Evening star., 1903-08-01
ART OF SPECULATION
Success Demands Close Study
in Many Ways.
TRADERS MUST WATCH
MANIPULATING PRICES BY
WORLDWIDE INFLUENCES.
Selling "short" Explained in De-
tail - Is It I'M
moralP
TRADERS MUST WATCH
Copyright, 1908, by Joseph B. Bowles.J

Copyright, 1908, by Joseph B. Bowles.)
Written for The Evening Star by Serene g. Pratt
associate editor Wall Street Journal, authoE Of
''The Work Of Wall Street." etc.
It is a common misconception Of Wall
street that success or failure there depends
upon chance. Nothing could be further
from the truth. That there is an element
Of chance in stock speculation cannot be
denied. and there have been cases OF for
tunes made by luck more than by mature
calculation. The Rothschilds are said to
recognize the element Of luck in their busi-
ness so far as to make 1t rule that no
man having the reputation Of being un-
lucky shall be attached to their house in
any capacity.
But luck makes only a small part in Wall
street success. Those who have seen Bron-
son Howards play of Henrietta" may re-
member the qualification Of the old Wall
street operator on learning that his son
"Bertie" had been making money in the
street. On inQuiring how the boy had made
his investments, Bertie replied by producing
a penny and Tipping It in the air. When
1t comes down heads" he said, I buyI
when 1t comes down tails I SELL" There
are men in Wall street who virtually follow
the "Bertie" method of speculation. The
story Is told Of two brokers who, on their
way to business used to pass bird store
where canary hung in cage in a window
When the canary was perched on bar
high in the cage they bought stocks; when
it was down on the floor of the cage they
sold.
Careful Study Required.
This, 1t is needless to say, is not the art
of stock speculation. Those who wish to
attain success in the stock market must
make speculation a study. Success at the
law or in medicine requires years of train
Ing and experience. but some people think
they can drop into Wall street and In a
day or two know all about 1t. 1t does not
take long, indeed to learn the names OF
active stocks and their abbreviations on the
tape" which Is the street name for the
narrow ribbon Of paper on which the stock
as they are made in the exchange. 1t does
not take long. even, to learn enough Of the
terms and mechanism Of the stock market
to be able to put up a margin and give an
order to a broker. But as a little knowl-
edge is a dangerous thing. so 1t does not
take much knowledge to be able to lose
money quickly in Wall street.
But to make money-that Is another
thing. Here we have market representing
one-tifth Of the wealth of the country made
up of hundreds OF securities of railroad and
Industrial companies, banks and other cor
porations. From 100 to 200 of these stocks,
to say nothing OF bonds, are actually traded
in on the stock exchange every day. These
securities are subject to influences 80 va
ried and 80 widely separated that they in
volve comprehension of nearly everything
OF Importance that is going on all over this
world. This, then, is no place to enter
blindfolded. The successful speculator
keeps his eyes open and studies.
What makes stocks and bonds valuable