Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1910-06-22
AROUND THE TICKER.

Strange Characters Gather on the
Outskirts of the Curb.
Half dozen years of financial
writing have brought me into contact
with many of the strange and inter-
esting characters who may be found
around the ticker" says a contributor
to Moody's magazine.
Men who have been failures else
where trying for a stroke Of good
luck; graduate physicians. lawyers.
former clergymen, an ex-motorman
turning the wheel of fortune; several
who have done time. race-track follow
ers, a former chief who buys stocks
with his left hand and small restau-
rants with his right, hotel walters by
the score sorrowfully watching the
tips garnered in the dining room van
ishing in the bucket shops; card gam
blers. club men, society lights. athletes
fascinated by the game Of chance have
rubbed elbows some time or other in
the different brokerage offices.
Two Of the most picturesque char
acters Of Wall street hung on the out
skirts Of the curb market few years
ago. One was formerly an expert tel
egrapher who had lost his mind after
an illness. He was thoroughly harm
less fellow. giving to cracking two
| stones alongside his head, saying that
he wanted to drown out the shouts OF
the noisy brokers. He seemed to have
i an idea what the brokers were doing
and occasionally they would good-na-
turedly 60 through the form OF trad
ing with him.
1.-THE other character was a tramp.
The only thing missing in his equip
ment was the proverbial tin. can. But
Notwithstanding his lowly station in
life he was sport. Nickels and dimes
were bestowed upon him by the brok-
ers at various times and then this
hobo would circle the crowd to find
some one to match coins with him.
See that man there. the head Of
a large stock brokerage firm said to
me the other day. The man was lean
ing against the ticker. The click, click
of the wheel appeared to be music in
his ears. Through his fingers the thin.
white strip Of printed quotations was
sliding In the manner natural to all
tape readers.
"'Well, he's a paradox in Wall
street. said the broker. He doesn't
speculate. He is strict and sincere
church member. strongly opposed to
anything that smacks Of gambling, yet
! there is something in his blood that
has made him come to our Office al
most daily for ten years, rain or shine,
and never has he used the buy or
| sell pad. He turned up one day with a
| friend we'll known to US and hardly
before the introductions were over he
had made himself at home. The first
day he annexed the stool beside the
ticker, read the prices to our board
boy and seemed in every way familiar
4 with the market.
GA week passed and to our surprise
4 we had received no orders from him
4 We had an active market for several
months, and the omission Of orders
was overlooked. In the meantime he
really made himself valuable by giving
/ unusually accurate market opinions,
keeping record of prices and statis-
tics, SO we felt that he was evening
up matters. To this day he has never
told US TO buy or sell anything for
him, but were he to go away he would
be sadly missed for his friendship. his
peculiarites and his singular ability to
/ live In the atmosphere Of a brokers'
office and never speculate"