The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-08-01
WALL STREETS VICTIMS
Operators of Former Days
Who Ruled the Markets.
SUCKED UNDER AT LAST
James r. Keene Has Been at the
Edge Several TImes--Many Rise
from obscurity to Make Fortunes
in Day, to Again Turn Them
Into the Mill.

In Day, to Again Turn Them
Into the Mill.
So far as recorded OF remembered.
few men In the street have run the
gamut of prosperity and poverty as did
Alden y. Stockwell. Born in obscur-
ity he found himself pursor of Lake
Erie steamboat before he had shed his
thirties, and while thus occupied he
met and subsequently married Miss
Howe. Soon afterward, on the death
of her father, the Stockwels received
some S2,000,0OO, with which capital A.
b. Stockwell migrated to wall street.
Reviewing his variegated career the
other day, well-known broker re-
marked that at first he was simply
Stockwell TO the street. Fortune smil-
ing upon him, however, soon hatched
the honorarium of Mr.. Then he was
known as Capt. Stockwell. Success
still rewardlng him, he was dignined
by the title of Commodore, which he
lost coincidentIy with a fortune of
seven comfortable figures.
Anthony w. Morse was another quick.
sand victim of spectacular proportions.
Morse fourished in the early COS
Shortly after Fort Sumter spoke so i'm
petuously Morse went abroad in the
first American private yacht that ever
wandered from home. Reaching Eng
land. he was feted by the nobility and
incidentally convinced by them that
the Confederate cause would triumph.
Returning hurriedly to the United
States he vigorously started a bear
movement on government securities
mastering millions for the attack. Sec
retary Chase, feeling the financial
wires in Washington, detected the
movement at once, and began check
mating II, Morse, thinking to bring
matters to an issue, wired Secretary
Chase asking how much gold he was
prepared to pay for greenbacks. On
the following day the secretary Of the
treasury appeared in the street with
S5.000.000 in gold. completely routing
and running Morse and his minions.
Henry ~ Smith of the firm of Smith,
Gould & Martin was another victim Of
sovereign stature who has vanished
and been practically forgotten. His
career may be condensed in that extra
ordinary paragraph of his application
TO the governing committee of the
Stock Exchange for an extension of
time on his seat: "On Jan. /, 1885,
was worth Sl,i00,000. | had $1,100,00O
in money, and the balance, 100000. in
good real estate. On the following Jan.
/, / had lost the whole amount and was
81 ,2OO0 in debt"
As an example of the suddenness
with which market leader may some
times rise and fall in the street there
was the very recent case of Daniel j.
Sully.
Beginning in Boston, he had gone to
Providence as young man. BY 1902
Rhode Island had become too small for
him. His crown was in the metropo-
lis, and he came for II in December OF
that year. Early in January following
he entered the market, trading through
brokerage firm. Six weeks later he
was worth $4,000 more than when he
arrived. He thought Of returning to
Providence. Fortune is fickle. But
persuaded to remain, he was ere long
swinging an extensive line of cotton
futures and was beginning to make a
name for himself,
Before any one was aware Of 1t he
had succeeded in cornering the May
option and was in position TO don a
crown, yet he put it by, contentine
himself with pocketing a comparative
ly small profit. He was blding his
time, waiting until another crop of mil
lions was ready for harvesting. BY
March, 1904, 1t was ripe.
Mastering capital estimated tc
have been $S,OOO,0OO or $lO,OOO,OOO, OF
which 81 100000 was his own, and trad
ing upon his knowledge of supply and
demand, the bull leader entered upon
campaign such as even the Cotton
Exchange had never seen manoeuyred
He sought to rule absolutely--to cor.
ner staple-and was worse thar
ruined For he saw not only his S4,.
00O,00O submerged, but $1,940,0O0 addi
tional, in the treacherous sands.
Henry Clews, the veteran banker, Il
authority for the following character.
lstic incident of another victim of the
street: Some years ago, becoming dis
satisfied with one of his clerks, th'
latter drew few hundred dollars
which was due him and began specu
.ating in Lake Shore stock, then quot
ed at So. The stock rising and the
speculator doubling his money, he be
gan pyramiding his profits with un
broken success. Up, up, up went Lake
Shore stock, until, six months later, /
was selling at 100, and the erstwhilt
clerk found himself suddenly wortl
| 100000.
But, concluded the raconteur, within
a year every cent of it was gone, ant
with it the ability of the loser to dab
BILE in small profits again. He wal
worse than bankrupted, since he wal
never afterward contented to poke
the pence and let the pounds take cart
of themselves.