The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-10-01

for what it is worth. A Topeka man
who is known in financial circles and
who is not given to visions is RESPONSE
BILE for it. 1t is a story in big figures
| figures of the Piermont Morgan class
The story is how Topeka man, by
fate and a slow train, cleared up $50, 00t
| on change and if the train had beer
on time he would not have been count
ing SO much cash as his gains.
! The ecene of the story fiuctuates be-
| tween Topeka and the Chicago stock
exchange. Part of the time the action
| is fast and part of the time slow
slow when the train lost time and was
three hours late into Chicago.
The Topeka man who on account OF
the big figures used and the fact that he
made mopey will be called The Ffnan-
cier, was visiting in Chicago. He waa
not given to plunges in the pit and
past buying and selling in small way
| in the bucket shops, he was not given
| to gambling in stocks, but he was not
adve rse to making some money If he
could.
While in Chicago a friend of his, who
| stood so close to the bulls and bears
| of Wall street that he smelled Of gore
after every encounter in the pit, stood
in a way of giving him a good tip on
the markell good tip if the market
went the way he tipped it and OF
course like the race course tips given
by the touts, a mighty poor tip if the
market went the other way.
the put his money into Northern Pa
cific stocks and to put it all in, every
cent he had. The Chicago man gave
it to him straight that N P. would go
a soaring. He wanted to let the To-
peka man in on the ground floor to
make a few thousand.
The Financier decided to put in a couple
of thousand and to margin nice BLOCK
of Northern Pacific stock all on his
friends advice. He made his play, or,
we should say, his investment, and re-
home
N P did not do anything for a time,
but in a few weeks it began to go up.
The Financier watched the reports. He
tried to keep cool as he saw Northern Pa
cific gradually advancing.
and so did the heart of the Financier. N.
P. took another big jump and was on the
the Financier at Topeka for instructions
The F1nancier received the telegram in
the afternoon after the market had
ed he was on the battle ground in Chi
cago. He looked at his watch. He had
time to catch No. for Chicago and he
would arrive there the next morning in
time to inform his broker what do do and
to bring the cash back with him
lise and hair brush, but jumped into
cab and started for the depot: In the
over. n P. had gone. up enough for him
to double his money if he sold it out just
morning. He was not greedy; he was
satisfied with the neat sum of twice the
money he had invested. he would OrCer
the stock sold just as soon as he reached
Chicago.
When he woke up in the Pullman the
next morning he found the train at
standstill. Something was wrong. That
something wasn't repaired right away and
the train kept standing way out there on
the Illinois prairieS, and the Financfer'S
money in danger of being swept away by
the fall of the market.
The Financier worried and fretted and
put in the worst three hours of his life
while the train was tied up the siding
and the engineer tinkered with the en-
CINE.
The Financier was almost over the Dor
der of worry into the confines of nervous
prostration when the train finally started.
That three hours would ruin him. The
profits he had dreamed of would be swept
away.
When Chicago was reached only half an
hour before the market would close, he
jumped into a cab and paid extra dol
lar for the driver to hurry to the stock
exchange.
his broker. He was not there. He was
on the floor, said the messenger, and the
messenger got another dollar to hurry
him out. The broker arrived hot and
GREATNESS.
Have I lost?" almost shouted the Fl
nancier. HAS Northern Pacific slump
ed? My train was three hours late.
Northern Pacific has Cat that has"
the Financier stopped breathingl Just
touched one thousand" shouted the bro
ker. What shall / do?'
1S-s-s-elI, S-e-ell!!" shouted the FL
nancier, and he sunk into a chair