The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 9, 1903, Page 7

HE SUNDAY CALL 7 (Copyright HE clerks gave rewell din- ner. All were there the head office boy, to whom the $2 subscrip- tion was no light matter. The man who probably w 4 succeed Gil- martin as manager acted as toastmaster. He made s witty speech. Mioreover, be seemed sincerely sorry to bid good-by to the man whose departure wh meant promotior compliment of & amson ong since ambition proof, b ceaselessly by who knew ness much better Giimar and Baldwin, who never thought of b ness in or out of the of- fice—all told him how good he had been and how sorry they were he would mo longer be with them, but how he was go- ing to do so much better by himself, and they hoped be would mot “cut” them when be met them after he had become & great milionatre. And Glimartin feit his beart grow soft, and feelings not all of happiness came over him G 4 been eager to go to Wall this leave-taking made him martin street he was very y sorry, boys t never return—and was & new doul gt street rew beck ® spoke to they imagined Their ef- sense of su- Shtss eir ad- he won his discérnment y s y scold- recklessness y stood before the watched « Qquick- v which ers read # came from the e higher stocks went the more erous customers became. All were ¥ g, for all were buying stocks . e Life to all of them was ticker sounded and the other e ¥ at the mildest f stories withou waiting for the 5 f the joke. They were all ucophytes : ed—by the . em said, very grave- out of a eer sk t lasted it was very unCo 2 joyous, win- ning stock g s beaming faces, & = > wit H faces, what t alled the day of es only a slump; sual. Too many bs speculating. The esale de es—ond inse- rities—held { their own wares, having s the lambs wanted t k now—cheaper. #0 th ught Jjo elmost had cherte of reams & A3 at instead € fasc Gilmartin said I've changed about Newport spend the summer on my owr 4 And he grin : but ne. W the dry goo. m laughs so joyously at every- t s jokes, was now watching, as If der a hypnotic s the lips of the high stool beside the who sat on the ke end cealled out the prices to the boy. Brown, the siender, pale- faced man was outside in the hall pacing &r " All was lost, including honor martin came out from the office, saw d, with sickly bravado: long as I could. But A sporting life comes heed him, and Gil- e elevator button Im- e delay. He not profits he had ie buil market, but cars had crumbled he strokes of the ticker . mp most of the customers &ir tegitimate business. Gil- the first numbing shock, t tresh opportunities In the But his heart was not uis search. There as toe shame of essing defest in Wall stréet so soon efier leaving Malden lane; but far stoeng- then this was the effect o1 the polson of ga ng. A few lucky weeks in the siock market would win bim back all he hed Jost—and more! He saw it mow very clearly. Ewery ene of his mistakes had been due to in- txperience. He had imagined that he knew the market. But it was only now et he really knew Iit, and . therefore was only noew that he could ressonabdly Lope to succeed. Properly epplied, this wisdow ought to mean much to him. In e few weeks he was again spending his days before the quotation board, gossiping with those customers who had survived, giving and recelving advice. And as time passed the grip of Wall street on his soul grew stronger until it strangled all other aspirations. He could talk, think dream nothing but stocks. He could not read the newspapers without thi ing how market would “take’ ti news contained therein The atmosphere of the street, the odor of speculation surrounded him on all sides, enveloped him like a fog, from which the things of the outside wor appeared as though seen thr He lived in the district not say “Good-morning enother, but “How's when one asks “How d ves for an answer sh,” instead of a state of health At first, after tin speculate did. They of the h a veil n do where m on reply regarc the br redit in & smal were kindly eno him the impo sincerely wished to help With ran sgainst him unsuperstitious fighting market; and the m he thought the r cent, i b t last hundrec chance the last, because he would be sure to win And, of course, the long expected hap- pened, and the market went up with a rapidity that made the street blink; and Gllmartin figured that, had not the brok- ers refused his last order, he would have made enough to pay off indebtedness and have left in addition $20, for he would have “pyramided” on the way up. He showed the brokers his figures accus- irgly, and they had some words about it and he left the office almost tempted to sue the firm for conspiracy with intent to defraud When he returned to the broker’s office —the next day—he began to spec in the only way he could—vicariously. Smith, for