New-York tribune. [volume], June 14, 1908, Page 5, Image 58

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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CALL OF THE WILD HEARD ON THE CURB
4<
„. Mob of Lunatics. But a MoLrt Where Millions
of Dollars a.re Made a.r\d Lost.
ivr , ! what is this?* * exclaimed an
i IP^* visitor at sight of a riotous mob
j***2L d Broad street.
■•* i* our market for cats and dog*," replied
| ** York Jend and &uidP
i^pJ"" r j. f ]i pucb things so close Id the Stock
"<tx> '*' T • gay 'iid you hear that fellow
P**^*Trt hundred bullfrogs at an eighth"?
I I**** c , be ■ Me demand for frigs' leg*. l
¥*??*****• «•* >■ . . • «*•*-•»•*■■
'•*' l5 die** f^ o *** 5 wi«cg;:ng ° ir fingers at the
*** * : across the street. They're either deaf
8j52« or they're crazy. jemima, thai <-hap in
H** s^ df*--.cs is walking right out of the third
** « v H**' 5 standing on the sill. He'll
|P^|L gtx excited:" said the ■**■ Friend,
'•*'„ -\\ !•-,-.. ■ happens down hen is en
i-atura' to the district. You ' v "'' T to M
eft at Ihe circus. This •••„• «r
'^brrw^e Known as the Curb Market."
"^M*ar th<" oats and dogs you mentioned?"
"^'..fss Jjj-. Society for the lYevention of Cru-
f " Vnin-.als has them in charge the present
& ■•» Tlje Curb Is tradinc just now In squabs
t *?*L,flr ami chewing frum. These are bona
'* rtici*?. a* 0 * 8 tll>! l> u' Jfr °KS you heard repre
** t*arrs= in a P c<ltl n»&"* or thai name. Pups are
#■■*'*'■ lioiisV-t arsd sold. Yon r 'i make a bet
■"* L'fiVction «"<J Oia &« candidates ■ !,.> may be
J^LtoS by the convent •us. You can invest
m a rurr.or. bank on the future and copper
2%JU an*
•fc St a p«*He gamK-ng house?'
•H>'l U can"* be ■ bonse, ■■=■::•=:
triiile :!:<>ro «:•' stocks offered at ( cents .i
' 1 asd you <an buy securities for the | rice <•>:
'^iwj fhirt and pay a commission that « se'f-
* cct j-p waiier would refuse as a tip, there are
m bonfi! 1 3Z:a * ?tocits °* a ciit-edced character.
ccr?** 5505 ty * r! >" lhin -■••■. exchanges.
'il*^ Standard Oil and American" Tobm ■■ a, for In
' w The most coyiiy and imperial securities
i*«& 0« ' ul:!l bess*™ that ought t<» be per
jjsfc* the fanclion of wall paper in a barn."
IT'S JUST THE CURB.
■il'het Is the Curb, then, ard ho^r **d it happen?"
•yt m* r r l>r you to s phrase lately become
jews-th* Almighty knows. The Curb is itself.
v taf I*" 1 - d'taed ss th ' tail *n<l of the Stock
Utjunjrf. * r<>l - *°* a^ sometimes comes near wag
« ttf &"£■ ll has b^en called an Infant class
ft s»ralatorK. but wm« of the infants are so
jj^ that they can giv.^ points to the members of
•yi*ru!«r Hwhani I ou rr.ieht call this a sur
rtl throuph the asr«-s of the primeval mail i
•a« afciw men's minds met to settle the prices
t'poinTnnc:' •- according to th» law of value; but
gt "«■«■ rf vr.lue :-as been largely broken down
jrt OntOJjSi monopoly, and the system that pre
aSfisfarfmm primitl'vei Th» Curb has plenty of
in sni! roles. Yet it has no organization what
ra. £v*rybc<fiy lias a risht to enter the market.
