The sun., 1908-12-27
WON ON 4 CRAZY HANS TIPS.
4 WIZARD OF CIRCULATION AN
INMATE or AN ASYLUM.

l.
Followed His Advice AID Pr0ftea
"I1l have to be running up to ProSi.
denoe to zee my crazy friend and find Out
from him what the markets going to
do" was the somewhat cryptic remark
Of Wall Street trader the other after
noon when the unsteady market was
wabbling around.
well, II takes q crazy man to dope out
this market put In one Of the trader's
listeners.
"It takes the crazy man that I'm tallrins
about TO do IT, replied tho trader with
perfect seriousness. Hes besn insane
for years and he will be insane to the
end Of his days, but he knows more
about market conditions than anybody
else ever met"
The traders listeners laughed at what
they viewed as q whimsicaiity ~
Seeing that you're all 80 sceptical
about this thing, I'll 60 through with u
and tell you all about It," said the trader.
Il car, easily understand why you fellows
should grin and exchange winks when
you hear me say that I'm taking market
tips from a crazy man. That, however
is exactly what I've been doing. What's
more. I'm going to take and play all the
tips he'll give me.
Last spring the mind Of brother Of
mine became temporarily clouded and
he was placed in a private institution In
Providence where his mind could find
itself. I may as well say right here that
after few months Of treatment and the
quiet life Of the institution be got COM
plotely back to himself, and he's running
his factory again, trig as a trivet.
Shortly after he was placed In the
institution he became great pals with
man who'd been there for several
years. This man-hes about Is now
had been a market plunger, particularly
on grain and cotton. in New York and
Chicago almost from boyhood.
He was affiliated. in his early twenties,
with men like Old Hutch and Partridge
and that gang Of sky high Chicago rock
eters. and the strain had knocked him
on his balance. Another thing that,
helped to burn out his mental apparatus
was the fact that he had played no limit
poker with those Chicago zenith busters
nearly six hundred nights running
AT the windup Of this gambling Orgy
| he'd been compelled to employ ply
sician and go on a tour, OF the world,
lasting three years. with the idea Of get
ting back his health. His health re-
turned, but his mind didn't. When he
returned to the United States his folks
had to have him put away
Il was profoundly impressed by the
appearance and conversation OF my
brothers insane ohum the first time I
laid eyes on him when visitin my brother.
He has splendid looking head. a fine
keen eye, and talks perfectly straight
except at rare intervals.
well. he was delighted when he learned
that / was q market trader. He ohirksd
up wonderfully when my brother told
him that and Immediately he began to
talk to me about the market.
Il was positively knocked clean on the
bench by the comprehensiveness Of his
knowledge and information Of the market
conditions, particularly with reference
10 grain and cotton. He was q student
Of grain. cotton and staples.
ment Of. Agriculture bearing upon those
matters, in addition to mass OF bulletins
issued by private houses He had crop
conditions at his fingers ends. He knew
down to tenths Of inches the previous
months rainfall of every grain and cotton
producing State Of the Union. He knew
all about droughts in the States suffering
from lack OF rainfall.
He himself made q system Of averages
derived from many reports. some of them
conflicting. with respect to crop acreages
in all the States. He took into his
calculations the difficulty OF some Of the
figured on the oyerworking Of made
uuately equipped railroads In getting
the crops TO market.
Il sat and listened to this insane mans
expoundinE Of market conditions like
somebody In trance. II seemed incred-
to what December wheat. for instance.
was going to do could be within leagues
Of the truth. 1t seemed foolish to suppose
that his criticism Of the Department Of
A Agrioulture's estimate OF the cotton crop
could have any meat In Ii,
Yet the mans manner was impressive.
There wasn't any raving in his talk. He
just went over things quietly and con-
vincingly. without the slightest appear
ance OF boastfulness.
aFinally decided that I'd try him out
on few predictions took the wheat
market to him and asked him 70 define
forth. BE studied for a long time and
then came through with az reasonable |
an analysis Of the wheat situation as ever
came from the lips OF an expert in perfect !
possession Of all his faculties. On the |
following day his predictions were veri- !
fed down to details.
For eight or ten days more j sub |
iected him to the same sort OF tests. |
He invariably took good hour or 90 of |
in the quiet OF his apartments to dope out |
the answers to the market problems that |
I submitted to him. and when he returned |
to where I was talking with my brother, |
carrying his neatly written memoranda |
with him. he went over. the subject with |
the olearness and the thoroughness OF q |
master OF his subject.
Cotton is too cheap to-day. or was |
yesterday he said t. me one day a. soon |
as arrived at the institution from New |
port. You'd better buy yourself q few |
thousand bales for the rise. yThe rise ID
overdue
Il asked him to eluoidate, and he was
there with an elucidation, supported by |
figures intricately but reasonably worked |
out, that convinced me beyond all doubt |
that cotton was o buy. / bought cotton |
on the following morning by wire from |
Newport, and two days later cleaned up |
hdily on a neat little advance which |
proved, however. temporary.
Have you sold that cottonf my insane
friend asked me on the afternoon when |
showed up after having got rid Of my
cotton.
To-day I replied. Made a nice
little thing Of IL too.'
Better sell little cotton tomorrow
and beat 1t going and coming, my insane
friend aaid IN ma. sfvnffnnsl'a lAaf Ia fo0