The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-10-02
WALL STREET HASN'T
TIME TO CHANGE SHIRT
Clerks Woxking In Three 6hffts Night
and Day, Can't Handle
Business.
RUSTY STOCK-DEALING
MACHINE STRAINED
Brokers Way Behind In Their Work
Sigh for Holiday TO Enable Them
to Catch Breathing Spell.

4NCW vi M oCt - Hc iittlG 0CtilS
OF nervous prostration. camp follow
ers of a great speculative army, have
trooped into Wall Street and are snip
Ing the brokers and brokers' clerks.
Hundreds of market operators and
their aids are facing mental and ply
Mcal collapse. They are making
money faster than they can count
1t but they are drawing sight drafts
on health and are paying heavy In
terest.
Literally. Wall Street has scarcely
had time in the past week to sleep at
home, or change its shirt or to eat
leisurely square meal. In hurry,
burly OF buying and selling. in a bed
lam OF excitement over the industrial
stocks 80 aptly named war brides"
when nearly 100000 shares of stock
have driven through the market in
the past five days, conditions have
arisen which make more than few
thoughtful operators wonder II the
rusty machinery of the market will
stand the strain. Already it Is be-
ginning to creak and groan. Men
have collapsed. Clerks have made
mistakes costing thousands of dollars
to their employers Many firms are
Obliged to work their Office forces
night and day in two or three shifts
Some firms are a day behind In .heck-
ing up trades.
Suggest q Holiday.
General apprehension was reflected
today in a suggestion which was put
out through the ticker--that II might
be well for the Stock Exchange gov
ernors TO declare tomorrow holiday
and so give the oyerworRed traders
an opportunity to catcH up with a
paralyzing flow Of business The gov
ernors ignored the suggestion. how
ever. possibly because there was not
sufilcient time to give notice, or be-
cause 1t would be Instantaneous to
halt suddenly the flood tide OF a
market SO tremendous. But a great
many persons who realize how badly
congestion is affecting many big
houses wonder what will happen IL q
breathing time isn't given.
Undoubtedly. the machinery of trad
ing is superior to the machinery OF
fifteen years ago when there occurred
the last speculative drive which can
be compared to the present furious
rush for sudden wealth. But for the
past few years business was SO poor IN
Wall Street that nearly all OF the
firms cut down office forces, let many
out by the wholesale, crimped and
economical and took in sail. The re-
suit has been that the houses. sud-
denly called on to face an enormous
volume Of business, have been en-
barrassed for lack OF ample forces OF
experienced clerks.
Men who lost their wall street Jobs
In the dismal lean days. took root
elsewhere. changed their habits. So
bered hown, perhaps, and are not
willing many of them. to venture back
into the maelstrom. SO that. In the
imperative necessity Of handling vast
~ increased business. tic brokerage
firms have had to get employees whore
they could find them. and in many cases
green. inexperienced men have made
mess of things. Just the other day
q new clerk in the branch office OF q
famous firm carelessly ignored tele-
gram--forgot about 1t for tw hours.
The sender of the telegram wanted to
buy largely OF leaping stock. In two
hours that stock skyrocketed. The Arm
ha dto make good and paid heavily
for the green mans casual methods.
Orders I'ili.s Up.
t.- Orders continue to pile 1ps Mach
| OF the congestion and overwork arises
among the odd lot houses which
handle blocks Of stocks in quantities
less than the speculative unit. 100
shares The business done by the
small speculators. the odd lots dab
hlcrs. has been 30 enormous that the
clerks Of these concerns have quit
going home at ali. They are living In
| the ofices OF their concorns. Many d
these houses have Installed ayxny cot
to tho number Of thirty Or forty. and
tare working their clerks In Shtfta
Many clerks have not time to eat Out-
\ aido thetr o1ace& hut must ghbbls
fhAhtiIy from = tray, stuck ~ thNM a
ithey hooA NNor their Alekt1gn and