BwßfllKJrr* . a srrar.ger \vho butts in Is like a
tctS«3 ar.ima! in a herd of ten ■ .sand buffa-
X«t It Is a iree association of individuals, and
fS3 it if backed by Th« most powerful rinancial in
terests. It has no money, although It could raise
-SiEtf at a moment's notice. It is a curiosity, an
»acc=ic freak and a financial mystery that wouM
afe a co'J?pe professor ten years to classify. No
jnj r t;-' I what It is. "We just call It the Curb/
]ilit:eiie3. or perhaps darkened, by these re
ais, th? vifltor spent the rest of his time watch
t?tSe*stra fir "' r!ar >' antics of the men within the
TopfJ totteore extending from IS». M to 44 Broad
ft^t ariJ cf the people at lofty windows on both
ilte rf a-.* street. It seemed like « lunatic asy
to sll^Fsth r.o well conducted asylum would
isit neb carryings-on. A man below bawled.
r-ifr*s ttrf* fingers, made his left arm a pump
Jaaii* cross his stomach. Above, a maniac In
£,St *>«•* Hf ed s window slide like the door of
t Tit® i3:c!i. poked his head through, cried
•Tai. p| antJ pointed his thumb at the sky.
T»!«j¥- an ?tooO ob a balcony and combined
ibi/tar'-- of Shylock and a Bowery boy. A
Jrp&te glass window swung on Its hinge eide
wji, isfl a youth in a polo cap started to walk
hkfaee. }?<• rtoppefl on the sill with an arm of
inhalant support and began to make signs to
name fifty feet below.
■■%■ ■ and telegraph instrument* were visible
jtMTfral windows. Men used them frantically.
teteJ down at the surging crowd and again
astt-i up receivers and pounded Morse keys. It
t& seer.i that these persons were merely de
eftsc the sur*erficial aspects of a riot to satisfy
fcunJußUy of distant correFpondentE. The visitor
iaaed. however, that they were transmitting
\iteedotes About the Big Secretary of War
k Genial Man Who Sets at
Ease All Who Talk
with Him.
ODtirjtx'd from f north pas*-
•• saw wor<3s. i criminal, whether of high or
»fltpr«>*. wa.« in his eyes a person who ought to
KBMafl the ban
twai a mad of Us mace at this time as the
"Wwer.tativo of the Bar Asociation that drove
is the city "Tom" Campbell, a lawyer notorious
>hjf unprofessional methods at protecting crim
** Thieves and roughs ever, bore the name of
■^SJbells pcr.g." All the legal steps taken to
'-"■* the tails of ■ man whose followers had
'•■^atd the courthouse proved ineffective. Taft's
speech a) aroused the town that Campbell
tt it. It is of Interest to note that Taft found
• bi« ojipocf-r.- in this battle a man named Joseph
-• Fcrsk*' mho was defending Campbell.
am step in his career whs the appoint
"^S to the office of Collector of Internal Revenue
tat in District of Ohio. This office was an
one. as the collections were more than
'*•*» & year. It fell to him through a fac
*£fgkt over -■ ' selection of an appointee.
"^**t Arthur appointed him as a compromise
v ta»wk<- of harmnny. Perhaps this may be said
JkwsVjm appointment as a pacificator.
1 *tea months be carried on the occupation of
I x: *^r? money, a task believed not to have been
\ !'-»rtri«! '-»rtri«- congenial. Then he resigned to practise
**• Soon he fa* appointed Assistant County So-
S * CT - This was in 1!&5. The following year he
J^taHlW Helen Herron. the daughter of John
** r <r. I**- partner of President Hayes. One
!**!aj»e<j. Judson Harmon had resigned as
*olTr. g-jperior Court of Ohio. Foraker was
**sor There v.as a certain coolness existing
***«a Panke, and -;..<■, owing to the latter**
J>— il the machine and the fact that they
"••jsaneru* b the Campbell case. Several dlf
fs3f 53 tenons suggested that raft was the man for
*»*«». Foraker had the generosity to appoint
*• •• was then twenty-nine years old.
I P T H> STATES SOLICITOR GENERAL
3* ?»XV',r*<l i.-.m for which he had been ap-
JT* 4 ""■•a* only a year, but a wireless message
?= U* Governors "mansion to the headquarters
resulted in th«« nomination of Taft
I**?* bknself with the exception of the
'£*«"*. this is the only time he has been a
r**tt« lor any -.-p. Cox was a loyal ma-
°«*, ir.<3 Taft was elected for a five-year
£** Mm only two years, however, for
J™*»t Harrison appointed Mm Solicitor General
sl<5 I< * < «*I States. It was a case of the office
,?■* *h« Man. Two weeks after his Ml» "
C; *l»3 on bis hands the defence of th©
l^' Jo seal fisheries case. Opposing him were
U**° *»■ Ctlderoa Carlisle. Jr.. and Joseph H.
ij*- Ht lHainjua into the case and produced a
j/ - three hur.dred pagta.