instance, who was long of 5w St Paul at 125, took less interest in the deal than did Gilmartin, who thenceforth as- siduously studjed the new slips .and sought Information on St. Paul all over the street, listening thrillingly to tips and rumors regarding the stock. suffering keenly when the price de laughing and chirryping blithely if the quotations moved upward, exactly as though it were his own stock. Indeed, in some cases interest was 8o poignant and his advice s0 trequ: he would speak of our deal— thst the lucky winner gave him a small share of his spoils, which Gilmartin ac- cepted without hesitation—he was beyond pride wounding by now—and used to back some minfature deal of his Consolidated even dingy where they took orders for tw stock on a margin of 1 per cent in his promptly own on in the “Percy’s’—a bue shares of where a-man could bet as little as two dollars. Later, it often came to pass that Gil- tin would borrow a few dollars, when e customers were not trading actively. The amounts he borrowed diminished by reason of the increasing frequency of eir ref; Finally, he was asked to stay away from the office where once he had been an honored and pampered cus- tomer He became a Wall street “has been” could be seen daily on New street, k of the Consoliduted Exchar where the “put’” and “call” brokers con- gregate. The tickers In the nearby sa- loons fed his gambler's appetite. From time to time luckier men took him into the same betickered saloons, where he ate at free lunch counters and drank beer and talked stocks and listened to the lucky narratives with lips tremuious with readiness to smile and grimace. Ome day, ew street, he cverheard a very well known broker tell another that Mr. Bharpe was “going to move up Penn- sylvania Central right away.” The over- hearing of the conversation was a bit of rare good luck that raised Gilmartin from his sodden apathy and made him hasten to his brothef-in-law, who kept a grocery store in Brooklyn. He implored Griggs to g0 to & broker and buy as much Pennsyl- vania Central as he could—that is, If he wished to live in Juxury tue rest of his life. Sam Bharpe was going to put it up. Also, he borrowed $10. Griggs was tempted. He debated with himself many hours, and at length yleld- ed with misgivings. He ook his savings and bought 100 shares of Pennsylvania Central at 64 and began to neglect his business in order to study the financial pages of the newspapers. Finally, he had a telephone put in his little shop, to be able to talk to his brokers. Gilmartin, with the $10 he had bor- rowed, promptly bought ten shares in a bucket ghop at 68%; the stock promptly went to 62%;: be was promptly “‘wiped,” and the stock promptly went back to 644. On the next day a fellow customer of the Gilmartin of old days Invited him to have a drink. Glimartin resented the He felt indig- man’s evilent prosperity nant at the ability of the orher to buy hundreds of shares. But the liquor soothed him and in a burst of ‘wild re- morse he told Smithers, after an appre- about him, as if he feared some one might overhear: “I'll tell you something on the dead q. t., for your own benefit.” Fire away!” Cent. is going 'way up.” “Yes?' saild Smithers, calmly. = t will cross par, sure.” ' between munches of a pretzel. Yes. Sam ESharpe told”—Glimartin was on the point of saying a “‘friend of mine,” but caught himself and went on impres- sively—"told me yesterday to buy Pa. Cent., as he had accumulated his full line ard was ready to whoop it up. And you t Sharpe is,” he finished. hensive look mph know whi Is that 802" nibbled Emithers. Why, when Sharpe makes up his mitd to put up a stock, s he intends to do with Pa. Cent, nothing on earth can stop h He toid me he would make it crous par within eixty days. This is no hear- sev, no tip. It's cold facts. I don't hear 1U's going up; 1 don’t think it's going up; 1 know it's going up. Understand?" In less than five minutes Smithers was so wrought up that he bought 00 shares and promised solemnly not to “take his profits,” i. e., sell out, until Gilmartin sald the word. Then they had another drink and another look st the ticker. “You want to keep in touch with me. said Gllmartin. “I'll tell you what Sharp~ tells me. But you must keep it quiet,” with a sidewise nod that pledged Smith- ers to honorable secrecy. Had Gilmartin met Sharpe face to face he would not have known who was before him Shortly after he lett Smithers he bui- tonholed another acquaintance, a young man who thought he knew Wall street, and therefore had a hobby—manipulation. No one could induce him to buy stocks by telling him how well the companies were doing, how bright the prospects, etc. That was the bait for “suckers,” not for clever young stock operators. But any one, even a stranger, who said that “they'—the per- ennially mysterious “they,” the “big me the mighty “manipulators” whose e was one prolonged conspiracy to pu:l the over the public's eves—'‘they” were going to “jack up” these or the other shares, was welcomed, and his ad- vice acted upon. “You're just the man T was looking for,” said Gilmartin, who hadn’t thought of the young man at all. “Are you a deputy sheriff?’ “No.”" A slight pause, for oratorical ef- fect. *I a long talk with Sam to- wool had day “What 8am?” “glarpe. The old boy sent for me. He was In mighty good humor, too. Tickled to death. He might well be—he's got 60.- 000 shares of Pennsylvania Central. And there's going to be from 50 to 60 points profit n 1t.” “Huh,” sniffed Freeman, skeptically, yet sed by the change in Gilmartin's de from the money-borrowing hu- y of the previous week to the confi- nt tone of a man with a straight tip. Sharpe was notoriously kind to his old friends—rich or poor. s | there when the papers were signed.” Gilmartin said, hotly “I was go- ing to leave the room, but Sam told me T needn’t. 1 can't tell you what it is about; really I can't. But he's simply going to put the stock above par. Let me know who is manipulating a stock, and to h—l was with dividends and earnings. Them's my sentiments,” with a final hammering if driving In a profound truth. nod, as “Same here,” assented Freeman, cor- dially. He was attacked on his vulnerable side. Strange things happen in Wall Btreet. Sometimes tips come true. It so proved in this case. Sharpe started theé stock up- ward brilllantly—the movement became historic _in the Street—and Pa. Cent. soared dizzily and all the newspapers talked of it and the public went mad over it and it touched 80 and 8 and 88 and higher, and then Gllmartin made his brother-in-law sell out and Smithers and Freeman. Thelr profits were: Griggs, $3000; Smithers, $15,100; Freeman, $2750. Gllmartin made them give him a good percentage. He had no trouble with his 1 rother-in-1 Gllmartin told him it was an inviolable Wall Street custom, and so Griggs pald with an air of much experi- ence in such matters. Freeman was more or less grateful. But Smithers met Gil- martin and full of his good luck r« ted what he had told & dozen men within an hour: “I did a dandy stroke the other day. Pa, Cent. looked to me like higher prices, and 1 bought a wad of it. I've cleaned up a tidy sum,” and he looked proud of his own penetration. He really had forgotten that it was Gilmartin who had given him P IO NEN CRERRL the tip. But not so Gilmartin, who retorted, witheringly “Well, I've often heard of folk that you put into good things and they make money and afterward Lhey come to you and tell you how darned smart they were to hit it right. But they can't work that on me. I've got witnesses.” “Witnesses?”’ echoed Smithers, looking cheap. He remembered. “Yes, wit-ness-es.,”” mimicked Gil- martin. scornfully. “I all but had to get on my knees to make you buy it. And 1 told you when to sell it, teo. The information came to me straight from headquartérs and you got the uge of it, and now the least you can do 1s to give me $2500." In the end he accepted 3500, It seemed as though the regenera- tion of Gilmartin had been achieved when he changed his shabby raiment for expensive clothes. He pald his tradesmen’'s bills and moved into bet- ter quarters. He spent his money as though he had made milifons. Orne week after he had closed out the deal his friends would have sworn Gflmartin had always been prosperous. He began to speculate again, in the office of Free- man's brokers. At the end of the second menth he had lost not only the $1200 he had deposited with the firm, but an additional $250 he had eiven his wife and had been obliged to “borrow' back from her, despite her assurances thaf he would lose it. This time the slump was really unexpected by all, so that the loss of the second fortune did not reflect on Gilmartin's ability as a speculator, but on his luck. As a matter of fact, he had been too careful and had sinned from’ overtimidity at first, only to plunge later and lose all. As the result of much thought about his losses, Glimartin became a prefessional tipster. To let others speculate for him seemed the only sure way of winning. He began by advising ten victims—he learned in time to call them clients—to sell Stecl Rod preferred, each man 100 shaves, and to a sscond ten he urged the purchase of the same quantity of the same stock. To all he advised taking four points’ profit. Not all followed his advice, but the seven clients who sold it made between them nearly $3000 over night. His percentage amounted to $287 50. 