The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-26
P|kERS IN WALL STREET
BEEN WON FROM HUMBLE
STARTS
OTHERS MAKE NO HEADwAY
Ex-GOy. Flower Made Several Re-
pOrters Rich by His Timely
Suggestions-Mr. Havemeyer
Gave One Man q Line

| 1t IS considered a great thing to be on
spea!:.g terms with one or more of the
big men In Wall street and a cheek-by-
jowl acquaintance with the financiers
who make the market" Is popularity sup
posed to be equivalent to having catch
as-catch-can cinch on a fortune.
But it is not always So Manipulative
! movements sometimes fail, and finan-
ciers estimate of the stock in which he
| happens to be particularly interested Is
| frequently at'fault.
Small fortunes have been lost on what
the trader chooses to call inside informa-
ton. that is. when the fortune is reck-
oned on the basis of ones wealth,
| whether it be 800 or 100000
Some peculiar instances of how inside
information has turned handsprings with
the 'pikers" who operate thereon are
well known in Wall street.
He WANTED TO BREAK IN.
Not long ago a man who had known
Mr.. Havemeyer, president of the Sugar
| trust, long before that gentleman had
achieved prominence in the financial COM
munity, approached him with a PROPOSE
ton like this:
81 have about $25.OOO and 1 want to
break into Wall street. Can't you give
me some sort of a tip on the market?
think [ have the proper instinct. and
| with the right kind of a start l might
amount to something in the street. Give
me the benefit of your superior informal
| ton and some day I may be able to do
| some thing for you
! Mr.. Havemeyer looked his friend of
early days over in naughty manner. and
then the pathos of 1t seemed to pene-
| trate his gruff exterior.
"Old friend said Mr. Havemeyer
''your $4,000 is like raindrop in a thun-
derstorm. Don't try TO do Wall street.
for it will do you. Take my advice, and
get the speculative bug out of your head.
Put your $4,000 into some substantial in
vestment stock-something sure-for it
won't last a minute in the whirlpool"
The ambitious one locked disappointed
| but inquired what good investment stock
was worthy of his little SIS 900. Mr.
Havemeyer was becoming impa tient. and
partly as a joke and partly to get rid
of his friend he said:
Sugar Sugar; buy Sugar" But the
man who wanted to break into Wall
street took the suggestion in earnest. He
| didn't know that Sugar was the weirdest,
! widest and most uncertain speculative
stock on the list
/ HE MADE A BIG PROFIT.
Sugar was then selling at 90, and
promptly this embryo Spectator bought
| 5000 shares on three points margin with
his $4,000. He closed his deal some
weeks later at 800, realizing a clear profit
| of $4,000. He is now member Of the
! Consolidated Stock exchange, doing bust
ness for himself.
| EX-Gov. Flower, when alive was q
| friend Of those who had claims on the
market and no money. At least q score
| Of newspaper D1en made small fortunes
1 under his direction If Mr.. Flower liked
a man he would send fer him ard say:
Buy this; it's going up lie liked
newspaper reporters particularly. and
more than one has said to him, on re-
ceipt of some such advice as just quoted:
But, Mr.. Flower I cart buy the
| stock ] have trouble nustling lunch
money at this stage of the week"
Now, if Mr.. Flower liked this indi-
vidual reporter well enough he would
say:
Put in your order at the window. 7
will carry you for 500 shares" In Wall
street today are eight ex-newspaper men
| who got their start in life through this
! generosity Of Mr.. Flower.
or course. 1t didn't cost Mr.. Flower
anything. Jie knew what the certain
stock was going to do. for he was manip
ulating it, but Just the same those re.
porters. now prosperous brokers, would
be covering assignments today hut FOR
his timely aid
DO NOT ALWAYS WIN
But things dc not always turn out so
When Jim Keene was "buIling" Leather
common he took a promising young cnay
into his confidence and told HIM to sell
! Leather. The one to whom this advice
WIS given got together every cent he had
i'll the world, some $4,000, and went short
&C the stock with three points margin
He stood to so broke if the market went
against him: and 1t did.
The eXigencies of manipulation forced
Mr.. keene to send the stock back to q
after he had gotten it down to 90 and
on the rise this young friend Went broke
although the stock eventually vert TO Il
in Mr.. Keene's hands The young man
protested, but Mr.. Eecne said:
How much did you lose?'%
"All I had, $'0,0Oe," was the reply
ooh, that's nothing. said Keene. ''l
| dropped $500,GSO on that little bull move
nient." Mr.. Keene. unlike Mr.. Flower
very rarely carried small amounts OF
stock for his friends.
There is another story of man who
bought certain railroad bonds at The dl.
rection of Russell Sage. Tic purchaser
was taken Ill, and went to the Rookie!
Tor MS nedlIn. Returning TWO years IdtCl
he found the bonds selling at about i
per cent less than ne had paid for them
lie resurrected the securities from tnt
vault and laid them before Mr.. Sage.
There is the tip you gave me-, lie said
Mr. Sage inquired how much the con-
plainant had raid for the bonds, and OF
being told so, he said: 81 will give yol
80 fer them now"
The sale was promptly made. Within
three months the bonds went 10 pan ans
fifty. If the original investor had stayed
with Mr. Sage's tip long enough h,
might have cleared 100000.