%n *** **•*' rben tlicr * wwa an effort t0 M-
I*?* McKjr,i#.y tariff law on the ground that
in?* 1**!!1 **!! jiefss*<2 by a caaatftatloaal quorum.
i, ~ tc^« l Ejx-aker Bead's method of counting
v"• 88l * "' ! * ally 5" the courts and estab
iir.,^* ! **'- So it was in other cafes. When
1 lo Oh! '' a wrff M ■ t# * artl J:: ' 1p " ""
?v^ tbe Ech. He w*m that) I • years old.
V ftaa * r * rr * r ■*<£*£ told of Ms methods of
ka^f* ' ! ' - r *>«> of justice. They illustrate Mi
a^JJ* »■■ . th t ejection of bis New England
orders to buy and well curb stocks, and the nimblest
among them were engaged in the operation of
slicing the margins of eighths and sixteenths on the
lightning changes of prices between the Hew York
and Boston .curbs. To seize a New York offering
thirty seconds before any rival, hurl it to Boston
and skim the instantaneous profit— this was the
feat technically known as arbitrage. If real stock
is Involved in the transaction and the buyer wants
delivery, there is time enough to send the secur
ities from one city to the other within the "next
business day," according to rule.
ORDER IN ITS DISORDER.
A policeman of the traffic squad walked around
the roped inc!osurt\ exchanging banter and playful
hand grips with bareheaded young men who blinked
In the sunshine. A faded replica of a famous diplo
mat, in spate and smoking a bulldog pipe, paused
to instruct the small son of the rotund Italian street
sweeper, a special employ ■ of the market, how to
give enemies the solar plexus knockout. Messen
gers in red caps and identifying buttons scurried
about taking orders. A dreamy eyed, black haired
man. In a soft i.at. paced the asphalt, oblivious of
taunting offers to buy or sell shouted in his face,
and ho glanced upward at the graceful figures
struck by slanting light In the pediment of the
Stock Hxcliange Building. A group of men gath
ered hrside the iron column of the market clock
and read on a small blackboard the latest edict of
E. ? Mendels, the self-appointed and universally
obeyed czar of th" curb. Disorder in the mob
seemed accentuated by the lack of trading posts,
as in the stock exchanges; yet a little study showed
that mines flourished In the southeast corner, and
there were distinct places for industrials, railroads
and miscellaneous stocfcc This is not so wonder
ful, as the man said who learned how the calf got
through the knot hole: the traders were trained by
the use of posts, and now they have the habit.
Everything about the curb is a curiosity.
Everything Is laughable. You laugh at the chew
ing gum stock until you learn that the American
Chide Company is capitalised at $10,000,000,
owns nearly three million acres of chicle or gum
tree land in Mexico, keeps wagging the jaws of
<;•. per cent of the chewing gunt- consumers of the
T*nit<=-d States and pays such dividends that its
common stock hi (tooted around 175. ah th»
favorite brands are owned by the trust. It =
Impossible to laugh at such an aggregation of
wealth. Snuff nap possibilities of humor until
you kn^w that the sneezing market has been cor
nered and made respectable and remunerative by
the tobacco combination. There is soap at the
modest price of 34" a share.
A candy company, organized a few years ago
as a consolidation of twenty plants. Is capitalized
at ?9/»00.000, has an annual output of 70.000,000
pounds of tooth destruction and yields a hand
some profit to its stockholders. No jest could be
levelled at Border's Condensed Milk, quoted on
the curb, around 140. nor at Eastman Kodak at
240. nor at the stock of the knowledge
s=pondence trust. which is capitalized at S 10,000,-
Ha, with electro-therapeutics and an X-ray clinic
on the side. There is no joke about the par value
CURB BROKERS SIGNALLING FROM THE STREET TO THEIR OFFICES.
As a Judge Taft was as fair as he was courageous.
