The Washington times., 1928-12-03
STOCK MARKET
To. BALLOT ON
!. EXPANSION
esz
BY MERRYLE. STANLEY
RUfKEYSER

Copyright. 1888, BY Universal service
i NEW IOTsK, Dec. 4. 4=sWa
Street is having its own straw
vote.
4 The LOO members Of the. New
I York Stock Exchange have been
asked to ballot informally as tn
/. whether Hthe time has come to
concede that: in a world of flux
II even the maximum number. OF
member brokers may be altered.
Since 1873 thessbroKers have been
u adanlantr to national growth sthe
number of s1,100 was sacred.
Three years ago. e. II. III. Sim-
mons and the board of goy-
ernors were decisiyely voted down
In their attempt to add 25 to the
\ membership. Since that time. con.
4 siderable water has passed under
the bridge. The utter inadeaIacy
sof stock exchange facilities under
existing speculative. coffdftlons
has been plain, Now the brokers
are being asked MhetheES they
wish to increase the nremtership
4 by rs per cent, so per cent, or 100
per cent.
4. IGd1 lSSQSe IS#AMtlRIlGEsEIlft
brokers will be willing to dilute
the value OF their membership,
(which has risen spectacuiarly be-
f, cause OF the scarcity value, The
way over this obstacle would be
TO cut a melon out Of the new
proceeds FOR the benefit Of pres
ent members. Then they could
have their ,cake--and eat 1T too.
The tsys9s.af ffssxs k,f Tslsy1S3f
tric stock to new level for all
time recalls the tremendous asset
value to the company of the late
= carles p. lSteinmetz, the research
genius OF the company.
The acquisition OF Steinmatzy
the most eiTnportant single dis
y covery Of the General Electric
Company, was almost accidental.
in his nemoirs, now being pub.
= lished. e. w. Rice. jr.. honorary
.yhow SfeinnnetE.s services were
first obtained early in the cen.
tury.
The conpany became Interested
In acquiring the workshop Of RI.
dolph Eickemeyer, Of Yonkers.
where Steinmetz was employed
When Rice's views were sought
he aSsented, with the understand
ing that as a by-product the COM
pany would gain the services Of
Steinmetz. a young engineer whose
articles had impressed him.
III At their first meeting Rice was
nomentarialy disappointed.
II was. startled, he pointed
3 out. t'and somewhat disappointed
by the strange sight of a small.
/, frail body slirmounted by q large
head. with long hair hanging TO
the shoulders, clothed in an old
cardigan jac4et. cigar In mouth,
sitting cr0ssslegged on IapoEa-
tory work table. My sdfsappoifit-
ment was but nl0mentary. and
completely Nisappfareds RIfen me
first began Ito talk
More than five years ! after
Steinpetz vi dpasSihg his former
chief pays this tribute to him:
1T was fortunate indeed for
~ our company and for the elee-
trical industry that Steinmetz
became associated with us at the
critical time when the alternating
current development had Just
-Started. II is not too inuchsgto
say that his genius and creative
NJAht SOlithA
2 work, but. in.,advorating and OBJ
staining the general use, of
simple mathematical system for
treatment of alternating current
problems were largely respon-
h sible for the rapid progress made
q in the commercial, introduction
Of alternating. current apparatus.
The bare margin by which Stein
'imetz's talents were saved for the
world lis emphasized Rice says
:, Working alone. the, world would
have, lost. his, genius. for he had
: no thought nor knowledge of
anything commercial