Evening star., 1907-11-02
Bank Scare Greatly Increases
Sale of Diamonds.
ONLY SAFE INVESTMENT"
Curious Sights That May Result,
Tales of the Runs on the Big
Counting Houses.

Special Cores. ondence Of The star
NEW YORK. November l. 1907.
K1EW YORK gem merchants ara rub
~ hing Their hands They report great
doings. All the good folks, afraid
/ of banks. are buying diamonds. The
level merchants didn't expect the tang
10 break this way hut II has. and they
, are glad. No panic a Ali for them They
are working tha situation WITH a keen
advertising rivalry, too. BUY d Almonds,
good folks" is the gist Of ther adver-
tising, Ind you'u always have some
thing Diamonds aye monay. only more
50. If You've got diamonds, YOU can't
lose The Price Of diamonds is going
ur all the time, It has increased a third
/ ~ a hundred per cent in five years. Own
diamonds, and you have money all the
I time. Own money, and bank it-and look
"! at happens.''
! It seems. then. that one cannot be
done" in buying diamonds. one seems
to remember otherwise instances. Bat
/ there is no gairsaying the eloquehce OF
these advertisements, And the banks
and trust companies and things did close
their doors. didn't they?
Soon, tEeH. IT Is pTbSuUtdDiN 'i'o' "
sfeau see the New York hod carrier wear
ing at his wo-k a large. yallerish diamond
ring. concret"ly representing the puik OF
his savings. Bookmakers and their shsHl
writer's are to be made jealous by the hoi
polloi. The truckman will flash an illu-
minated path for his horse at dusk by
means of the immense hunk of ghstery
carbon which he will wear rigged in the
hun h L..
white wings will blind passing pedestri-
ans while he stoops ove- his useful broom
and shovel. when the facetry of his gig
lamps gets the focus on the eyes or t!le
peripat etics. The banana peddler VIII
hold up his -a-for- a da nick much
oftener than usual If only proudly, II
furtiveiy. to exhibit to prospective GUS
toners the array of ice which, scat
tered around on his uncleaned gifts. VIII
represent his savings. The motorman VIII
be able to dispense with the headlight on
his car-tha searchlight which he will
wear screwed into his made-up two-bits
cravat will sarve as headl ght
And the Salesladies.
Wen have to wear goggles when We go
into a depart store to buy cake 0!
soap o. something, so binding will be tn
glare from the savings representing
rocks" hespangling the pompadoured
young Minis and Names and Cierts be
hind the counters. The garbage gentle
man who toots his strangely dlsquietinS
horn early In the morn through all the
the New York streets will lift the secre-
tive galvanized can with a pair of bajew-
eled hands like unto those of any prOw!-
ing Haroun- al Raschid. anG in b~isf, all
the Manhattan world VII b agl am,
a-shimmers with kimberleys. lit up with
Jaeger -Fontain s, II desc mt with pelma-
nent ice.
Back to first principles. is the cry of
those who are afeard of the hateful the
sinister banks and bankers. They're de-
termined to buy sonnet hing with their IN
crement that they can keep. Diamonds
can be kept-by some folks. They cannot
be kept by great many others-.or Seri-
ticatiOn of which consult any shrewd-
looking person standing at a sign Of the
Doges which means three gildsd balls.
But they're portable property, anyhow,
and the owner OF EN- does the porting.
After all. 1t is a bit disouieting to stand
in the cold outside of bank all night,
and then, just when you laborlously work
your way up to the paying-off window,
have the window slammed In your inutile
teeth.
I saw that very thing happen during the
bank runs one morning last week. The
victim was d ve-y choleric old gentleman.
He had, he assured everybody, with many
strange and whitening oaths whereon he
must have exhausted a great deal of in
genuity-he had taken his place in the
line soon after midnight The paying-off
performance was done very slowly-the
bank folks were giving themselves plenty
of time. 1t took some two hours and a
half after the banks opening for the
choleric old gentleman to reach the head
of the line Then lac pushed his bank
book and a check for $1,000, his pile,
through the window. The paying teller
looked the book and the check over, found
s.. 600 in $1O0 bills. He was In the very
act Of passing the $4,000 stack out to the
choleric old gentleman when the cashier
Of the bank. walking into the cage, whis- /
pered something 10 the paying teller.
I'm sorry" said the paying teller 7
calmly putting the s9,Gl0 back on the pile (,
from which he had taken it. but l am /
directed TO close this window now. The
doors are to close And the paying teller
banged the little window shut. and there
the choleric old gentleman stood, gnash- !
ing his impotent teeth
Such a Langwidge
In the progress of some wondering
hither and yon, have heard much evil |
language-the CALCULATIONS of wrathfu |
sail0rmen. the cold, deadly profanity of
Arizona freighters. the ferocious blasphe-
my of caloused miners, and such like |
But l declare that never, anywhere in the
world did ! ever hear anything In the |
way of emhellished garnished. trimmed |
ana lamDreCuiIleu CuISiuB ll4dl, tltlltG 10.
discrimination, artistry, fury or Invention.
could in the least begin even to compare
with the language which that choeric old
gentleman then and there employed. The
grievous part of II was that the things
that he proceeded to scOrcn the tremu-
ious air with during the ensuing fifteen
minutes really seemed To help the waiting
crowd of depositors a great deal. They
felt a good deal the same way, Gnly they
knew not how to express themselves in
such a fanciful and satisfying way.
Howeve-. what | started 10 say before
being led aside by this recollection Of one
Of the myriadS of curious scenes OF last
week was that among the other things
which the afeard ones are now going to
buy that tney can keep Is real estate
It is going to be a splendiferous time for
the real estate folk around here from now
on Those Long Island real estate op-
orators. for example, have got for sale
literally tens of thousands of ~es Of real
state that may he kept secure all
right. The Atlantic ocean will help those
with title to it TO hold on to it. for quite
LOT of iS under the Atlantic high