The times., 1897-09-10

when customer wishes to buy or sell
stocks he must wait until the transaction
Is made over in New YORK; but where there
is no such transaction il is just as easy for
tie broker 10 start mis- gamble with the
customer at the figures last quoted ON the
board as Oh any other.
In ordinary markets this brings business
to The bucket shop keeper, who thus has an
advantage oTer the legitimate broker:
bat it also does the same thing in much
largerGsgreein such marketas the present.
Thousands OF people all over the country
have rushed into the bucket shops during
this boom and they have dealt in millions
u shares. AS the money was all going
their way. OF course the larger the busi.
ness got the worse the broker was OF, And
50 the failures have come.
The methods Of the great boss bucket
shops in New York have been severely
criticised by tie legitimate brokers d uring
the past two or three years, not only for
the reason that the bucket shops took away
an immense amount of business from the
New York stock exchange, but because
they also manipulated stock exchange
figures eSuhemselyes. In a marketof smaller
volHl3e aud breadth than the present one,
where thete are advances and reactions,
comparatively large, but much smaller
than those of the present movement, the
purchase OF al few hundred shares . stock,
or the sale Of a small mount on the New
York stock exchange, win frequently in
flReHoe tine price of the stock strongly
one way or the other.
Last spring and before that time, and
as far back as two years ago, some OF
the largest OF the bucket shops had agents
WHO had access To the New York eX-
change These people, when their Gus
toners Were buying ia large amounts in
their bucket STOPS, and hence wanted
the market TO go up. would themselves
sell few hundred shares OF stock on the
New York exchange, and thus drive the
price down. With an expenditure OF
few hundred dollars they could thus fitch
thousands ont Of the pockets of their
customers. This has not been possible
during the present market. There were
too many people in the market, and the
amount OF stock changing hands was too
large TO admit of any manipulation.
1t is the confident assertion Of several
OF the commission brokers in Washington
at present, however that the bucket shops
VIII be open and doing the same old large
business at the old stands again as soon
as the present boom is over.
!tis estimated that from COCO TO 80
600 shares have been bought" and sold"
daily the year round at the bucket shops
OF Washington. This means that $50, 600
a day or more has been put UP by the
Washington public.
The direction which this $50, 600 usuall,-
went may be estimated by the fact that
there have been from twenty To thirty
! handsome offices in the city, all the time,
doing business On this principle, or one very
! Ike Their furniture has often been
| costly. Their rent has been high. The
/ cigars they gave their customers have been
! good ana plentiful. And they have worn
| good clothes and saved money.
This money that the traders have been
! securing curing the last few weeks all
/ came out of the public itself very short
time ago, with great deal more, and
VIII al go back again soon if history re-
\ Pea,s Itself