Wall Street.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7958, 23 October 1905, Page 2

Wall Street.

——o '■ Mr Gilson Willets, describing a day in W«H Street, in L/esley's Weekly, says that at one minute touforo ten there was a great buzzing in Hie .Stock Exchange, but nothing frenzied. Tlw ebainunit'ascenihul fhe, rostrum—not a soul paid any atlcivlion to ;him. He picked up 'hi.s gavel—looketl ui. Ati the clock—thv.-n with thu gavel smote on bis desk. It seemod as if no one there on the floor couM possibly hear that smite of the gavel, yet even IWorc t'lfe chairman had relinquished his grasp of 'the wooden hammer by which he announced the opening of Ibe day's business Medium was let loose. From 500 Hiroats came screeches «ikl shrieks—it was like n hiindreil iHITi-tinit college yells oiii! time. T'lih .")(H> were merely shouting numbers—shouting fiercely and iraulically—lieeau.se wlu-n all your collegues nil* floor an' also yelling numhers, you must shout your liarticular nonro.'r just a little' bil louder than all the other 190. The numbers were the prices, which somebody—principally! somebody other than the yellers themselves—was paving for stocks. Tlint'lirst ten minutes was a siren. ucus ten JiiitnitTs. Every broker on Ihe floor had come there with orders to buy or sell—orders that had accumulated overnight. These orders each was now executing by s-bonling like a tragedian, Ojy using up bin nervous energy nt-Mu'rate MmL only a first-class constitulicn could stand.

Thiw. business completed, what is next? Here's where the telephone comes in. Almost every brok'er, is represented by a 'phone on the floor. Ily that 'phone he (receives orders from his ollice—orders that keep coming in all day long. Sell this ! 'buy that ! Every few mn'nutes—if Ire is a lucky, 'broker—he receives an order to do something, and to do it quickly. Now 'does the broker know when to rush to his 'phone? First there is a little army of telephone boys rushing hither and thither all over the floor in' search of their employers. Those boys bring to their employers such telephone messages as they can safely be entrusted with. Second, there is on ono s-'rdo of.'the'walls' of Hie. buiWling a huge bulletin bioard. 11. contains, theoretically, numbers running from one to eleven humlrod, for end! member of thc Stock Kx-

change} is represented by a number. .Vow, when a broker is required in person nt the 'phone iiis nuiniber is exhibited on the bulletin. That is someone at Hie telephone switchbeard presses n button, ono of the black (laps of the bulletin drops down, and lo ! there is the number of tin.' broker who is wanted. Therefore, as I watched Hie brokers,from my place in the gallery, I understood .why every man on the floor glanced from time to time to the great telephone bulletin. Knch was ever on the watch to see if he was wanted c 'phone. >.'ot to see 'bis numlicr when! thus displayed on the bulletin, not to see il at once and rush immedia-

tely to his 'phone, might mean the making of hundreds, or the loss of thousands. Ai three o'clock, when 'thelOxclinngo closed for the day. most of the brokers left the floor in a condition, mentally and physically, closely resembling that of a soldier who has been ungated for five hours in '. «i battle. 'Phe Sljoek Exchange resembles, as much as anything, one of the up-town clubs. Its membership is not more, in fact, than many of the best chibs. 11l its organisation, too. it resembles a club. Po you wish to become a member of this "frenzied finance" club ? Well, then, you must first pay your ini'ttaHon fee—that is the price of a seat, that may be rany amount from £12.1)H0 to £ll>,ooo. After that, not 'before, you may possibly be elected to membership by the Committee on Admissions. lYjour nanie as an applicant for admission will be publicly innnounced some day on the floor :nivd also that, of your nominator and seconder. Your nominator and seconder —by tin' way—will before that have

been obliged to state in 'committee that u idles ilatinflly accept your uncertified, cheque fcr at least C1OO0; and when those two men have.made that declaration for you you ,have received tl«' highest endorsement required b,\ Wall street. "Meanwhile, yon yourself must te]\ a"' about your age and your citizenship. "\ ou must tell wheth.v you have ever failed in business at any time or anywhere. You must, name the amount of your indebtedness, in case' you ever 'haw failed in business. And after that yon must present indisputable proof of having satisfied all your creditors. You m'JSt further swear to your exact conditio! of health, and say whether your life is insured. If your lifu is not ms'ired, you must say why.