8ix bought, and when they lost he told them confidentiully how the tregchery of a leading member of the pool had obliged the pool managers to withdraw thelr support from the stock temporarily, whence the decline, They grumbled, but he assured them that he himself had lost nearly $1600 of his own. For some months Gilmartin made a fair living, but business became very dull. People learned to fight shy of his tips. Had he been able to make his customers alternate their winnings and lusses he might have kept his trade. But, for ex- ample, “‘Dave” Rossiter, in Stuart & Stern’s office, stupidly received the wrong tip six times in succession. It wasn't Gil- martin's fault, but Rossiter's bad luck. At length, failing to get enough clients in the ticker district itself, Gilmartin was forced to advertise in an afternoon paper, six times a week, and in the Sunday edi- tion of one of the leading morning dailies. The advertisements ran like this: WE MAKE MONEY for our investors by the best system ever devised. Deal With genuine experts. Two inethods of operating—one specula- tive, the other (naures absolute saiety. is lhe’lml to invest in a cartain stock for ten points sure profit. Three points margin will carry it. Remember how correct we have been on other stocks. IDLAND. Blg movement coming in this stock. Its Very near at hand. Am waiting dafly for word. Will get it in time. Splendid opportunity to make big money. It costs only a 2-cent stamp to write to me. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. Private secretary of banker and stock operator of world-wide reputation has valuable information. I don't wish your money. Use your own broker. All I want s a share of what you will surely make it you follow my advi ADVANCE PER SHARE. A fortune to be made In a rallroad. Deal pending which will advance share within three months. Am in position to keep informed as to devélopments and the éperations of pocl. Parties who will carry for me 1 shares with a New York Stock Exchange Fonmation. | Tavestment sate and “sute, t safe ‘Highest references given. b, n.h:rmml amazingly. Answers came to him from furniture dealers on Fourth avenue and dalrymen up the State and fruit growers in Delaware and factory ‘workers in Massachusetts and electricians in New Jersey and coal miners in Penn- sylvania and shopkeepers and physicians and plumbers and undertakers in towns and cities near and far. Every morning Gilmartin telegraphed to scores of people —at thelr expense—to sell, and to scores of others to buy the same stocks. And he claimed his commissions from the win- ners. . Little by lttle his savings grew and ‘with them grew his desire to speculate oa his own account. He met Freeman one day in one of his dissatisfied moods. Out of politeness he asked the young eynic the universal query of the Street: “What do you think of 'em?” He meant stocks. “What difference does it make what I think?” sneered Freeman, with proud humility. “I'm nobody.” But he looked as if he did not agree with hi: “What do you know?"’ pursued Gllmar tin, mollitying. “I know enough to be long on Gotham Gas. I just bought 1000 shares at 180.” He really had bought 100 only. “What on?" “On information. I got it straight from a director of the company. Look here, Gilmartin, I'm pledged to secrecy. But, for your own benefit, I'll just tell you to buy all the Gas you can possibly carry. The deal Is on. I know that cer« tain papers were signed last night, and they are almost ready to spring it on the public. They haven’t got all the steck they want. When they get it, look out for fireworks.” Gilmartin did not perceive any resem- blance between Freeman's tips and his own. He sald, hesitatingly, as though ashamed of his timidity: “The stock seems pretty high at 1%.” “You won't think so when it sells at 250. Gilmartin, I don’t hear this; I don’t think it; I know it!" “All right; T'm in@ quoted Gilmartin, jovially, and bought 10 shares of Getham Gas at §185 per share. Also he telegraph- od to all his clients te plunge in the steck. It fluctuated between 184 and 1M for & fortnight. Freeman daily asseverated that “they” were accumulating the steck. But one fine day the directors met, agreed that business was bad, and having sold out most of thelr own holdings, decided to reduce the dividend rate from 8 to § per eent. Gotham Gas broke enteen points In ten short minutes, Glimartin lost ail’ he hag. He found it impossible to pay for hiy advertisements. The telegraph com- Panies refused to accept any more “col- lect” messages. This deprived Gilmartin of his income as a tipster. Griggs had kept on speculating and had lost all his money and his wife’s In a little deal in JTowa Midland. All that Gilmartin could hope to get from him was an occasional invitation to din- ner. Mrs. Gllmartin, after they were dis- possessed for mon-payment of rent, left her husband and went to live with & sis- ter in Newark. His clothes became shabby and his meals Irregular. But afways in his heart, ag abiding