The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-05
CHAPTER XXI.
CONSOLIDATED COP
PER AND PETER BINES AS MATCH
MAKERS.

II tried to give Relpin an order for five
thousand shares over the telephone" he said
to Uncle Peter; but they're used to those
fifty and hundred thousand dollar pikers
down in that neighborhood. He seemed to
think / was joshing him. When told him L
meant it and was ready TO take practically
all he could buy for the next few weeks or
so, 1 think he fell over in the booth and had
to be helped OUT
Orders for twenty thousand more shares
in thousand-share lots during the next three
weeks sent the stock to lis. Yet wise men in
the street seemed to fear the stock. They
were waiting cautiously for more definite
leadings. The plunging OF Bines made rath-
er a sensation, and when it became known
that his holdings were large and growing
almost daily larger. the waning confidence
of speculator here and there would be re-
vived
At lis the stock rested again, with few
sales recorded. A certain few of the elect re-
garded this calm as ominous. 1t was half
believed by others that the manipulations
of the inner ring would presently advance
the stock TO sensational figure, and that
the reckless young man from Montana
might be acting upon information OF def
spectators the feeling was conservative.
Before buying they preferred to await some
sign that the advance had actually begun.
The conservatives mostly the bald old
fellows. Among the illusions that rarely sur
vive a mans hair in Wall street Is the one
that sure things are necessarily sure
Percval watched Consolidated Copper 90
back to ITO. and bought again-ten thousand
shares. The price went up two points the
day after his orders were placed, and two
days later dropped back to 10. The Con-
servatives began to agree with the younger
set of spectators, in far both now
believed that the stock was behaving in an
unnatural manner, indicating that some
thing was doing'-that manipulation behind
the scenes was under way to definite end.
The conservatives and the radicals differed
as to what this end was. But then, Wall
street is nourished almost exclusively upon
differences of opinion.
Percival now had accounts with five firms
of brokers.
''Relpin," he explained to Uncle Peter, lis
a foxy boy. He's foXier than fox. He not
only tried to hedge on what he told me
said he'd been drinking absnthe frappe
that day, and it always gets him dreamy
but he actually had the nerve to give me
the opposite steer. OF course he knows the
deal clear to the center, and Shepler knows
that he knows, and he must have been
afraid Shepler would suspect he'd been
talking So 1 only traded a few thousand
shares with him. 1 didn't want to embar-
rass him. Funny about him, too. L never
heard before of his drinking anything to
L of nd
comes near to knowing what the big boys
are UP TO. But we're on the winning cards,
all right. l got exactly the same informa-
ton from dozen confidential sources; some
of it l can trace 10 Relpin, and some of it
right to Shepler himself
Course m leavin it all to you,"
Swered Uncle Peter; land l must say / do
admire the way you take hold and get
things on the move. You don't let any grass
grow under your heels. You got a good head
fur them things. l can tell by the way you
start out-just like your pa fur all the world
LII feel safe enough about my money as
long as you keep your health. If only you
got the nerve. I've known men would play
a big proposition half through and then get
scared and pull out. Your pa want that
handle every time, and they never come any
too big fur him; the bigger they was, better
he liked 'em. That's the kind of genius
think you got. You amt afraid to take a
chance"
Percival beamed modestly under praise of
this sort which now came to him daily.
Its good discipline for me, too, Uncle
Peter It's what L needed, something to put
my mind on. needed a new interest in life
You had be down right. 1 wasn't doing my
self bit of good with nothing to occupy my
mind
We'll, I'm mighty glad. you thought up
this stock deal. It'll give you good business
habits and experience, say nothing of doub-
ling your capital"
And I've gone in with Burman on his
corn deal: He's begun TO buy, and he has it
cinched this time. He'll be the corn king all
right by June /; don't make any mistake
| on that. thought as long as we were plung-
ing so heavy in Western Trolley and Union
Cordage, along with Copper, we might as
well take the side line of corn. Then we
won't have our eggs all in one basket"
"All right, son, all right. I'm trustin
YOU A corner in corn is better'n a corner in
wild oats any day; anything to keep you
straight, and doin something. 1 don't care
how many millions you pile up. / hear the
| Federal Oil peoples back of the Copper
| deal"
That's right; the Oil crowd and Shepler.
had it straight from Relpin that night.
| They're negotiating now with the Roth
| schilds to limit the output of the Rio Tinto
! mines. They'll end by controlling them, and
| then-well, we'll have roll of the yellow
boys-say. Wen have to lay quiet for year
| just to count it,
DO it good while you're doin' it, urged
| Uncle Peter, cheerfully. Il rely SO much on
| your judgment, want You to get action on
my stuff too. l got couple millions that
ought to be workin harder than they are
Good; didn't think you had so much
| gambler in you
Its fur a worthy purpose son. And it
seems too bad that Pishy can't pull out
| something with her bit, when it's to be had
so easy. From what that spangle-faced beau
of hers tells me there's got to be some ex-
| pensve plumbing done in that castle he gets
| sawed off on him."
Wen let sis in, too" exclaimed her
| brother, generously, land ma could use a
| little more in her business. She's sitting up
| nights to corner all the amalgamated hard
| luck on the island. Well pool issue, and say,
| we'll make those Federal Oil pikers think
| we've gnawed a corner off the subtreasury.
I'll put an order in for twenty thousand
! more shares o-morrow-among the three
| stocks. And then We'll have to see about get
| ting all our capital here. Well need every
| cent of it that's loose; and maybe We better
! sell off some of those dead-wood stocks
The twenty thousand shares were bought
| by the following week, five thousand of
| them being Consolidated Copper ten thou
| sand Western Trolley and five thousand
Union Cordage. Consolidated Copper fell off
| two points, upon rumors traceable 10 no
source, that the company had on hand a
| large secret supply of copper. and was pro-
| ducing largely in excess of the demand ev-
| cry month.
Percival told Uncle Peter of these rumors.
| and chuckled with the easy confidence of a
| man who knows secrets
| .sYou see, it's coming the way Relpn said.
The insiders are hammering down the stock
| with those reports hammering with one
| hand, and buying up small lots quietly with
| the other But you'll notice the price of cop
per doesn't go down any. They keep Ii at
| seventeen cents all right. Now. the moment
| they get control of the European supply
| they'll hold the stuff, force up the selling