Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1897-03-04
[To BE Continued
WOMEN GAM.BLERS.g
DOZENS DAILY STAKE THEIR FOR
TUNES IN WALL STREET.
Once In They Never Abandon tho Game.
Story Of . Young Heiress Who Was Re-
duced to Beggary-scenes In the Offices
Set Apart For Women.

Story OF . Young HetresS VINO WAS No-
duced to Beggary-scenes In the Offices
Set Apart For Women.
"Do women speculate9" Is a question
asked only by those who know very little
about speculation or women either. When
so small capital as $40, sometimes even
less, is oil that is necessary to establish the
possibility of making fortune it could
not be expected that women would long
keep out of the game. And they have not.
Sometimes they ptronize the same bro
kers that men do and outstrip their COM
pettors on their own ground. More often,
indeed increasingly often, they seek offices
established expressly for them and devote
themselves to the stock ticker In absolute
seclusion from tho curious eyes OF masCu-
line friends. Some are young women, airy
and reckless in squandering whatever
money they have; others are gray haired
matrons Of so or 20, who watch the fluc-
tuations of stocks with the keen eyed saga
city born Of long years Of experience. Some
are wealthy and prosperous and show 1t;
Others arc shabby, haggard and hopeless
luck has not turned their way.
"Thcy like to come down here" said
the young woman who has charge of the
womcn's offices of one firm Of brokers',
"because it is nearer the market, and they
appreciate the advantages Of getting the
news at the soonest possible moment
Then all the transactions here are perfect
~ reliable. 1t is very different from q
bucket shop and on h pher plane. Prob
ably a still stronger reason why they like
to have Offices of their own is bccuusc 1t Is
secret Most of the women who come here
would feel highly insultcd If any ono suY-
gcstcd that they were gambling, yet they
would not have their friends know what
they do for anything In the world. Many
of them have husbands who stcrnly forbid
them to speculate. Yet they come here just
the same, and no one ever knows the diff
ference. Women seem to take naturally to
conccalmcnt. They are particularly fond
Of conccalinlc their names alG addresses.
Thrce-quart, rs Of the names we have on
our books are Smiths and Browns
"Somctimcs, however, continued this
experienced young person, "they havo cx-
cctdingly good reason for keeping back
their true names. Last winter woman
came to our Office who called herself Mrs.
Brown Her first speculation was made on
the LIST Of January, and from then until
the last of February she never lost point.
That seemed wonderful to her, and 1t GER
tainly was very unusual, though I under
stood the reason for It, All that time tho
market had gone one way. Stocks rose
higher and higher. Mrs. Brown WAS tenn
peramentally II 'hull'-that is to say, she
would never CELL Consequently every dol
lar that she put in increased tenfold. One
day stocks began to fail, and Mrs. Brown,
for the first time, lost After a few days
of losing she came to me one night and
said that she could not come the next day
and had no more money with her, but be-
sought ME almost weeping to hold her
Southern Pacific for her in case the value
should drop. She begged me to assure tho
broker that she had plenty of margin and
said that she would make the money up
when she returned.
Il liked the woman, and we had grown
into intimacy. l trusted her. So when
Southern Pacific fell told the broker That
Mrs. Browns margin was three times as
large MS it was. Her stocks We're held.
1.-TWO days after telepboned her and
found she had given me the wrong num-
ber. wrote to her and found she had
given me n wrong name. She never came
to the Office again. The broker to whom
told the whole story saw that l was young
$500 which had been lost through me.
"Do you find it necessary to be on your
guard against such womens"
Indeed w do. Women are known to
be tricky In their speculations. They are
not as honest ms men, and they are not as
good all around spectators. They jump
at conclusions, draw rash differences, and,
as q rule, lack caution. Yet there is abso-
Int nfh inn hat t-il a n
an who has once felt the fascination Of
handling stocks. She may lose every cent
she has and she will borrow money and re-
turn. She may grow weak and old, yet
she will come here day after day, year aft
er year. The most pathetic example l have
ever seen of this persistcncy was a young
woman who began her career in very
prosperous condition. She was of good
family and wealthy. Her sister, however,
had charge Of her money, and, knowing
this young Spectators weakness, limited
her to a monthly allowance rather than
allowing her to squnndcr as much Of her
property as she pleased Every month,
however, the young woman who was the
subject Of this wise arrangement came and
staked her entire allowance and promptly
lost 1t. Time after time the performance
was repeated. Finally the sister died, the
young girl gained control OF her property,
and within a few weeks lost it all One
day when she was reduced to 81 she asked
friend what she should do with it. She
was coolly advised to buy some lunch and
go home. Instead of doing this she went
to u bucket shop, staked the So, won SO
and returned to the brokers' office. She
felt that her luck had changed, and she
invested the $40 in a promising venture.
Before night 1t was lost, and she was pen
niless. The next time / saw that girl she
was employed in II brokers' Office to call out
the returns Of the ticker at a salary Of IS
per week. Reduction to absolute poverty
was not sufficient to draw her away from
the atmosphere that held her by its fasci-
nation. New York World.