The trial of Youtsey. who was charged with the
looting of the Newport (Kyi National Bank, was
held before him. "If the verdict is guilty." said
Youtsey's attorney, after the Jury went out, "we
might as well give up. for there's not a single
exception I can file to any one of the judge's
rulings. He is absolutely the fairest Judge I have
ever seen on the bench."
Friendship or relationship he would not permit
to interfere with Justice. On one occasion he de
cided atrainst his father-in-law. It is said that
Herron was exceedingly provoked with his son
in-law. The former appealed the case, and the
decision of the latter was sustained.
AN IMPARTIAL JUDGE.
On another occasion, having heard that the re
ceivers of a number of Ohio railroads were paying
rebates, he summoned them to appear before him.
Among them was Myron T. Herrick, who after
ward became Governor. The two were close friends,
and Mr. and Mrs. Herrick were invited to stay at
the Taft home while in Cincinnati. The morning
folio*** the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Herrick the
former went to the chambers of their host for the
purpose of transacting the business which had
brought him to Cincinnati.
, The conversation was something like this:
"Myron, have you been rebating?"
Mr* Herrick laid down a statement which mdl
ca'ted that IBMM had been paid to shippers.
•Jlyron." said the judge, after looking at the
statement, "if you have done this thing you can
not be permitted to escape."
Mr Herrick explained. The sum represented an
obligation which he had inherited as a receiver.
Morally be was bound to pay it. although it was
not an obligation of his contracting.
-Well that is different," said Judge Taft. with
a sigh 'of relief. •'Pleas- hereafter let me settle
judicial questions." he continued, with his Jolly
laugh "I will enter an order for the payment of
these claims, which are unquestionably just.' .You
have taken a great load from my mind. I should
not have liked to convict you of rebating.
When Taffs integrity was Questioned in the least
hi. wrath would flame forth. On one occasion a
man who had heard some gossip about what Taft
would do In connection with a certain case went
-Peop;e d are paying." said he, -that you will not
do full tin, to one side in this case.
"You get out of here," Judge Taft shouted, or
I'll throw on out!"
The cane, it BO happened, was not before him at
all but he would not tolerate a tattler.
SOME OF HIS DECISIONS.
There are innumerable stories of his considera
tion and thoughtfulness. Lawyers who had Justice
on their side, but were likely to lose because of
Their inability to cope with their adversaries. wer«
not infrequently helped by the judge to present
Sir is?s""uch away as to give the victory to
iU A^ g the cases which came before him in Ken
tnttaTwm. a suit Cor damage* brought by an In
tucKJ was i im« Ibr a , r j whose foot had
ek^rtoced £•*>«£ r r accident. The
Ti fw-Ts drawn up poorly, and could have been
[^ 'ra from the opposition
S? attorney for the railroad was a friend of
, ?• >• -Jan. while the girls attorney was unknown
uL v Judge Taft fixed the petition up himself
to him. JIM*. 1 ths Olig , aughl of the defence.
nlld «v«d £i£??Bsw«d tha damages and the
attorney .ftenAvd boasted th*t
half ™* r l not lh e only lawyer In Ken
tuck «ho« «umi dar, as e S out of .he railroad*
i uck y *h' < OUI . m * , awyPr appeared before .he
JieCarUa <a« which had caused him a
NEW-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, SUNDAY, JTTXE 14, 1908.
THE CURB MARKET IN BROAD STREET, WHERE BROKERS DO BUSINESS IN SUNSHINE. SHOWER OR SNOWSTORM.
of the typewriter trust, with its- control of all the
leading brands of machines, a capitalization of
jlMVinf.OOi.' and dividends up to S per cent. The
cuib does not fr^el it necessary to apologize to
the super-gilt shares of Standard Oil, which fluc
tuate In the neighborhood of 540 and might
hit the ceiling if they were not steadied by will-
Ing hands and an occasional judicial voice.
There is sn $11,000,000 meerschaum company
any one when it forms the exclusive market for
that claims to have discovered vast deposits of
pipe material in New Mexico that will make the
exclusive Turkey trade look like a Missouri corn
great deal of difficulty and toll. The facts were
not easy to present in a logical manner. He blun
dered alone, lisMng oui one fact after another.
but in such en illogical order that they lost their
force.
■•Now. as I understand it," broke in Judge Taft,
"the facts are these." Then he stated them brief
ly and clearly. The case was as clear as daylight.
