The Detroit times., 1912-12-13
BUCKET SHOP IS PURE
GAMBLING INSTITUTION
tContiaaed from Page OneI


stock exchange hvAse, buys stock or
wheat. or pork, or cotton. and the
article he buys. or a warehouse re-
ceipt representing II, is actually
placed 20 his credit He buys IL In
the expectation that he will be able
TO sell II at profit or he borrows
II and sells Il short" IN the hope
that he may be able TO buy II In again
et cheaper price before he has to
deliver II.
In n bucket snop. the customer
merely CANDLES on the market. He
bets against the fluctuations. putting
up $50, the usual bucket shop margin
ON 10 shares. 70 back his judgment on
the market turns. betting that Il will
80 up or down as he may give his or.
der 10 buy or sell" and betting
further that he will give the order
10 close the deal before II has gone
two points In the opposite direction
and exhausted his margin
There arc two psychological facts
that the bucket shop broker can count
on. One Ia that trader will always
take q bigger loss II the market goes
against him than the profit he viii
wait for IL the market goes with him.
He will follow his trade down, put.
ting up more and more margin until
lis money IL gone. but he Will not let
profit run In the same manner. He
is too eager TO TAKE what he can get.
The bucket shops usually make their
big money ON falling market. be-
cause there are generally more buy"
orders than sell" orders. II the
bucket shop happens to be caught on
with a lot OF buying orders on q
rapidly rising market, the usual prac-
ticc with the bucket shop broker Is
10 close the doots and quietly steal
away with all the money that hap.
pens to be in the house. And the
customers. jubilaat over their paper
nrofts which have been piling up as
the market rose. come down next
morning and find she door locked. and
margins" AZ will as profits down.
The customers OF the bucket shop
make an interesting study. Many or
them are old men who have spent
their lives and fortunes trying to beat
; the game. PERHAPS they started In
the legitimate houses and were
cleaned out when a slump came. II
is only matter OF time when the
bucket shop cleans them out. too.
Then there are Clerks who hear OF
fortunes being made on market turns
and 20 to the bucket shop with hun.
dred dollars In the idea OF making
their fortune In the same manner
where they would not think OF going
10 a race track with a similar pur-
pose. The money that should 60 to
the support OF their families, goes into
the bucket shops instead. And they
go broke, too, but they seldom realize
that they are gambling. There Is also
an occasional business man who has
an idea on the market that he does
not want .tc play very heavily, He
goes into tho bucket shop Just rs he
would 20 into. poker game with his
eyes fully open. He can afford to
lose what he puts In, and he 10 the
only one Who has half q chance OF
beating the game.
The one excuse offered by the buck.
ct shop men 10 that the so-called legiti-
mate houses are just % bad.
"If bucket shops are against the
law, they ought to raid every New
York exchange house." said one old
customer OF the raided WNlder con.
Germ, who came up to see how the
market was going and found the door
closed by the police.
Perhaps he il right, but It is the