The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1895-08-01
WALL STREET.
There MHst b. Two Parties tt a
Gambling Transaction


There Must b. Two Parties tt a
Gamb,iog Transact ion.
Baltimore Sun.
Uader the title, "a Lambs Pro-
gress, Arthur Brisbane, in the New
York World, breaches an instructive
sermon on the dangers Of Wall street
gambling He Describes the various
stages oil the ''iaml.'s progress" from
the time he enters the Wall street
brokers' office, bent on speculate ion,
until he leaves it, shorn OF ali his
financial fleece, Il wretched, despair
ing creature, bankrupt in resources,
energy and hope. .'AnY ore 81 o
dozen things has sent him to Wall
street ard made him u lamb" says
Mr. brisbane. Usually he has d tip
oil some kind. He knows a clerk in a.
hiss brokers' offic lle has overheard
men who looked like money kings
tn liking on the street care; he has
made up his mind by Watching stock
prices Very often, although he
would not confess it, he has BEEN to
"a ciairgoyant. He has been told
that il is his lucky m0nii.; that
whatever lie touches must ,li ~ 4
or some such childish non tlis,., .latl
with his warm fl zee o.. his back 70
! arrives IN be street 'ihn broker is
ready for hinl-very rstdy !i,' rIlbs
his hands and invites l;i, Ia sit
down on very fine farni.ura. The
lamb talks wisely. an,i tn. broker is
amazed at bis shreW,ift.'ss wonders
why he has kept ouf of iifslils..4 l,;~ So
Il.
made for it."
that he can control $4,000 worth
of stock with $1,000, begins to
gamble on margins through the
broker y aid, and in few weeks or
months, according tn the amount
of money he can command, retiree
from Wall street q ruined man.
For the ruin of those who try their
luck at such speculation Mr.. Bris
hane seems to be inclined to hold the
brokers entirely responsible.
sit is not pleasing to Wall street
| brokers to be told that their shops
are gambling shops" he says. "But
a gambling shop is q gam bling shop
whether the owner bets with his Gus
toners or charges them for the
pleasure of gambling commission
called rake-oi1 in other gambling
houses. No Wall street man would
| advise his friend to go into the
street. The broker who most earn
estly and sincerely objects to being
| called q gambling house proprietor
would warn his son against the vice
of his customers and work hard to
keep him out of other brokers'
gambling houses. Wall street is
dangerous because, like Monte Carlo,
it throws around gambling an air of
| responsibility. Ii brokers dislike
being compared with gamblers,
professional gamblers may reason
ably object to having brokers com
pared TO them. No gambler would
dare TO take such percentage from
his customer as the Wall street
broker takes. Ifyou sat at table
! With q man betting So on perfectly
even chance and q third man sitting
with you took 80 cents every time
you bet, who would have the money
ut the days end? The broker is the
man who takes the so cents each
| time"
Much @; this is true, probably all
OF it is true, as far as it applies 10
| many Wall street brokers. And his
exhortation, Keep out of Wall
street," is unquestionabIy one which
''lainbs" should lay to heart. Wall
street is no place for the innocent or
the ignorant, and they should be
warned against its dangers. But
there is another side to this shield.
The Wall street brokers' Offices may
be gambling houses, but customers
of the class described are gamblers,
too, and the great majority of them
| are gam blers with their eyes wide
open. They are fully aware of what
they are about and scarcely deserve
to be- considered lambs" They go
| out to shear, and if they come back
shorn they have no more right to
| claim sympathy than the man who
'tbucks the tiger" in a regular
gambling den and comes off second
| best. There are, of course. excep
| tions to this rule-genuine Glands"
who wander innOeently into Wall
street or who are lured there, but in
most cases the patrons Of its stock
gambling establishments are not
entitled to that appellation. They
~ OtOt W gam btc iitl Oucy lOoet DIS
most gamblers do Most of them
are people who desire to make a for
tune quickly by the turn of "a card,
as it were, to get immense returns
from small investments, who prefer
luck to pluck Ali this does not
excuse Or exonerate the broker who
acts as MIR. brisbane describes, and
who converts his offices into gamol-
ing dpns. But those who patronize
him with q full understanding of
what they are doing are no less
culpable. They point moral which
is too often forgotten nowadays,
that honest labor and persever ance
are the safest and surest roads to
happiness and competence.