The attorney, in delight, having the statement of
facts out of the way. began his argument.
Toward the end of his career as a federal judge
a young man was convicted in his court of violat
ing the postal laws. Judge Taft was convinced
that his crime was due more to Ignorance of the
law than criminal intent, so he suspended execu
tion of sentence.
"•Come back to me In six months," he said to
the young man.
War broke out before the six months had elapsed.
On the day that the period expired the young man
appeared before Judge Taft.
•I've come," he said as laconically as Grimaud
would have spoken.
"I see you have," replied Taft. cheerfully. "What
can I do for you?" Evidently he had forgotten
the young man. The reason for the appearance
was recalled to him by one of the attaches of the
court. A few questions revealed the way in which
the young man had spent his probationary period.
"And what are you doing now?"
"I'm trying to get into the army."
"Will they take you?"
••f think so, but I told them I couldn't enlist
until I'd seen you."
"Well," said Judge Taft, "you show yourself to
me here with Uncle Sams uniform on and you
needn't come after that."
The youth was accepted and his sentence was
remitted.
TAFT AND M'KINLEY.
At Murray Pay, Quebec, where Judge Taft has
been in the habit of spending His summers, a new
nickname was bestowed upon him. Somehow he
seems to be just the sort of a man to whom sobri
quets are applied. In every new group of asso
ciates he has received a new appellation, empha
sizing the characteristic which has appealed to
them most. They have always grown out of a
feeling of affection. Among the French of Quebec
it was a piquant phrase. "L* Petit Juge" ("the
Little Judge"). Perhaps this contradiction of terms
grew out of an incident which occurred there. One
day the boardwalk caught fire. Judge Taft, who
was likely to be busy with his Judicial duties, al
though nominally on ■ vacation, hearing a com
motion left his work and went out to see what
the trouble was. Realizing that tie flames would
soon spread to the cottages unless stopped, he
took charge of the operations. Under his direction
frightened native was set at work ripping up
th« boards with a crowbar. The worker was so
ineffective that Taft saw the fire would reach
the man before he could tear up the first board.
Thereupon "the Little Judge" bent his broad
back grasped the end of a board In both hands
and ii.i.. dlt off. Several other boards followed the
first, and the fire was stayed and the cottages
"one "day in 1900 President McKlnley and Judge
Day were travelling on the same train.
"I am in need of a man who Is strong, tactful and
honest for an executive in the Philippines," Fail
the President, turning to the former associate of
'^"You have described Judge Taft," replied Judge
Day Ellhu Root, then Secretary of War. was of
th» Mine opinion. n hp wM a pp roa< .hed -■-•■■ '-■■•'■-
T*ff* reply, when he *«* apprnarhed an.l asked
to turn •--•(•• from Mi ambition to become a mem
ber c* Ui«. Supreme Court, in effect, %va«. "V/by.
cob in a blizzard, but the. stock has not smoked
up very vigorously of late. Baking powder has
a present price of 140. with the. storm clouds
gathering of a fight to the. death with the. glu
cose trust, which proposes to go into the baking
powder business. Hitherto baking powder and
glucose have lain down together like the lion
and the lamb, the latter furnishing to the former
the starch necessary to manufacture the house
wife's friend. Glucose Is no mean antagonist,
having the backing of its redoubtable parent.
Petroleum, and the curb market will show a
pretty scrap one of these days.
SOME COMEDIAN STOCKS.
American Squab preferred came on the scene
not long 1 ago/ and there were hungry traders who
wished the birds were not quite so spiritualized.
It was announced that the shares represented a
sixty-acre squab farm in Pennsylvania, with a
capacity of thirty thousand breeders, capitalized
at 52.Vi.000. The promoter of the bird securities
told investors they could have a "put" for one.
year at 11. meaning that he would buy the stock
back at 11. or 10 per cent above par. In case there
was any dissatisfaction. General Electric Display
is another recent stock of a birdlike quality, the
object being to spread the, benefits of the white
and dazzling Rialto illumination as to cocoa, break
fast food and cocktails throughout the cities of
darker America. Celluloid, natural food and smoke
less powder are regularly listed on the curb.
