The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-03-31
THE MEN WHO SELL MONEY.
Their Profits Were Large During the
Panlc-HOw They Operate.

gathering in cash from the sale Of cash.
Dealing in bullion and specie has always
been considered profitable But hard times
make it doubly 50. When the merchants are
hard up, the money broker reaps harvest.
When the financial world is in trouble. gold
ana silver are exported and the specie bank
ers get liberal and frequent commissions. It
| doesn't follow that they are Shylocks. Quite
the contrary. The leading money bankers Of
the country are Indispensable in troublous
monetary periods. They help out Lombard
street, in London; Wall street, in New York;
/ Deyonshirc street, in Boston and Third street,
IN Philadelphia, and furnish money where
ready money is in great demand.
Nearly all the great banking institutions,
| with foreign connections, are to a certain ex-
tent money buyer. and money sellers. The
/ importation Of gold early in the panic was
conducted by large houses. The exporting
/ u gold, after the Sherman act was repealed.
was managed by the same houses. The world
renowned houses Of Brown Brothers Drexel.
Morgan Co., and Morton, Bliss 4 Co.. en-
ga2ed IN the export and import Of gold 70 a
certain extent. But they did not make q
specially Of this branch oi finance. The New
| York house that may be considered the leading
specialists in this line are those Of Ladeuberg,
Thalmau d Co., snu Lazard Freres. The one
Is German concern and the other is French.
They did an enormous business. Ladenberg
bought in Germany as well as in Great Brit
ain. The Lazard Brothers secured consider
able in Paris. There was time late last
sumner when the vaults Of the Bank Of
France and the cellars Of the Bank Of Eng
land poured out the rich yellow metal be-
cause they were paid rates that warranted
them letting 1t g. Not over four months
afterwards these same banks needed theiI
Golfers replenished ard paid the bankers art.
llS a. their correspondents in America 70
return some Of the gold that had gone across
the Atlantic earAerln the year. The Bank Of
England has tgr century been noted as the
great gold repository Of the world. but Of
late years, the god reserve Of the Bank q
France has exceeded that Of any banking in
sttutlyn .n any Of the countries.
But gold buying and selling is not the only
productive and profitable branch Of the specie
trade. Silver has It's bogms and its boom.
erangs. Il also goes through It's times Of
appreciation and depression. Just al pres
ent, the silver market is at its lowest ebb.
Yet there is always more or less demand for
il. Bullion which is god or silver in the
bar OF lump. i q constant commodity. In
fact, that is the way in which these precious
metals are purchased and sold. The bullion
broker does thrifty business al any time.
The past year has witnessed large transactions
in his department. One q the largest bullion
houses. and a. the same time one Uf the chief
factors IL the silver trade. is that O! Handy
Haulon. in New York. It's quarters
are not palatiaL They DO not CON pare with
the handsome Offices 0: the big houses On
Wall street. The business Of the firm is done
IN comparatively small Offices IL the bs1-o-
uent Of the Mutual Life Insurance Building
on Warren street. Ye: the transactions are
often very large. Shipments Of g million or
two dollars worth Of bullion at time are 50
frequent as scarcely TO cause comment. Ths
hes- Of the firm, Parker Handy. is { Young
man. He has only been out Of Princeton
College about fifteen years. Re knows the
subject thoroughly. however. He got his
schooling and experience from his father.
after whom he is named. The senior Handy.
who has been dead some years. was one Of the
quiet factors in the financial movements Of
bis day. He was a Director ot the Equitable
, Life and was also interested in & number
; Of banks and fnancisl concerns. Eis sor
= has inherited his fathers fortune, business
; and brains.
Only in the periods Of the greatest none
, tary depression ana excitement, IS there a
2 great demand for Eree1backs and small
change. There was a big premium on current
, cash in 1873 and somewhat Of similar
; premium in lSs4. But the year 1888 will 50
2 on record as the red letter era for dealings
) IN the ordinary small coin Of the republic.
. The panic, that it is hoped and believed Is
, QSss!ngaway. was marked by one week at lesst
henWoney was s1arce7 than ever. The latter
D part Of the month Of August and the early part
e otthe month Of September saw money eagerly
. sought after. But it was dur,nc one Of the
e weeks in that period that the financial and
4 mercantile world found itself painfully short
e. OF cash. Merchants had to have small bills
T. and the smaller coin with which to paw their
e employees. The hanks refused to pay out
much money. Certified checks presented at
@ the paying telers desk with the request for
4 greenbacks and small chanSe were refused.
- The average citizen found it hard to secure
t enough ready cash to meet his ordinary needs.
q Hotel propvetors and tgadesmen. in lots Of
cases, declined to receive checks in payment.
% much less to cash them. Everything Sot
y, down temporarily to a strictly cash basis.
q Then it was that comparatively obscure
$ firm reapcj a quick fortune. On Wall Street,
$ only a few doors from Broadway, was the
house Of Zimmerman u Forshay, It had a
/ little coop Of an office inside Of which scarcely
- a dozen persons could gather at a time with.
; ont imperilinc the stability Of the narrow
5 glass counter The firm dealt in specie. Fo,
a years, persons passing had hurriedly noticed
{. the piles Of coin, Of various denomination:
l. window, A goodly heap Of Greenbacks con.
sututed part Of the window exhibit. Wher
money began to be badly required. thi,
" house stood ready TO supply it at premium
e DurtuS the week already iustauced, tn,
a. firm practically cornered the market. Il
raised the percentage Of premium day auer
lie day as the demand increased But ever
tI.,g- la.,., t.1 80 81.
is their widespread purchases, they could no
1t keep up with the market Finally they in
$ serted conspicuous advertisements in tn,
r daily newspapers, Offering from one to tw,
SO per cent premium for money. 1t was
pe tempting halt and it took. Hundred Of peo
." pie scraped and boarded until they got to
gether all the way from fifty to thousan,
Ie dollars and then sold it to Zimmerman
Forshay. Just as fast as it was bought /