The Portland daily press., 1899-01-28
EVERYBODY GETTING RIG Ii.
(From the New York World.

In the last six months fortunes aggre-
eating S6l5 Ga3, 59l have been made In
Wall Street. The total In crease in valua-
the stock exchange aggregates that enor.
nous sum.
1t represents in money nearly three
times the gold dug out of the earth for a
year. The total gold output of all the
gold producing countries in the world
for 1897 was S.31, 504 500. The increase
in value of only small group-twenty-
three in mum ber-of the most active stocks
alone was well on toward double this
amount
The history of Wall street, OF the world,
in fact. has nothing to equal this prodig-
ious piling up Of fortunes, The FL
Dorado days of California in 40. the
ing up of the Australian and African
gold fields, tho klondike, the South Afri-
can diamond miues--all these rolled into
one have nothing to parallel the deluee
ofEwealth which poured down upon that
one little corner of New York known as
the wall Street region
and it is not merely the Croesuses who
have protted. Dozens and dozens Of
little fellows have darted into the
tumultuous torrent of speculation and
darted out again hugging to their breasts
for tunes ranging from tens TO hundreds
of thousands. The bigger plungers
brought up millions. The Croesuses, the
Rockefellers, the Vanderbilts, the Sages,
have landed mi lions that are counted up
anywhere from the tens to the thirties
The fever of speculation has seized
upon everybody. Office boys, district
messengers janitors and cabmen are
affected by it, and in one way or another
either directly or indirectly, are profting
by it The contrast between Wall Street
of the dismal days of lS93-94 and Wall
Street now is all but Uncomfortable to one
who has not actually witnessed it, Then
all was depression. Brokers' lowering
near the ragged edge of seediuess lifted
gloomily about, eating cheeriess lunch
cons from the high stools of dairy kitch-
ems Champagne thirsts were quenohed
with beer. Messenger boys got rye cents
and ten cents tips and few enough Of
them. The very cab horses in the streets
hung their heads disconsolntely and were
lean, slat-Tibbed and disheartened. The
ciDmtn uOIeu III raRgeu Isolation on their
boxes or gathered in forenoon groups and
talked of the better days that had gone.
But what difference now The cab
horses are sleek and shiny, the sunlight
glitters on the bright metal of their new
harness. Cabmeu erect anc alert in smart
liyeries dash here and there with fares, "
who give them dollars where they were
glad to get fifty cent pieces. Messenger
boys seorn tip that is not "a bill. Cham
payne bottles are popping as late as ten
and eleven O'Clock at night in restaurants
which only II short time ago closed their
doors at 4 and p. m. Canyasback duck
and terrapin have supplemented pork and
beans Ihe very waiter girls In dairy
Kitchens are wearing diamonds. Office
boys respond with the languid hautenr of
wealth. Even Russell Sage has caught
the infection, and reoklessly buys bananas
at three for live cents, instead Of economi-
cally hunting out the spotted ones
at a cent II piece. About Christmas time,
at the flood tide of the upward Doom. he
biossomed out in brand-newa Fedora hat
at SI.75 reduced from Sl.9 He then had
made SIC. 000, 900 and had caught the in
fictitious prodigality that was in the air.