Wall street stories

manners; leaders to whom the stock market was only the Monte Carlo of the Tape and leaders to whom it was a means to an end; cool, calculating, steel-nerved leaders and fidgety, impulsive, excitabl

the "shoe-string" speculators but the very richest of the rich! Never before a leader whose word took the place of statistical information, whose mere "

ng he made those stocks advance with which he was identified and that, of course, the public always follows the stocks that are made active; and many other explanations. But in the end Wall Street came to realize exactly to what it was that the blind devotion of the speculative public for the colo

aught glimpses of the great leader's broad, kindly face and shrewd, little, twinkling eyes that seemed to smile at them. They wondered what new "deal" the colonel was

ot-swinging, and glanced jovially at the ticker "tape." From his window he could see a Mississippi of people or a bit of New York summer sky, but his restless eyes were roaming and skipping from place to place. And the clerks and the customers wondered whether the market was going the way the colonel had planned. The ticker was whirring and clicking, impassively, and the colonel w

Treadwell, halted at the door, and looked at

ut the colonel, cheerily. "W

el Treadwell," said

and what can I do for you?" said

" he said, very formally and introductorily, "is Carey. My fath

onel, encouragingly,

ced young fellow, Treadwell thought. He was a good-hearted, jocular old fellow, u

d to see their sons. When I ran for Congress, Bill Carey wrote 119red-hot editorials in my favor, and I was beaten by a la

his best for you. And if you didn't go to Congress you're

ght they had known

say; I have t

ng man, boldly, "I've c

't ask it twice.

o rich following it that the

rself in Congress, some fine day, unless your father goes bac

easant smile, th

d up some mo

ive you. Go away instantly. Great Scott,

ugh in this office, I

emnly. The boy returned the look, imperturbably. Then C

keep out of State's p

money and I want to know what to do with it. I read an article in the Sun the other day. It sai

Trolley has gone up

omething with his savings and not let them lie idle." The young man looked str

h money

n smile. He had felt proud of the magnitude of his savings in his own

ly, "that is a good deal of money. It's a blame sight mo

s,

brother Wilson, who has charge o

-looking man of about five-and-fifty. His enemies said that he

eadwell, shaking hands with Mr. M

esident of a railroad system; also Mr. D. M. Ogden, who looked like an English clergyman and was the owner of the huge Ogden Buildings in Wall Street. They had come to discuss the advisability of

ve brought you a new

t desire new accounts, for there was already more business than could be handled. They were the busies

dwell. The firm had some very youthful customers; b

llentown for him." He was smiling; he generally did. Moreover, he wa

You ought to put in your order at once. T

rgin and let him buy you as much a

shares?" suggested

huckled. "Five thou

them, and you guarantee his accoun

ock market, slowly, "that you had be

llentown Railroad stock at the "market" or prevailing price, for Mr. Carey, and took the boy's two hundred and ten dollars with the utmo

ed a country newspaper, but who had never been an intimate friend, t

et that week and the next. Ten days 124after Carey had

eat deal of money-more than he had ever thought of having at his age-but he did not know what to do

the stock to sell at 115, he would

ue emphasis, "but where in blazes is the sense of throwing away that much

inherited fortunes and were doubling them in the stock market; three or four gray-haired shrewd-faced capitalists whose names appeared many times in 125the financial pages of newspapers; a baker's dozen of prominent municipal politicians, a well-known Western railroad president with a ruddy face and a snow-white beard;

prominent insiders." It was a very important gathering. It involved no less than a final understanding in regards to the great "Trolley pool" whose operations, later on, were to become historical in Wall Street. It was, as o

comfortable, among so many elderly and obviously very rich men. His diffidence was the savi

north of Wall Street would not have stooped to listen to others' conversations if their lives depended on it. In a broker's office, when the leader of the stock market was spea

sing of it just as fast as the market would take it. It was not likely that the stock would go much higher. Wall Street, ever loath to believe well of any

the stock break sharply, and this would not benefit anyone. He had advised them to buy the stock at 90 and at 95–-it was

ought in his entire fortune, his accumulated savings of two hundred and ten dollars. He was a stranger to

stomers could not suspect what he was doing, he shot a quick whisper-a lob-sided but philanthropic affair-at him: "Look at the color of yo

uspected by the 128mob. They sold it for him at 105?. Deducting commissions and

of money as it was, but not as much as they would have "taken out" of the Easton & Allentown "deal" if they h