Hi Pancho: Funny you should say that when I have the following in my hand. This is from my collection; a bit long; but it may prove interesting to history lovers. From an article entitled "The New York Stock Board."
". . . some years ago, a young clerk having honestly come by a few hundred dollars, bought Erie stock with it at about 30. It rose in a few weeks to 45 or so. He made several thousand dollars. He continued to speculate. He bought other stocks, which rose likewise. He extended his operations, gave up his office, invested all his money and his time in his gambling schemes. All throve. Every stock he touched rose. He began to feel that he was a person of very superior judgement. His broker rather shared the opinion, listened respectfully to his orders, and asked him for hints. He took a fine house and lived well. When he had made considerably over a hundred thousand dollars his broker took him into his inner room one morning.
'Mr. L______,' said the honest man, 'the balance in my hands due you is now $_______, considerably more than you will want to live upon for the rest of your life. You have a mother and sisters. If you continue to speculate you will infallibly lose every dollar. Let me entreat and implore of you to draw out this money, and go to Europe for a couple of years.'
The young man laughed scornfuly at the suggestion, and intimated that he was old enough to take care of himself.
'Then Sir,' said the broker, 'you will be good enough to withdraw your balance and close your account with me, for I will have no hand in ruining you.'
He did so; engaged other brokers who were glad of the business; and was a beggar within sixty days, without employment, or money, or credit, or capacity for work." (Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization. New York, Saturday, September 12, 1857.) |
