The Washington herald., 1907-03-31
CHAPTER K.


Not a sound was TO be heard In the big
stone building of the New York stock
exchange. It was very early morning.
Only the night watchman could be seen,
as he wandered around the large grant te
columns. He looked like an animate 4
shadow. a bat lowering around the dead
temples Of some ancient Roman city. The
first flush Of dawn shone over the East
River and its pink glow soon tinted the
great white stone blocks with a roseate
hue. Day was breaking IN New York.
Life would be soon awaking and human
beings would soon be reused 20 custom
AIRY activity.
Scat said Mrs. Mary OHoohilan to
the black cat, as she opened the side
door TO the floor of the exchange, pre-
parat0Ty 10 the morning scrub with soap
and water. Faith it's going to be a bat,
day on the market. Did We ever see a
black cat yet in the airly mornin' that
didn't mean that there was going to be
dreadful bad doin's?" And as Mrs Mary
OHoolihan met Mrs Patrick Mccain,
some i've minutes later, she communi-
Gated the news to her. Mrs, Patrick Me
Cam had two tubs Of soap-suds, and she
put them both down on the floor of the
exchange with an exclamation of horror.
A black cat say ye, Mrs OHoOhhan? A
black eat on tn floor of IN exchange
Faith there'H be greater goings on than
whin that diyil Of a man with IN beady
eyes cornered the gold market Faith. an
its great things on tn exchange yen
soon be seein', Mrs. Mary O'Hoolihan.'
When Mike-the buriy ianitor-came
into the building half an hour later he
was told that the devil of black eat
had been seen on the Exchange. When
the first foor-boy came in the side door
whistling Nancy Brown some minutes
after that, he was informed that two
black cats had been found fighting on
the floor in the early gray OF the morning.
The hoor-bo told another hoOr-boy; the
number of eats grew with remarkable
rapidity. and when the first broker ar
rived TO scan his order sheets before the
opening of the business of the day-the
tale had been so distorted that IT was
limited that the janitor had killed seven
cats round inside the building in the early
morning hours. But Mrs. Mary O'Hooli-
han was right
As the hands of the big clock worked
slowly around to the hour Of ten the
floor began TO MI with young, middle
aged. and old men. Some were rosy
checked. well dressed. cieanly shaven.
neat Others were pale Of cheek, bearded.
haggard untidy. Some moved quickly,
energeticaly, rapidly. Others moved
slowly, calmly, siuggishly. All sorts and
conditions were there All were mere
human eogs in the vast machine of
business. Should one cog slip. it was easy
10 put another in its place. The loss OF
one palry cog would not delay the
grinding of the machine, They had 10
go on as long as human wants had to
be filed and human desires were extant.
The mill ground out the destinies Of a
nation.
Gradually these atoms in the wheel of
industrial progression began to collect in
dots. Certain stands on the floor we're
marked with signboards, showing that
particular stocks and bonds were dealt in
at these Jets and points in the swirl Of
the stream of progression. The human
cogs clustered around them. just before
the minute hand pointed 10 the hour of
commencing business. the human cogs be
gan TO oil wheels for action. They began
to take out their little order blanks.
When the clock struck the hour of 10, a
babble Of tongues arose. The business of
barter and change in the greatest mart
of commerce in the world had begun,
Tom Truscott's mind was unruffied He
arose late, ate a hearty breakfast, and
then read the morning paper. 1t was evil
dent from the Washington dispatches that
the press did not know which way the err
rattle President was going to turn in re-
gard TO the Pliss bill. The whole country
was In suspense. So sure was the street
that he would veto IT that stocks moved
upward during the week previous. Ad-
vance agents had told the captains OF
finance that the bill would not pass, and
the tone Of the market discounted the
;,ews. Il gave Truscott great satisfaction
to read the paper He smiled very
biandlv. Things were Just as he wished.
Connected by wire with every vantage
point in the universe. the New York
Stock Exchange was in instantaneous
touch with laboring. civilized humanity
throughout the world. Should a King OF
Europe be assassinated. should fac
tory burn down. should a tornado strike
the broad plains Of Kansas. should 8
British war ship founder, the New York
stock Exchange knew il before the in
formation was fifteen minutes old. From
to o'clock the wires. veins, arteries
of commercial thought, throbbed with pal
pitating activity. A catastrophe like an
earthquake and fire, like an adverse piece
of legislation would temporarily affect
t the advance Of values, just as 3 favor