The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-02-05
WOMEN GAMBLERS.
COzENS DAILY STAKE THEIR FOR
1, TUNES IN WALL STREET.

Once In They Never Abandon the Game.
Story OF . Young Heiress Who Was Re-
duced To Beggary-scenes In the Offices
Set Apart For Women.
"Do women speculateY" Is a question
asked only 10y those who know very little
about speculation or women either. When
so small capital as $40, sometimes even
less, Is all that Is necessary to establish the
possibility of making fortune, it could
not be expected that won en- would long
keep out of the game. And they have not.
Sometimes they patronize the same bro
kers that men do and outstrip their COM
petitors 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 the 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 60 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 are shabby, haggard and hopeless
luck has not turned their way.
the young woman who has charge of the
womens 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
1y reliable It is very different from q
bucket shop and on a higher plane. Prob
ably still stronger reason why they like
to have offices of their own is because 1t is
secret Most of the women who come here
would feel highly insulted IL any one sug-
gested 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 sternly 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
concealment They are particularly fond
of concealing their names and addresses.
Three-quarters of the names we have on
our books are Smiths and Browns.
Sometimes, however," continued this
experienced young person, "they have ex-
ceedingly 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 1st Of January, and from then until
the last Of February she never lost point.
That seemed wonderful to her, and it GER
tainly was very unusual, though / under
stood the reason for it. All that time the
market had gone one way. Stocks rose
higher and higher. Mrs Brown was tenn
peramentally 'bull'-that is to say, she
would never sell. Consequently every dol
lar that she put in increased tenfold. One
day stocks began to fall, and Mrs. Brown,
for ha Arct lncf A Il va
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 the
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. / trusted her. So when
Southern Pacific fell / told the broker that
Mrs. Browns margin was three times as
large as it was. Her stocks were held.
1.-TWO days after 1 telepboned her and
found she had given me the wrong num-
ber wrote to her and found she had
given me a wrong name. She never came
to the Office again. The broker to whom
told the whole story saw that was young
and had been deceived and made up the
$500 which had been lost through me-"
"Do you find it necessary to be on your
guard against such women?'
Indeed we do. Women are known to
be tricky in their speculations. They are
not as honest as men, and they are not as
good I'll around speculators They jump
at conclusions, draw rash differences, and,
as a rule, lack caution. Yet there is abso-
:.
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 have
ever seen of this persistency 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 speculator's weakness, limited
her to monthly allowance rather than
allowing her to squander as much of her
property as she pleased. Every month,
however, the young woman who was the
subject Of this wise arrangement came and
stakcd her el.tire allowance and promptly
lost it, Time after time the performance
was repeated. Finally the sister died, the
young girl gained control of her property,
and within few weeks lost Ii all. One
day when she was reduced to 81 she asked
friend what she should do with 1t. She
was coolly advised to buy some lunch and
go home. Instead Of doing this she went
to bucket shop, staked the 81, won $40
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 brokers' office to call out
the returns of the ticker at salary of $5
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.
nrfUi, ,f tho GrauUa-