as an inventor's faith in him-~ self, there dwelt the hope that some day, somehow, he would strike it rich in the stock market. One day he borrowed §§ from a mana who had made five thousand in Cosmopol- itan Traction. The stock, the man sald, bad only begun to.go up, and Gilmartia Delleved it and Dbought five shares in “Percy’s,” his favorite bucket shop. The stock began to rise slowly, but stesdily. The next afternoon “Percy’s” was ralded. Gilmartin lingered about New street, talking with other customers of the ralded bucket shop, discussing whejher or not it was & “put up job” of old cy himself, who, it was known, had been lasing money to the crowd for weeks past, One by onme the victims went away and a. length Gilmartin left the.ticker district. He walked slowly down Wall street, then turned up Wiliam street, thinking of his Juck. He had not even his carfare. Then he remembered that he had not eaten since breakfast. It did him no good to remem- ber it now. He would have to get his din- ner from Griggs in Brooklyn. “Why,” Glilmartin told himself, with & burst of curious self-contempt, *“T ean’t even buy a cup of coffee He raised his head and looked abeut BE At first e felt vaguely what It meant. It had grown unfamiliar with abssnce. The clerks wers coming out Jamaesen, looking crustier than ever; Daany, some inches taller, no longer an office boy, but spick and span In a blue serge suit and & necktie of the latest style, exhaling health and correctuness; Williamson, grown very gray and showing on his face thirty years of routine; Baldwin, happy as of yore at the ending of the day’'s work, and smiling at the words of Jeakins—Gllmartin's smo- cessor, who wore an alr of authority, of the habit of command which he had net known In the old days. Of a sudden Gilmartin was in the midst of his old life. He saw all that he had been, all that he might still be. And be was overwhelmed. He longed to rush to his old associates, to speak to them, to shake hands with them, to be the old Gil- martin. He was about to step toward Jeakins, but stopped abruply. His clothes were shabby and he felt ashamed. He turned on his heel with a sudden impulse and walked away from Malden lane quickly. All he thought now was that he would net have them see him in his plight. As he walked & great sense of loneliness came over him, “If 1 could only buy some Cosmopolitan Traction!” he sald. Then he walked for- lornly northward to the great bridge, on his way to Brooklyn to eat with Grigss, the ruined grocery man. ——— f In Arctic Alasks. To undertake to give peo- ple & correct conception of Arctic America, or of any part of 'it, is difficult Al- though they kmow that the country is much larger than the United States, they leok upon it as being all alike—a ‘country of long, dark win- ters, flelds of ice and smow, and barren wastes. In truth, within Arctic and sub-Arctie America thers is much &i- versity of climate, = writes Andrew J. Stone in Serid- ner's. And in this beautiful summer-land of Alaska there are in midsummer endliess flelds of besutiful plant Ufa Many times I have left my camp at the foot of the mountains, and, passing through & lttle meadow, where & variety of wild grasses waved their tops above my head, I would commence to climbd among the dense, tangled and al- most tropical jungle of al- ders, where grew several va~ rieties of the most beautiful of the alders, great, waving flelds of the purple lupine and dainty red oolumbine coversd acres and acres of the high, rolling hills. Among them wild celery and wild parsnip grew many feet high, and other luxuriand follage-plants gave my sur- réundings an almost tropi- cal appearance. A little far- ther, many little ponds grew beautiful, yellow lilies, with their great leaves resting on the surface of the water, and tfle purple irls bordered the shores. Still higher came the yel- low sun-flowers, white and purple daisies in endless fields, and, higher yet, vio- Jets, pinks, forget-me-nots, puttercups and blusbells and dozens and dosens of dainty, blossoming plants in many colors. Purple the predominat- ing color, them white and yellow and blue and pink &i- viding heners. But few red flowers were seen. I have traveled many milés, whare every foot of my way was one grand profusion of beau- tiful flowers In many varie- ties. —_— In New York City last year the surface and elevated lines carried about twice as many passengers as wers carried by all the steam rail- ways of ¢he United States combined. The numl of passengers in New York was above 1,200,000,000, of whom the surface railways carried about 80 per cent. Last year the people of New York pald out for rides upon the surface and elevated lines the snug sum of $48,000,000, or about one-eighth of the gross passen- ger earnings of all the steam rallways in W= r—