There are comedian stocks and farcical slapstick
Issues that perform antics after seasons of periodic
obscurity. Some of these long ago played engage
ments In houses of high finance, fell Into evil as
sociations, were taken in charge by receivers and
one day made their bow on the curb vaudeville to
do a song-and-dance specialty or give an Imita
tion of themselves in better days. A con
vulsive semblance of vivacity often marks such
worn out issues. Bay State Gas is the classic ex
ample of greatness brought low. Once this Ad
dicks creation was highly esteemed and repe
sented a capitalization of $160,000,000. Now In the
I am not the man you want. To begin with, I have
never approved of keeping the Philippines."
The President is said to have replied that this
was his view also, but that the responsibility could
not be shifted.
WORK IN PHILIPPINES.
When Taft was finally accepted, he illustrated,
his character afresh in expressing his reason for
doing so. |
"I w.mt to do those people good."
That desire may be measured by his dispatch to
President Roosevelt when "his chief" desired to
fulril bis ambition by appointing him to the Su
preme bench: "L«ook forward to time when I can
accept such an offer, lmt even if it is certain that
it can never be r> peated I must row decline."
Every one knows how Taft came to be known to
the Filipinos as "Santo" Taft.
A story which illustrates his method of getting
Into contact with th» Filipinos is told of his visit to
the province of Bulacan to inaugurate a local civil
government. He inquired for the most prominent
Pt;=< n in the place. This personage proved to be
an ex-captain of Spanish volunteers. According
to Continental custom, h^ appeared dressed as for a
great ceremonial. Ho was stiff with dignity, and
ins uniform was resplendent with a row of decora-
Uons. Instead of appearing in a blaze of military
toggery. a!: was expected. Taft wore o"!ily a suit
of liprlit linen. He grasped the little Spanish of
ficers' hand and exclaimed heartily: "How d'ye do?
Glad to see you!"
Two weeka later the ex-captain received his com
mission. When he appeared to take office he. too.
wore a linen si;;i, to the astonishment of the
native.-, who inquired, "Flow is this?"
"It is no longer customary." replied he. as h"
grasped a hand in imitation of the Governor. Taft
Introduced the "glad hand" and democracy in the
Philippines.
Bo many successful great labors have been per
formed in the sight of nil the world by the probable
candidate of the Republican party in the few years
that have elapsed since he accepted the. appoint
ment on the Philippine Commission that one can
hardly realize he was so little known at the time
of his appointment that a newspaper of Bos
ton, that city of "light and leading," in printing ■■'.
sketch of the appointee printed that of his brother.
ALWAYS HUMOROUS.
When you hear a roar of laughter coining from
the direction of the President's office in Washing
ton it Is a certainty that the Secretary of War is
there. Sometimes it Is a single laugh— the Presi
dent's— one hears: again it is a duet; still
again It Is a chorus. But, whatever the source, it
Is certain that William H. Taft is responsible. No
matter how sombre the day or how sober the crowd
surrounding the President, the Secretory of War
is the ray of human sunshine that drives the clouds
away and makes the routine of official business
taße on a roseate hue. Some one dubbed him the
"merry candidate," and If the habit of looking on
the pleasant side of every problem, of never nurs
ing a "grouch," of tackling every knotty question
with a smile and of greeting the world at largo
with a handshake and a laugh makes a man that
sort of a seeker for office, Mr. Taft fltn the title.
Whole soiiled frankness, wide open honesty, broad
gauged Judgment, "bigness," but withal thorough
ness, are the characteristics that governed his
Steady, sure ascendency in the public service. Dig
nity with benignity, joviality with sobriety. justice
with mercy, have endeared him to American, Fili
pino, Cuban and all the numerous people whose
affairs he has been called to administer. No won
der his unfailing good humor has proved Infectious
wherever h* '<■<=• gone and that his popularity to
day tar" exceeds that of. all other candidates.
hands of a receiver, it is quoted on th« curb
around thirteen-sixteenths of a dollar and oc
casionally varies the monotony of the last funeral
rites with a spasmodic upward movement. How
ever, a corpse is not always a corpse. Take the
so-called Northern Securities stubs, widen repre
sent the remains of a great railroad merger dis
solved by the Supreme Court seven years ago.
The company, reduced to one-hundredth part of its
$335,000,000 capitalization, still owns valuable coal
lands, pays dividends and is quoted at 106.
