Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1903-07-04
FHE LONDON BROKER.
His Business ms Pleasant ms Any
Commercial Career Can he.

His Business Ms Pleasant ms Any
commercial Career Can he.
Gnparativey speaking, Il London
broer's life Is a happy one, says Cen
fur He has more or less pleasant
ohhs. and, II lie is industrious, he Is
TO q found there from 10 to 5 or q
o'clck every day of the year except
Stok Exchange holidays and his
moths vacation in the summer The
Stdk Exchange opens at 10 o'clock
AM shuts at (, but official business
hors are from II to 3 o'clock. Bar
gals before or after these hours can
notbe officially recorded on the mark
inc boards. THe investment broker
theefore does not deal till II o'clock,
WIN be goes into the house, walking
rould the market, collecting prices
an{ cleaning Information while ne
doe bis bargains. After that he re-
turs to his office, where, If times are
slak. he can write his letters and read
the papers and mediate how to pro-
vid his clients with what they all
wat-5 per cent investments with gov
er1nent security The life of a bro
kerwith a good Investment business is
ablut as pleasant as any commercial
carer can be. He walks between his
ohhe and the Stock Exchange several
tines a day, and his occupation is
neher sedcntary nor fatiguing. lie
is brought into contact only with his
own clients. and I'm the house he can
seect the jobbcrs he chooses to deal
with.
rhe general public has very vague
idas about the differences between
btkers and jobbers. II man has
mtney to Invest and desires to buy
cetain securities he must employ a
bbker. He cannot deal direct with a
o)ber. The broker will give his adj
vie If asked for, and, on receiving In
stnctions to invest, say, 5000 in con-
soh he will walk into the house TO the
coIsol market, select dealer and ask
for price on five" cOnsols. The
dealer makes a price wide" or "close, "
as tie state of the market will permit,
say 9G-99A, which means that he Is
ready to buy at 90 and sell at 1914. The
broier replies thet he buys at 90A, re-
turts to his office and delivers a writ
ten contract to the client. The dealer
stems into the center of his particular
market and challenges at the middle
price. 99ls. The theory is that some
other broker has been selling consols
at 90 Ito another dealer; the two deal
ers MET and the stock changes hands
at 93k. both jobbers getting one
eighth of l per cent on the marAe'
turn. This is the theory, and If al
businds could be conducted on sucf
ouiet Ind respectable terms the StocB
Exchhge would be a very nice place
for io1bers. AS n matter OF fact the
marked often goes against them anC
they iannot undo their business ex
cent At q loss. The broker gets bis
COMMISSION way INV
much less wearing. A jobber with
large capital at his disposal generally
makes money much more rapidly thar
"A broker uDIess the latter is in touci
with high finance. There Is an enor
nous mass of investment business
transacted in the Stock Exchange II
london. far more than in any othe
money market in the world, but ther'
are a good many brokers to do 1t, an'
the membership of the house woulC
show a rapid reduction If speculative
business were diminished. a memDe
of the public. if he chooses, can specu
late through an outside" broker
"bucket shop keeper" but the maj
who does this would buy gold bricl
at sight. Ninety times out of hun
dred he would lose his money.