Evening star., 1925-08-23
BY /. A. FLEMING.

Wall Street, representing the New
York Stock Market, has never known
such breadth of trading, continued
strength and such spurts of activity
here and there throughout the list as
at the present time.
1t Is also a fact that loan lines
of brokers are extended even beyond
the wild days preceding the 1880
panic, when the markets leader, Steel
common sold down to 20, and perhaps
little lower.
And with these conditions have
come some rather wonderful changes
in the general character of the trad
ing.
In the olden days, If one may refer
to a comparatively short time ago
in this manner, there were many
groups Of leaders, specializing in this
or that group of stocks, this was be-
fore the hard shedding season in the
rails and the great development of
the industrial group to the extent that
there are scores of shorts, where here
tofore there had been but a COM
paratively few, such as the steelS,
coppers, sugars and some food shares.
Hartman, Hill, Morgan, Kuhn, Loeb
& Co.; Vanderbilts, Flower, Baker and
a number of minor giants" were
the leaders and supposed to be the
dominating factors.
They frequently manipulated the
market to suit their will, it is declared,
which generally included a large gath
ering in of stocks at relatively low
prices, and when the advancing fig
ures consequent upon their absorption
had induced the dear public to go in
on the buying side they gracefully per-
mitted them to take their stock off
their hands.
Then Came the Reaction.
After the leaders had sold as much
as they desired they would remove
all support from 1t and the decline
and drive it out, and it would stay out
for long period-at least until the
| leaders had started another bull cam
| paign, when investors were usually
! induced to come in again. This was
| repeated alb lib.
| Nowadays, there are but few
groups, Morgan, Baker and the First
| National crowd, Kuhn, Loeb & Co.
| and Jesse Livermore and the big
| factors in the market. and all are
| practically equally as active on one
| side as the other. Livermore at one
| time was the biggest bear trader on
| the Street, but conditions have chang
| ed and he has changed with them.
Welcoming Big Business.
At the present time encouragement
| to big business seems to be the rule
| and the urge of the day. in contradis
| tinction TO the get after big bust
| ness" of previous presidential admin
| iStrations.
Talk of railroads pooling their in
| terests in the old days brought angry
resentment and adverse legislation.
Now, consolidation is openly advocated
and efforts are being made through
out the rails to bring them together
in groups, to the great saving in
operation and the abandonment of
| many useles sand expensive trains, the
operation of which does not bring
proper returns.
This very fact is one of the reasons
for the wonderful activity in rail
shares and has brought about an ad-
vance that is even now being made
an excuse for some warning signals"
from conservative houses.
Public Always i'm Market.
1t has come to the time when the
public is in the market all the time. In
one group of stocks or another. 1t
also is a fact that the market is too
big for any one group of men to dic'
tate to.
The population of the United States
has increased by leaps and bounds.
The people have more money than
they ever had before and on every
hand one sees the evidence of these
facts. Moreover. while they have in
| crea sed numerically the desire to
handle easy money has in no wise de-
creased. but is rather intensified.
More Woman Traders I'm Evidence.
traders in stocks today than ever.
In the days prior to the great war,
women customers were not especially
welcome in customers rooms. They
were poor losers and not infrequently
| offered plea after plea. to save them
| selves from q sustained loss and at
| the brokers' expense. tears being a
| favorite weapon. They sometimes
succeeded, but received the warning
| to stay away hereafter" but the bug
| had bitten them and mayhap they
| made money at another brokers' or
worked the fearful game or at least
| tried to do so.
| Today, brokers welcome the custom
| of women. a new generation, gen
| orally knowing exactly what they
| want; students of the market, and in
| f1uences likely to affect it. They do
| not hesitate to sped time during the
| session or the fINCndnEe IN the Gus
| toners rooms of their brokers, to
| watch each f1uctuation in shares in
which they are interested and act
without asking half the questions that
men usually do when deciding on a
| purchase or sale.
Women Classed as Game Traders.
| Brokers say that women are game
| traders. They take their loss or gain
| without comment, are not weepers or
kickers-ii fact, they are just as safe
and reliable as any of the men, it is
| held.
| Woman investors have their ad-
| visers. as a rule, and give a more or
| less thorough examination to stocks
or bonds taken on for the dividend or
| interest return, but the trader in Wall
| Street generally has no idea of max
ing an ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS pure
and simple, call it gambling II you
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