The record-union., 1897-08-15
WALL STREET BOYS.
WORK THEY DO IN THE GREAT
MONEY MARKET.
Valuable Securities Pass Through
Their Hands in Safety
Every Day.

Every wide-awake American boy has
heard Of Wall street. In more or less
hazy way he understands that IT is the
great money market Of this country, the
heart Of our commercial body, place
of large transactions, where the sums
that change hands every day amount to
the biggest kind Of a fortune. But there
Is one thing about this famous street
very interesting to the young American
which he probably does not know. This
Is the fact that it is the greatest place
tn the country for boys. Boys work is
an important part of the work that goes
ON in Wall street, and there are more
boys to the square yard here than in
amy other part of the metropolis with
its 700 900 boy population
It may be said in explanation that
when a broker refers to Wall street, or
THE street. as he is apt to call it, he
Includes not only the narrow thorough
farein which General Washington stood
when he took the oath as first President
of the United States but also Broad
street, New York, and the lower part
of Nassau street, which branch off from
Wall ON either side. This district is
occupied almost entirely by the offices
of brokers and spectators who deal in
money, stocks and securities, and it is
all known as Wall street. It doesn't
cover very much ground, not more than
a three-acre lot altogether. / haven't
taken an exact census of the boys who
work here, but it is safe to guess that
there are between 800 and 1000 of
them employed in the offices within this
narrow space. What do they all find
to do?'' A young mann who is now the
cashier in one Of the most prominent
firms in the Stock Exchange, but who
began his work as an errand boy in this
same office ten years ago, shall an
swer.
Most boys start in when they are
10 or 16," said the young man, "and
they usually begin as stock runners. A
runner, in Wall street parlance is a
boy who delivers stock. In ordinary
business, unless there is a special
agreement to the contrary, the stock
sold ON a certain day is delivered on
the day following. The time for these
deliveries ends each day at 2:15.
Fifteen seconds before the quarter the
ticloeTs which announce the quotations
of the exchange in all the offices stop.
ThRn they go 'tick-tock, textbook until
they have tolled off the fifteen seconds.
After the usual +bOck a buyer is not
bound to receive stock which he has
contracted for until the following day,
and If it is offered to him he will usu-
ally refuse 1t. That means that the tIIan
holG1ing the stock must keep It over
until the following day. They are then
compelled to hypothecate the stock;
that is, they borrow money ON it, and
it costs them one days interest AS
the amount involved is frequently
large. the sales often being In thousand
sshaH1a lots this interest charge may
easily amount to $5 or $100 or even
more, and becomes a considerable item.
"FWen, say that the broker whose
runner I am yesterday sold to another
firm 1000 shares of a certain stock.
OF course he didn't have the stock In
his immediate possession at the time,
but he has until 2:15 to-day to deliver
it. Very likely the stock does not
reach our office ulrtil 2 O'Clock or a lit
tie after. Them a boy, a runner for
some other firm, dasihes i'm with the
shares They are thrown down ON the
desk and the bookkeeper runs rapidly
over them, jotting DOWN the numbers
ON a memorandum ship. The shares
are thrust into my hands and away
go to the buyers Office, we'll knowing
that If I don't get there by the time
that last tick-tock is struck off on the
ticker it may cost my employer S0o.
You see the possibilities for quick
work in such a situation and 1t often
happens that for the few minutes
around 2:15 p. m the runner becomes
the most important figure in the office,
one after another of the clerks leaving
their tasks as the seconds grow fewer
and fewer to watch the boy dash away
and perhaps to lay a small wager as
to whether he viii be on time.
''You will readily see that the first
thing required of a runner is to become
perfectly familiar with the street and
to know the location of every office.
With a little experience the boys be-
come wonderfully proficient in this and
you can't ask a wide-awake boy the
name Of a single man regularly doing
business here that he won't be able to
answer at once, not only with the street
and building, but also the floor and
the exact location of the office which
that man occupies. Considering that
there are some five hundred firms here,
that means a good deal of information
to be carried about in a small boys
head. and is in itself an education in
memory.
'I remember a mistake which I made
in my earliest days as a runner. One
thousand shares of Northwest were to
be delivered to Benedict. The stock had
not come in at o'clock, at five minutes
after, at ten, and the bookkeeper was
waiting to check the numbers, and I
stood by the door waiting to rush away
and repeating Benedict to myself with
the number of the street Finally, with
two minutes to spare, a breathless boy
ran in, flung down the stock, and in a
twinkling it was in my hands. Away
I rushed at top speed to the number I
had been repeating to myself. I
reached the Office just as the ticker be-
gan to number off the fatal fifteen Sec
onds, and I tell you felt proud of my
self. Now fl happened that there were
two Mr. Benedicts in the street, one in
Nassau street, and the other in E,x-
change court, and I had gone to the
wrong one I felt like Napoleon in re-
treat when I made my way back to the
office, and though I was very kindly
told that it didn't matter, knew that it
did I tell you this merely to show
that boy quickly absorbs the spirit
OF the place and learns to do his best
for his employer Sometimes rum
ner is rewarded for especially quick
work, but that is not usual. 1t is all in