The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-13
WHAT WALL STREET COSTS
The Public Pays S25o,ooo,ooo Every
Twelve Months.
(AppletOn's Magazfne.)


1t costs the public an immense sum
of money to maintain a stock market
for the benefit of the manufacturing
contingent and its numerous sales
agencies.
In its crystallized form the market is
represented by the New York stock ex-
change, an unincorpOrated association,
having a membership of LOO men.
Seats on this exchange have sold for
$4,000 each, making total valuation of
$104 SOC, 600. The present quotation is a
few thousand dollars less, but it is like
ly ere long to cross 500, Geo, 600. Aside
from life insurance provision of &c.,
coo, the value of seats on the stock ex-
change is predicated on what they earn
for their owners That they should
command $50, 600 each must be accepted
az conclusive evidence that they are
worth that much. Allowing 10 per cent
as a minimum return on personally di-
rected active capital, a single member
ship may be rated as having an average
income value of $500 a year, or &c.,
450. 900 net, for the entire membership.
As a matter of fact, 10450,000 an
nually is only a 1.-THE of what the pub
lie pays the members of the New York
stock exchange. In commissions and
interest alone it pours into the ex-
change every year not less than $780,
10000, an average of $54,545 per men,
Der This vast sum is contributed pure
ly for the privilege of playing in a
game where the chances are heavily
against the players. To employ gam
bling comparison, IL may be said in
truth that the New York stock ex-
change bears the same relation to the
speculative public that the kitty" does
to q poker game where there is a rake
orr on every pot played. l may be
permitted to assume that large num-
Der of my readers will understand this
Illustration If accumulated by the fur
Their explanation that such a "rake-Off''
is almost confiscatOry, and that six men
engaging in such a game with 500 each
will all get up broke" at the end of a
session of moderate duration. So ii is
with those who "sit into the game of
speculation as played on the New York
stock exchange Their contributions to
the kitty" are bound to extinguish
their capital unless they have unusual
means of replenishment and an mex
haustible income from other sources.
Wall street has also been described as
a 'Tollgate in the Highway of Ameri-
can Progress" levying an memorable
tribute on all enterprises of magnitude
There is truth in the figure of speech
Every big financial thing has to go 10
Wall street for money and for creden-
tials. Without the proper Wall street
20. K" a corporation proposing to is
sue securities for general investment
lacks the brand of legitimacy emitting
1t TO respect and confidence. People may
rail at Wall street and denounce 1t as
a nest of swindlers and as being wholly
and irredeemably bad, but the fact re-
mains that corporate property, to get
the right treatment from the public
must come from Wall street and carry
Wall streets expressed approval. The
public curses Wall street and then in
consistently jumps to the conclusion
that there must be something wrong
with a corporate issue that cannot show
the Wall street mark of friendly iden-
tification- To get the right kind of a
send-off any sort of corporate PROPOSE
ton must submit to Wan street In
spection and to Wall street taxation.
There is a harsher name for it-black-
mail.
The Wall street life of a speculator is
said to average less than three years.
This may be regarded as entirely rea-
sonable, when the spectators pay d.
rectly into the kitty" in the items of
commissions and interest s60.000,000 a
year
10 lne $0U,UuuUUJ annual Contribution
to the Wall street kitty" add $50, 000. |
goo to 500, 900 900 lost every year In the |
"shake-outs'' and on top |
of that figure n steady average yearly |
loss of $4,000. 600 to 100000 900 charge |
able to bad Judgment and "freeze-outs,"
and fair estimate may be reached of
what it costs the public to support Wall
street--a grand total of approximately |
s25o, 100000 every twelve months. The
80, 100000 people composing the popula-
ton of the whole United States do not |
pay much more than double that sum
for the support of the national govern
ment. the maintenance OF the naval and
war establishments. tho postoflce, the
customs houses, the federal judiciary,
md the innumerable incidental expenses
Of the civil structure. Wall street comes
high, but IL seems TO be Indispensable.
Red sandstone building rock.