The yearning to discount the future finds expres
sion in the trading in rights— otherwise the privi
lege of stockholders to subscribe for new issues at
par— months before the rights become due.
Active curb trading takes place on new bond
issues before they can be listed on the Stock Ex
change. There is even buying and selling of the
unknown. Based on the report that certain di
rector? will issue certain securities, and the cabal
istic sign "w. i." covers most contingencies, mean
ing "when, if and as issued." It i* somewhat like
betting that a certain horse will some time win the
race if the animal enters the race and if some
other animal doesn't get there first Yet the gal
lant speculators of the open market don't mind
such minor uncertainties.
When a rumor spread of the future merger of
New York car lines that proved to be the Inter
horouch-Metropolitan the men of the curb busily
dealt in an imaginary issue of Consolidated Trac
tion and later some of them repudiated their con
tracts on the ground that Interborough-Metropol
itan and Consolidated Traction were different prop
OFFICE MEN SIGNALLING TO AND RECEIVE SIGNALS FROM BROKERS ON
THE CURB.
ositionf>. The point was slightly technical, and
more technical was the action of one broker, who
at a printing expense of $10 organized a highly
capitallzed Consolidated Traction Company, of
which he was the exclusive proprietor and tried
to satisfy his customers with armfuls of the stock.
The broker's Mends apologized for him. saying
he had great ideas, but he was hampered by a
lack of capital to carry them out successfully, like
the true Napoleons of the district.
A DEAL IN TROUSERS.
A more refined sens*> of honor and sportsman
ship, though on a small scale, was shown by two
brokers who mot In a c«fe after business hours.
One was penniless, the other flush. The wealthy
broker matched his own against the other's coat
and- waistcoat, and having won these garments
compelled the loser to shed them. The trousers
worn by the bettors wen then put in lbs balance,
and this time the penniless broker won and forced
the loser to make an Immediate delivery of the
garment. Without trousers the man of means felt
himself at a disadvantage, especially as the caf*
proprietor threatened to call a policeman, and he
shortly Fettled with his opponent by writing a
check for $'.00. Incidentally, all hands had a dem
onstration of the difference between use-values and
...
exchange- values.
The reason why come high class securities are
found on the curb is that their issuers really do
not want a market and decline to make the de
tailed statements required for entry on the Stock
Exchange list. These Etocks are closely held or
monopolized by a few men. ami generally they
come to the open maikf i only in small lots, through
death or accident. Small holder* of Standard Oil.
for example, (ill some unloading last year on ac
count of the Landii tine. The business depression
caused some sill edged securities to sma M from
their hiding places.
Scrip or fractions of shares issued to equalize
new allotments of stock In reorganization* '■ •
specialty of some curb brokers. These traders an
about with a miscellaneous assortment of one-flftli
of an oil share, seven-thirty-seconds of a. railroad
security and eight-ninths of m gold mine stock, try
ing to obtain the missing fractions to complete a.
..nit. ir 4a sell ------ - -•■'.-' *u> test oca who cm
a larger percentage of the whole. It la like matcft
ing up a puzzle, and sometimes odd pt»i— ot
shares lie around for years b«for» flndla* thei*
mates.
The Stock Exchange does not recognize th« curb
and th© curb does not recognize the Stock Ex
change, yet CO per cent of the two hundred mem
bers of the open market represent houses of th«
regular exchange. It Is a rule of the exchange net
to permit its members to do business with any
other stock exchange, and this rule Is Bald to be
mainly responsible for the disorganized state of
the curb and Its open air stand. A mere roof over
head, it Is held, would transform the nature of th»
curb from a spontaneous market to an institution
and compel «he regular exchange to enforce its)
rule against rival.". Team ago the brokers wearied
of exposure to winter blasts and summer suns and
tried to become housed, but the organization soon
broke up and the open street was again the ren
dezvous. Whether making a virtue of necessity
or not. the curb trader to-day professes that he la
enamored of bis wholesome, natural life la tha
open air. and nothing could Induce him to spend
the same five hours In oClce confinement.
He is proof against changes of weather and sea
son. In rainy weather he dons hip boots and yel
low oilskins, like a mariner. He is lightly clad
in August, and keeps moving so that his feet do
not sink far into the gluey asphalt. In winter he
defies blizzards in fur garments. The curb space
is always cleared by the official sweeper in ad
vance of the opening hour, no matter how much.
snow there may be In the street, and If the snow
continues to fly the broom keeps pace with It dur
ing the market session.
