The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-09-18

happy when they are able TO guess Gue
market Alright and to trade intwo shares
of stock at a time in some bucket shop.
To keep this soul and property de-
stroying speculation active and invit-
ing to those who look for large and
quick returns at a minimum risk, the
leaders or chief SPECTATORS must spend
vast sums of money and tremendous
energy. It is a conservative computa-
ton that places the cost of manipula-
ton by the leaders in the street at
so, 600, 900 q year. Yet, nOtwithstand
ing this fact, which is recognized by all
men who have spent much time in Wall
street, it's seedy denizens continue at
the game and practically starve their
families in trying to get the better OF
those who can afford to spend such a
sum yearly for the purpose of keeping
speculation active to enable them to
work off properties at a profitable price.
Let any one walk through Wall, Broad
and New streets and give some slight
attention to the men that he sees seem
ingly lounging about with little or
nothing to do. He will see them stand
ing in groups of three or four, and
sometimes more.
These groups will vary in dress, from
those who wear the most fashionable
clothing TO those who can hardly be
called shabby -genteel. IL he will, he
may listen to the conversation of most
of the groups, and the greater number
of them he may join without an intro
duction of any sort, except an inquiry
as to the condition of the market.
When his question is answered, he will
usually be asked, "Do you know any
thing9" which is the characteristic
manner of asking in Wall street if one
has any information to impart respect
ing the present or future market. Many
of these men who will ask a stranger
for Information have been worth hun
dreds of thousands of dollars, and some
of them millions, and have helped to
stir this speculative maelstrom while
now they stand at its outer edge and
vainly try to pick up some of the
wreckage that may be thrown ashore.
Let him ingratiate himself with them
and they will tell him just what
George" Jim" Uncle Russell, and
the rest of the leaders intend to do for
the next six months, or III til some won
derful coup has been made. With all
the knowledge that they profess to
have. he will find them invariably
''broke," or nearly so, no matter how
fine their appearance. They began life
in the street with plenty and guessed
it all away. Occasionally in the past
they received information which was
correct for the time being. Upon this
they made somem money. A time came,
however, when all the information
that they received was false, and they
lost twenty times the amount of money
that they had been allowed to make.
Then they received information which
they thought undoubtedly authentic,
and this was their opportunity to re-
cover their lost money. Aplunge was
made, the result was the same as be-
fore, and the spectators with inside
information were made paupers.
With money gone and brain almost
paralyz9d, they continued to stand
about the Exchange or the offices in
which they formerly did business.
The broker who kindly took their
orders for an eighth each way in the
past, will occasionally lend them a few
dollars to get them out of the Office, for
they are deaths heads at a feast, as
they relate their experiences which al
ways had disastrous endings. Certain
brokers, through compassion for their
former customers families, will at
times buy fifty or a hundred shares of
stock and carry it for them without
margin, and, after realizing a point or
two of profit IA it. will present the
profit to them, accompanied with good
advice about keeping it for home ne
cessities. The recipient of these favors
are always very thankful, and, prom
ising to place it where it will do the
most good, hurry out and to other
brokers' Offices to speculate with it in
some stock with no better knowledge
of it's probable fluctuations than the
word of some Wall street tout, Of
which there are many. There are touts
of all classes in the street, from the
shabbiest to the most fashionably-
dressed, and some there are who re-
ceive large salaries from interruptions
brokers to advise spectators on what
they declare to be positive information,
and yet are not above asking for q DOR