
The stock of the Missouri Pacific
rlili Dad, the favorite property OF the
GOulds, Is known to Wall street as
Mop" Tommy Dodd" was the name
| by which the stock OF the Toledo,
Delphos and burlington Railroad COM
| puuy was known to the brokers in
Wall street for years. But little "a
/ heard Of 1t now. But almost everyone
has heard of Nickel Plate" In con-
nectlon with n railroad, but compar-
| atively few know that the title Is sim
| York Chicago. and St Louis railroad
| The name originated when the road
| was constructed. everything connected
1 with It being Of the best and "all nickel
! plated" ms the saving went then. "rhe
/ Big Four Is the common title of the
/ Chicago. CincinI att. Columbus and St
Louis railroad by reason OF the four
| big cities which the road connects
~. r." is used for Union Pacific, and
erie In place OF New York. Lake
| Erie and Western Railroad company,
The stock Of the National Lead com
pany is spoken OF as Lead" and at
! times when the price of the stock is
| declining or at standstill brokers
and spectators tell each other that
| lead Is heavy" much 10 the mystihca-
! tion Of the greeuhorn, who never heard
Of lead being other than heavy.
| "Whislty," sometimes ''whlskers,"
which Is the brolSers name for the
stock Of the Distllllng and Cattle Feed
ing company. is another term which has
often caused both fun and trouble.
Some time ago a wei know broker,
| In writing to a customer who Is "a total
abstinence advocate, spoke of that
whisky You got from me-" The broker
| meant q block Of the stock OF the Dis
filling and Cattle Feeding company,
which he had sold TO the customer,
hut In the letter he used the street
term OF whisky"
The customers wife. who Is also
strict on the temperance platform, got
hold Of the letter. After giving her
better half II curtain lecture on the
evil of intemporancc madam HE'D her
! ftll 10 ANt hlfhtl = Allttt III .bTNNu
street. and, shaking the letter In his
face, demanded Ia the presence OF the
office employees, what he meant by
giving her husband whisky and lead
Ing him to become n drunlard.
Photograph Is the Wall street alias
OF Western Union Telegraph compnny's
stock. as is "Cordage" or Irvine" OF
the stool, OF the National Corduge COM
pany ~. and H." means tho Delaware
ond Hudson Canal company; "St. Paul"
or paul" the Chicago, Milwaukee and
St Paul and TX. n" or kitty" the
Missouri Kansas and Texas railroad.
The stock exchange Is more COM
monty termed THE Board" by the
brokers and the condition OF the stock
market they also designate In their own
manner. The market may be either
lively. strong. steady feYerlsh, tired or
sick. the bottom may be knocked out of
It or It may he dead. The term lamb"
was applied to the man with more
money than knowledge OF the ways OF
the stool, market. who went into Wall
street to speculate. He was almost
always invariably shorn OF all he had,
but OF late years the genuine lamb has
lnatt mn ttnlxuDVNn uuantitN a., tho street