River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1897-01-14

MINING SPECULATION.
Even the Women Have the Fever In
Auckland.

Ehth tuc women nave the Fever In
Auckland.
The influence of Hauraki mining re-
vival has made itself more or less felt
in all the big commercial centers
throughout the colony, but nowhere,
naturally, to the same extent as in the
city of Auckland. which has the gold
fields, so to speak, almost at its doors.
When the Hauraki mines were in their
prime, many years ago, Aucklanders
rushed to the Coromandel in such num-
bers that there were scarcely vessels
enough in the harbor 10 take them
across there. In the boom" now on,
instead of fiocLing to the Coromandel.
they focll to the Auckland stock ex-
change, where, to meet the excited rush,
''free" stock exchange was established
for a time. Never in the annals of Aucl1-
land has there been such n floating of
new companies and such a tremendous
traffic in shares as within the last IS
months or so. Never have Auckland
brokers had such busy time. To cope
with the necessities of their situation
a new association of brokers has been
formed and the old greatly reinforced.
But still the business to be overtaken
has compelled them to work to such late
hours that the labor inspector has
deemed it his duty, in the interests of
the clerks, to occasionally make a mid
night raid on the stock brokers' Offices.
The share list las swollen to such an
enormous extent that it takes an hour
and a half to "call" il over. 1t is also
found necessary to have three "calls"
daily, the first at $3.50 a. m.
Knots Of eager-faced. eager-voiced
men throng that part of the exchange
open TO the public, and there you may
see broker, prosperous and well
groomed in aspect, in earnest confabula.
ton with a rough-looking miner, in a
Crimea shirt and bell-buttoned trousers,
the Sir Crackle of the moment, just over
from Coromandel with the graphic
details of the latest bit of mining
news. All over the town the talk is OF
mining topics. In the city restaurants
in the lunchi1g hour any chance words
distinguished above the general hum
of conversation are sure to relate TO
mining matters. When friends meet
in the street they exchange, instead of
remarks about the weather, straight
"tips" in regard to their favorite min
ing shares. In the trans taking the
business men back ~ their homes in the
suburbs there is always a rapid and
large exchange of pennies and papers
when the newsboy enters with his bun
die of Evening Stars, and then the eyes
of all the men seek. with simultaneity,
the column with the latest share quota
tions in their respective papers.
Even the women have caught the
fever of mining speculation aud IL is
said that at afternoon teas they discuss
rises and falls in the share market in a
very knowing way, while they COM
miserate with poor Mrs. u, whose
shares in tine "Never Say Die" have
dropped to n fourth of what she paid
for them and congratulate Mrs. y
on having sold yesterday, at ten and
six pence, the 500 Golden Hopes" she
bought last week at shilling. Their
sex is already represented on the ex-
change, but lady stock broker can only
be regarded as natural phenomenon
in the first country in her majesty's
dominions that has given its women
the franchise and produced a lady
mayor.-Chambers' journal.
Pail