A SELF-APPOINTED RULES.
E. 8. Mendele. the self-appointed autocrat of the
curb, is a rotund, cheerful, smiling son of Louisi
ana, who has devised the laws of th* market after
thirty-five yeara' experience and has found them
good in his Bight.
"I marvel at my own power, which I have given
to myself." he says. "You s*» how I walk up and
down the lin« settling disputes and issuing edicts
that are instantly obeyed. Here is th« book of my
statutes prescribing the details with which all
business shall be transacted. Here Is a pink card
and a green card and a yellow card, conveying
my various desires. The blackboard on the street
carries my Immediate messages. I issu» buttons
to official messengers, fix their rate of charges,
keep a register of legitimate stocks, forbid trad
ing with strangers and assess a voluntary tax of
$12 a year upon each of my subjects to pay street
cleaning and office expenses. How I manage to
do all "this without the backing of an army and
a navy, not to mention such things as constitu
tions, ballots and means of moulding public opin
ion, is rather beyond my comprehension. Once in
a while I create a temporary kitchen cabinet to
assist me. But I am careful to avoid every ap
pearance of organization and constitutional gov
ernment. There is probably no use speculating 1
how I rose- to power, why I am abl« to govern
what doesn't ex!«t and what will happen when I
choose to lay down the sceptre. Perhaps history
will not judge me so harshly when It learns that
I labored as czar without salary or other material
reward."
Th* curb has its characters. Am"* Bteff— - •'
Mayor of Oil City. Perm.. is pointed out •» on©
of the big operators. There is broad shouldered
and handsome "Billy" Gallagher, with his short
trimmed blonde mustache, wh" makes things hum
in the mining field and might serve for the model
of the hero in "Friday, the Thirteenth." A slight
chinned youth is indicated as Osborne. leading
juvenile in th« Helen Maloney elopement affair.
Franklin Leonard, jr.. BJ a lawyer and an officer
in several mining companies. There are other law
yers Borne of the old curb Bawls are shining in
the Stock Exchange, and others have dwindled out
in places not so respectable.
An unkempt, gray ghost, a living sermon, «ttands
or slowly paces for five hours every day the as
phalt on the north side of the rope barrier. His
eyes are on the ground, and ho mutters incoher
ently. Tb»y tell you that "Barney** Is th« official
hmati-% quite, harmless, who u»ed to bo a t»le*ra.pn
operator, lost a!! hi? money in speculation and
dees nothing but haunt las place of his disaster.
Figures more pleasant are the two stout old women
who have peddled sandwiches t.» messengers on
tho south side of the inclosura from time Im
memorial and have a monopoly by request of
their friends among the brokers.
An annual business cf JIW.tOO.OOO Is credited to
the New York open market.
Boston has a curb governed by a committee of
three. Unlikt th- American markets, the curbs
of London. Paris and Berlin meet after the regu
lar exchanges have closed for th» day.
The limit of cheapness. Informality and chanc*
is by no means reached on th» outdoor market.
There are sorts of privately conducted curbs that
do a large mail order business and excite th*
avarice of backwoods capitalists with offerings of
stock positively guaranteed to yield 24 per cent
a year and upward. One of these Institutions late
ly sent out a circular boosting an alleged security
with such statements as, "Th« thing you b«llev«
In will benefit you. Faith Is hygienic. ... *
Plenty of attractive stocks were quoted at one
cent each. anJ among the li3t were such names
of appeal as Baby Florence, Boswyocolo Co.. GoM
Bug Johnnie. Lvciy !:>h. Grandma, Happy Jack
Alaska, Yellow Tiger and Vulture of Wonder.
A PROPHET IN HIS OWN COUNTRY.
"I don't believe." remarked good old Aunt Loeezy.
••that LAgc Potter Is aSSBJ very well in CawSsaw." 1
"Oh, 1 don't know." replied Uncle Liphalet.
"Lige asatat be a party sharp chap before he went
there."
"Yes. but we've be«n takin* this Chicago paper
four years now, and it's never once mentioned his
name, even when the hull Potter family went thera
ter visit him!"— Puck
v*M