The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-09
MISSED a MILLION By a MINUTE.
Lack of 90 Seconds Prevented Poor
Operator From Becoming Rich.

New stories come TO the surface every
day of lucky hits made by speculative bid
ders for those last SlOOOoO,O00 government
bonds. but none compare in thrilling in
terest to recital heard to-day OF the
narrow escape from notoriety and fortune
experienced by a Washington telegraph
operator on that occasion. chased the
story down and found 1t to be we'll forth
fed in its essential details, and / turn II
in as 1t was given me. IL might not be
appropriately called History Of How
Poor Devil Lost Million by Minute"
The hero of the sketch is an ordinary
twenty-dollar week telegraph operator
one of the brightest class OF knight of the
key who get soft berths in brokerage Of
fees because they are quick, intelligent
ana generally awake-not mere machines
who go through the days duties like au-
donations. They are quick-witted and as
keen TO see and appreciate business point
as the most rapid moving scalper on the
exchanges. This fellow was no exception
to the rule, and, like many of his kind he
took frequent modest flyers at the black
boards, just to keep himself in trim and
alive TO current events.
He hadn't thought much about the $780,
100000 bond sale, however, but the day
the bids were opened he happened into the
establishment of a local broker to borrow
dollar of the telegrapher, chum OF his.
The chap he called in to see was busy,
and he leaned lstly against tuu .-.l
waiting for a "break" so he could deliver
himself of the message he was loaded
with and go on his way. Without intending
denly became aware that some highly in
teresting business was going over the
wire his friend was working. The other
emu, OF the wire led into the Office Of a
leading member of the Stewart syndicate
IN New York city, and one of the repre-
sentatives who had been sent over to
Washington to be present at the opening
OF the proposals was urging the New
\ ork magnate to raise the syndicate bid.
He was telling the New Yorker that in his
opinion the Stewart crowd would get left
II IL didn't bid as good as Ill, as he had
learned from good authority that j. Pier
| pont Morgan had "tumbled" to the syndi-
| cate price and was going to "tilt' il at
| least a half point better
Finally the Washington instrument
| clicked the message that in the opinion of
| the sender, based on the best obtainable
| information, there wouldn't be a bond sold
at less than HOY. AS ciincher the state
ment was made that Riggs Bank had
| substantially the same news he had and
| was urging its customers who wanted
bonds to put in their bids at Ill or better.
| The man al the New York end was stub
| born, however, and proof against the inn
| portunities of his Washington representa-
1--WE VINO n any tgrneg away wlth pro
| ed with disgust written all over his coun-
| tenance in the direction of the treasury
| building less than half a block away. the
| time would be up for putting in bids in
| less than a quarter of an hour and the
men of millions were already gathering
| in the rooms of the Secretary of the Treas
ury. Later the listening operator found
| out that the man at the New York end
nlnSeiI,
| the originator and organizer of the syn
| dictate.
The brother operator came to the rail,
| the visitor negotiated a loan of dollar.
| And as he moved toward the door he caus-
! ally looked over the gossip spread out
| upon table. The first thing that caught
| his eye was two-ltne bulletin announc-
| ing that in anticipation of a tremendous
| oversubscription for the bonds, 115 was
being bid for them in New York by spec
That was the spark that set his brain
| on fire. He jumped as though he had
| been stung by bee. 1t flashed across him
| by inspiration that an opportunity had
| burst upon him to make a fortune. He
| looked at the clock. 1t was ten minutes OF
| twelve. Not much time to think or to
| plan, but it struck him as cardinal
point that with two rich syndicates in
| the field in hot, competition the crowd
that was worsted would pay a big sum to
retrieve it's i'll luck and get hold of lot
of bonds three. or four points below a
| booming market.
There were four banks within a block
| of the brokerage office which gave birth
| to the telegrapher's inspiration. At the
| last one of the four into which he dashed
he found blank form for the use of Gus
| toners wishing to bid for the bonds. Five
| minutes of the ten were gone Three more
minutes were consumed in filling in the
blank, addressing an envelope, inclosing
| the bid therein and starting on dead
run for the treasury building. Two or
! three persons were accoSted before one
was found who could tell him where to
| take his bid. 1t was the bond and loan
| division he wanted in the south end of the
| huge building on the first floor. He was
on the second floor as he supposed, when
this information was given him, and he
raced down flight of stairs and through
| a long corridor, only to learn when he got
| gropingly to the south hallway that he
| was in the basement, as it is called, in
| stead of the first floor He bounded back
| up a convenient stairway to the floor he
/ had just left and elbowed his way through
/ a mob of clerks on their way to luncheon
/ to the Office OF the chleI or the bond and
| loan division
GREATNESS and half-dead with excite
| ment he precipitated himself at Chief
/ Huntington's representative and showed
| the long envelope under his nose. Take
/ iti' he screamed. TOO late" was the la
! comic response of the treasury Official
| pointing a lean fOrehnger to the clock,
/ which at that particular moment regis
| tered 1202 and casting a half-amused
/ Multiplying look on the perspiring young
! man who stood shaking before him, whom
| he took for a messenger or clerk from a
| bank. Reckon they'll get a sprinter next
time or give you an earlier start"
Mechanically the telegrapher assembled to
Secretary Carlisle's room and listened to
the reading of the bonds by Controller
Eckels He heard the long list of PROPOSE
and joined in the laugh that arose when
they were shut out by the Morgan bid of
110.6S77, but his laugh wasn't on the square
for in his inside pocket he carried an I'M
delivered bid for $25,OOO,OoO-S10.0 100000 at
Ill, $15,OO0,0O0 at Ills.
And he realized with a sinking feeling in
his stomach that if he could have had a
little more time he would have stood to
win anywhere from $4,000 to $1,000 600. He
would not have had to leave the room to
sell the privilege of underwriting his bids
at a figure that would have netted him GER
tainly not less than points on the 49,
600, 600, and possibly 212 or points for
long before the crowd dispersed 116 was
bid for the bonds in New York, a rise of
more than 5 points on the average price
obtained by the government for the entire
issue. Before the telegraDher left the
room, heavy footed, there was an appar-
ent profit of 81 900 on a 81, 100000 block
broken his neck trying to get in which
the capitalists in the sound of his voice
would have been only too glad to have di-
vided with him.
When the discounted telegrapher sat
him down in cold blood to think over what
he had missed he could not see where he
had made single misplay that he could
have avoided or wherein his plan could
have been improved upon He had not lost