The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-04-18


the site of the old Page hotel will be an
other boost for Bridge square The build
ing will cost about $4,000 and in a few
years time the front will be remOdeleu
and made an architectural ornament t.:
the square which bids fair to become one
realized and in others it wasn't In In
diana, after bonds were issued for the
building of the Wabash canal the Wa
bash railroad was built right along the
bank of the canal, and it doesn't take
any Socrates to figure out what became
of the canal after the railroad was built.
well, few years ago, some of the
states which had defauted on these old
Tune bonds, got governors who had some
| moral notions in their makeup, and these
governors got it into their heads that the
honor of their states required that some
provision should be made for taking up
some of these bonds.
North Carolina redeemed some of hers
and other states did the same thing Old
North Carolina bonds are quite fashion,
able just now. I kept watch Of all these
goings on and 1 found that in every
state where old bonds had been redeemed
lot of millennium seekers had been
developed. Maybe you don't know what
millennium seekers are? Well, they are
the fellows who are always expecting
| that something will happen by which
they can make a fortune out of nothing.
They. are just my meat. They find
out soner or later that the place to get
some OF these bonds, which will be vau
able shortly after sunrise on the milen-
| mum morning, is at the shop of the Old
Scrip Man, and SO they come to me to
make purchases.
Il suppose you can't see how I ever
make any money buying up old cargoes
| of f1otsam and jetsam. Well, I'll tell
| YOU When a man dies leaving any con-
siderable estate. it is the almost invari-
able rule that he has left some securities
which appear to be practically worthless
| "Take, for instance. the estate of ex-
Mayor William l.. Strong. His execu-
tors found about 7.0O0|shares of railroad
and other stocks which they thought were
| of no particular value. The securities rep
resented a par value of about 100000.
THE executors sent for me to examine
| the securities. I did so, and finally made
| an offer for the lot. .-'-
! Fl did the same thing with the execu-
! tors Of the estate Of Joseph Richardson
the spite-house man. Alongside the good
| things in Richardson's strong box, there
ever saw. There was mining stocks and
| bonds of water companies and stock in oil
wells, and even stock in newspa pers, the
total par value of which was about $780,
900. I took the whole lot.
| You must understand that don't give
any very large amount of money for these
| job lot securities, because I don't have to,
and if 1 did, I wouldn't buy 'em. 1t sell
dom happens that, out Of any one lot Of
securities, can't find a few bonds or a
few shares Of stock that can't sell for
what I gave for the whole lot.
"Whatever~ I get for the remainder.
therefore, is all velvet. The remainder
| %l,o III md
be surprised to find out how many of those
fellows are wandering around loose
| "Outside Of estates, where do you pick
up these cats and dogs that nobody else
seems to want?' the Old Scrip Man was
asked
80, that's easy. Have you any idea Of
the value of the existing railroad stocks?
OF course you have not. and SO I'll tell
you that the value of the railroad securi-
ties now in existence amounts to about
! $11, 500, 900, 600. The total amount of the
securities dealt in on the New York Stock
Exchange is about s7,751, 100000.
"Of this amount, $5,0cO0oo, 600 is in rail
road securities alone. On the other eX
changes in the country enough more rail
road stocks are dealt in to make the total
of this kind of securities dealt in in this
country at about $1,000, 000,0 You will
see, therefore, that about $4,000, 900 OF
securities have no market in which they
may be bought and sold.
/ II offer a market for these uncurrcnt
securities and find one for them. You
might cali me the morgue for uncurrent
securities, but if you did. you'd find that
| | rose from the dead every now and then
/ to pull out a few thousand for my own
benefit. And Of the defunct securities
those which can't find a market anywhere
except in my shop, the number is so great
that can't estimate 1t.
l,o 70 1y,on hot nf oil III
railroads in this country. there are just
ten, out of about 10000. that have exist
ed for twenty -five years without reor-
ganization? Every time there is a re-
organization of a railroad there must be
some securities to fall by the waysde anC
| l pick 'em up, go
1.-THE average life of a telegraph com
!. pany in this country is fifteen years; of &
manufacturing concern ten years; of 9
mine. two years. Of an oil well. eight
months. and of a company organized fol
the purpose of exploiting some new patent
process about five months When any o.
those companies go under I am usually
called in to look over their assets. and
usually find some even if it be only Their
own stock. which like. And I make {
very respectable find now and then.
! For instance. there are some folks VI
in New England who have got consid
cradle number Of bonds of a certain rail
road that they don't believe are worth the
paper they are printed on. But 1 hap
pen to know that ,on account of an ancil
larry mortgage which the road executed
few years ago. every one of these bonds il
worth $3.50 to-day. BY and by shall gel
hold of some of them; or I shall act as the
broker for persons who have them. ant
/ thus I will get mine
$50, you see, there is some hard bust
4 ness and some good hard money to b.
1 made out Of this dealing in dead ones
4 Some Of them are SO dead that they woult
not respond to the resurrection trump
i but you can never make a millennium
4 seeker believe that. So hope triumphs
over death, and / am able to write tht
q sign Of new made dollars in the tomb.
4 stone of many a dead security
QUITE TRUE.
4 Judge. n 5t
4 He-But poverty is no disgrace.