New-York tribune., 1908-08-12
ONCE IN OFFICE BOY.
Ho5o j. l.. LiUermore Became a
Broker.

Boston Aug u-sooner or later al 81 tire rrea.
operators in the stock markets make thzir hoiss IN
New York, or. II not their homes. ar least the New
Yerk Stock Exchange becomes the field OF their or
erations. As rule these plungers attract very much
more notice outside of Wall Street than in Wall
Street Most OF them bring large fortunes 10 tHsc
district. and sooner later take themselves rack
home with much less fortune and a very intense
experience When one hears. therefo-e. that this
that. or the other hitherto unheard-of person "a
operating in Wall Street tremendous scale thA
first thought is TO dismiss the matter one Of the
thousands Of such cases which appear for rnonenr
with meteoric brilliancy and then soon disappear
into utter darkness
1t takes more than the brilliant exploits Of ora
season TO arrest the attention of Wall Street But
occasionally from among the hundreds and thou
sands of those who try to play the Wall Street game
there is distinguished a personality OF a different
stamp. Indeed. Wall Street is keenly alive to the
operations of the cool. calculating. patient deter
mined man who knows dollar-who is in the Street
to make more dollars-who cares about his
success than the notoriety connected with IT,
All through lest years great bear market reports
came to hand from time to time Of the daring oper
atoms of Jesse l. Liverore. But as time has gone
Mr.. Livermore has gradually been thought Of IN
ways. and the very fact that his operations
have been carefully and successfully covered.
while their effect has been painfully apparent 10
all other active traders. has caused the thinking
men of Wall Street TO look him up
Jesse L. Iivermore is of Yankee origin ira,
which none could better for his present actv.l
tiles He was born in Shrewsbury. Mass 1s77 and
brought up in the city of Worcester His parents
who now live in Acton, Mass. were in moderate
circumstances, and the son was Obliged to begin
to earn his own living at the age OF fifteen
He began his business IN the brokersss
house of Paine. Webber & Co. and was employed
to post quotations the stock board. He had not
been there long before he began studying the tape
and trying his success at buying and selling stocks
paper He quite successful that ard
when one of the boys in the Office asked MIN 10
join in the purchase of a few shares OF stock in
bucket shop he consented. and within a short iTns
became regular and increasing patron OF these
institutions.
When Paine webber & Co discovefed his opera
tions they ordered him either 10 fereso the
speculations his salary of IS per week. and with
out hesitation he dropped the salary and cIurg 10
his profits OF from $50 TO s75 per week in the
bucket shops
Left to his own resources. he made a study Of
speculation. and determined to make out OF It
life business. Not having the capital which would
enable him to trade with the stock Exchange
houses. he continued to operate through the bucket
shops until finally Of the largest Of them
declined to trade any further against him
About that time. 1901. he went 10 New York. ard
with a capital Of $500 began operations AT the
New York Stock Exchange MI Livernore tells
how he went broke many times but never lost his
heart. always regarding such losses as part OF
his education II was not. however. until the og
markets OF 1905 when he really began 70 make isrss
profits 1t was during the great copper market
of that year that he followed Anaconda during
the great rise and accumulated for the hrsr tine
really large capital Within less than a wear ne
detected the change in the tide which occurred
Immediately following the declaration Of the "
per cent dividend rate on Union Pacific. and fol-
lowed the bear market which really began at that
moment, until It's elimination late in the fall OF
the year 1877.
Mr.. Idvermore has not confined himself 70 the
stock market having at times enormous interests
in both grain and cotton He has recently been
very pronounced bull wheat. and is supposed az
the moment to be bullish cotton in rather
modest way Speaking of cotton IL is understooo
that he stands on record having given the arg
single order for the purchase of cotton ever
executed on the exchange. that order having oeen
to pIiy one hundred thousand bales
Jesse L. Idvermore tells his friends that he tres
to operate for the big swings His motto Is Al
ways average profit. never average loss
man should never average on a declining market
unless prepared to buy the stocks outright"
Personally Mr.. Iivermore ia quite as interesting
as he is as market factor He is not freduenter
OF hotels or clubs and lives exceedingly modest
and retiring life He is known up 70 the present
time to comparatively few even Of the active wan
Street people. His winter home at No. 1s4 RIVER
side Drive. New York. is handsome but uhos
tsntatous residence while in the summer he spehos
practically all Of his time In company with his W.
on his handsome steam yacht. the Nsnetls. WIiSH
he purchased from Al F. Plant