Bisbee daily review., 1914-08-12
WALL STREET


 An air of Sabbath calm has brooded over Wall and Broad streets the last months Brokers offices have been almost deserted No rushing to and fro of mes seneers no excited groups around uckers, clamor ous ringing of telephone bells no frantic scrbbins of telegrams no wild demonstrations nothing suggestive of the old traditional life of the nations banking and speculative stronghold in lower Manhattan.
 The six months just ended have brought the worst slump in twenty years In 1910 the sales for the first haltyear averaged 65OOoO day; in 1912 they were l7O0oo; in the present year only 25oOOo
 On that volume of trade brokerage houses cannot possibly pay office expenses and per cent interest their invested capital let alone make a profit
 Of the 500 or more firms represented on Change there are perhaps 25O that must S15OOO year $50 day to meet expenses. Perhaps 100 face ponses of s3oO0O year and another 100 have to earn sloO0oO year each to keep from running behind An three classes together do a business of $55ooo shares day Cor 3275oO "one way" they would be reported) before they could break the days business And it must be remembered that large pro portion of all sales made by professional traders for their own account being therefore unproductiye and many transactions are for members, bringing com missions of only S325 hundred instead of the regular $1250.
 And yet hardly firm has gone out of business Liy ing from hand mouth month after month making what they could handling bonds and unlisted stocks and taking profit the banking business done for their clients cutting their office forces and economizing in personal expenses they have kept up appearances as well as they could cheered themselves with the hope that Wall street will boom again even the west is now beginning to bloom and a wave of speculation will sweep them back to prosperity.
 They base tbs hope on precedent In -557 1896 there was just such duness The conviction grew that the speculative market done for old timers sold their stock exchange for low S14O0O and shut up shop Five years later those had ESQ., Ooo Wall street 2O0OOOO and 3OOOOOO share days and the overwhelmed brokers had to petition for spe cial holiday to recover from sheer exhaustion
 "It win be the same story over again" they say .when the tide turns. And the dull period has lasted SO long it's bound pretty Besides, there are the bumper crops and almost any day railroad rate advance may trading the crack of pisto starts a race"
 But will it be the same story? Some of the wise ones shake their heads and say that the gory of Wal and Broad has departed for good With our new regional banking system Wall street no longer la' its hand a win on the concentrated capital of the nato and use it as ammunition in speculative campaigns The new antitrust laws and particularly the establish ment federal trade commission will help to put th brake on frenzied finance No orgies of overcap alizaton no alternate pulling and' bearing of waste stock but pretty definite knowledge of what securue are worth and calm investment buying instead of wl speculation.
 And that is doubtless the trend For the publ generally Is "wse" now. The revelations of Tom Law son and the professional magazine writers the stock e change scandals late and the growing mowedg of the precise and methods of speculation hay made the people wary of speculative gambling and SUI pIcious of brokers.
 It may many years before this reputation is live down. Indeed we may never again see the wild Wa street scenes of dozen years The stock exchana may develop Into what it originally and what should be nova market for the honest purchase ar sale of honest securities and trustworthy index of q country's business.