Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1898-12-30
OUR NEW YORK LETTER,
A Glimpse of the Outside Mar
ket Down in Broad Street.
It's Feature of New YOrIx's Finan-
ci"l Life-Furnishcs Excellent Wall
street Trnining-Its Daily Transac-
tiOns Sometimes Large.

'N 'hO oViauBoT III JOWD IMAM Une &C
lions and speech of a little group of men
that congregate in the middle hours of ev-
cry working day in the year--no matter
what the weather--near the entrance to
the Mills building in Broad street, dag
onally across from the main doors of the
Stock Exchange.
There were perhaps 25 of them lined up
along the curb this morning, and they
were all as lively as criokets.
Nearly every one was fairly we'll dressed,
some were got up in the latest style, and
most wore good, warm overcoats In some
respects there was uniformity. Every man
jack of the crowd carried a small pad of
paper in the left hand and lead pencil in
the right, and they were all shouting and
gesticulating and writing on their little
pads for all the world like mad men or
stock brokers
The CurbstOne Brokers.
Madmen they may not beat least
some of them are not mad-but stock bro
kers they certainly are and ms much en-
titled to that designation as tho more pre-
tentious chaps who deal in securities in
the big marble building across the street.
A friend of mine who went with me to
gaze for the first time upon the curbstone
dealers was vastly interested by the show.
just rs we arrived at the edge of the crowd
a man with big voice standing near the
center sang out vigorously:
Brooklyn Ferry Preferred! Brooklyn
Ferry Preferredp'
'1ce ice" howled rough ulstered
chap standing near by. ON give 90 for
ice"
Bessemerr' chimed in third. "Three
for hundred Bessemerl"
Then there was little lull, and my
friend started at my suggestion to make
some inquiries of the vociferating ones
But he hardly got his mouth opened when
everything broke loose again.
Brooklyn Ferry - here - Brooklyn
Ferry One-eighth One-eighthp'
zone half -halfr' was the defiant
reply, and the eighth" man faced the
"half' man dehantly, while each glared
flercely at the other for the space of Ii sec
onds. Then each raised his penciled hand
to about the level of the others eyes and
began making little horizontal jabs, the
cries of 'one-eighth" and lone half" be-
ing resumed with great spirit, not to say
ferocity. A moment later the duo became
trio, the refrain of the newcomer being
a persistent "One-fourth quarter quar-
ter one-fourthr'
At every yell this mans right hand
came dangerously close to the face of the
man who was monotonously calling out
"one-half" and my friend began to get
alarmed lest there really should be fight.
Before anything serious developed there,
however, the visitors attention was dis
tracted by the yells of an apparent new
conner wearing "a silk hat who seemed to
have nothing to do but to call OUT
"Glucose glucosc Anything doing in
glucosef"
Too Busy to Talk.
By this time my friend insisted on ask
ing some questions. I'm not prepared to
say what the questions were, but the an
swers were direct, though not burdened
with detail.
"Nope!" said the man to whom the
queries were put, Il amt got time to tell
you all about it. Nope, we amt crazy.
We're only trying to earn our living buy
ing and selling stocks, and if we paid any
attention to half the folks who bother us
with their 'wantsto knows we'd never do
any business. 1t might pay us to hire IA
boy to tell about it, and maybe we will
some day, but it won't be this day, sure.
"Nope! we amt violating any law by
oongregating on public thoroughfare and
hindering traffic. We don't hinder traffic
little bit; it binders us sometimes as
you'd see if you were to hang around here
a little while. just watch that dodgasted
truckman that S bearing down on us now. u
| the speaker concluded, preparing to vacate.
"Break away there! Break awayW yell
| ed the driver as the truck drew nigh, and
the crowd scattered right and left like a
flock of spaIrows driven away by wan
dering cat.
The Outside Market.
The outside market, as this daily curb
| stone gathering of brokers is termed, came
| into special prominence several years age
in the course of one of the wars over loca
gas stock. There had been curbstone trad
ing ever since the beginning of the Stool
| Exchange of course, but it was not til
| that particular gas war that the dealers
began to gather in one place, nor was i
till then that they were treated with mucl
respect.
At the present time, however, some 2Ot
brokers are familiar figures in the OUTSIDE
market, some of them representing firm
of prominence, and some of them actual.
entitled to trade on the Stock Exchange
Perhaps there are half dozen members o
the exchange who do more than half thei
trading on the outside market, and Their
are days when the magnitude of the curb
stone transactions is really worth while
On some such days quite 1000 share
worth So, 900, 900 at par have changes
hands on the open market Such days
however, are rare, and 1t is not at all un
usual in the winter and when the weathe
is bad for the transfers to drop away be
low 5000 shares.
Good Wall Street Training.
Although the outside market is as nue.
an entity of itself as the Stock Exchange
1t has no organization and no rules G
procedure have been adopted. When dis
putes arise-Which is surprisingly s9ldor
the rules of the Stock Exchange are gen
orally accepted without any demurrin
by all parties to the difference.
Curiously enough, the tendency OF tn
business done on the outside market is tC
ward investment and not speculation, an
q large portion of Wall streets strictly IN
yestment buying Is done there instead c
on the Stock Exchange. Many OF the curl
stone brokers-but not all of them-ar
young men, naturally, and more than
few instances of outside traders developin
into strong Stock Exchange men are toll
of by the knowing.
"Curbstone training, In fact, Is exec
lent training for a serious Wall street OF
reer," said successful broker to the wri
ar the other day, land If my son intende
J to follow In my footsteps-which, how
ever. thank heaven he doesn't-I don
know but I'd advise him to practice for
while on the open market before going o
70 the floor of the exchange
DEXTER MARSHALL.