Christmas in the Olden Time [pp. 726-727]

1Y26 C'iTRIST~YAS 1K TIlE oir~w H3iE. [Di~cEMBEP 28,
is, that it is controlled by a clique. The clique
holds enough of it to control the market and
exact such terms as may be desired. An upward movement is suddenly developed, and
then the bears, who have sold "short," in expectation of lower prices, become alarmed,
and begin to buy. In the majority of cases
the men who work the advance are the very
ones who bought what the bears sold, and
they are now selling it to them, at high figures, for delivery back to themselves.
"Twisting" is the process of making the
bears pay high prices for what they probably
sold at low prices, and "covering" is the
operation of buying stock to close "short"
contracts. Once in a while a stock is so
closely "cornered" that it can be borrowed
only at enormo"s interest for the day's useperhaps at a rate that is equal to one thousand per cent. per annum. An operation of
this sort is the worst "squeeze" of all, and it
is not to be wondered at that, as the genflemen of the Stock Exchange say, the bears
generally "squeal" under it. One shrewd
manipulator of stocks is known to have
cleared fifty il~ousand dollars in one day by
loaning a fancy stock that he had "cornered." But the same gentleman sometimes
gets into a "corner" prepared by others. It
is commonly understood that he was fleeced
to the amount of nearly two millions during
the lively "Northwest" gale, a few weeks
S'nce.
"Puts" and "calls" are terms of more
than ordinary difficulty for the uninitia~ted to
understand. Their meaning may, however,
be made comparatively plain. A, for instance, proposes to "put"to B-that is, deliver to him-a certain amount of a certain
stock, within a certain time, at a price agreed
~pon when the contract is made, and gives
B a bonus of one, t'vo, or three per cent.,
as the case may be, for the privilege. This
is a " put." If the stock does not decline in valu~ to an amount a the
sum given to B, A cannot make any thing
by the transaction; and, unless he chooses
to deliver the stock, he is not obliged to
do so. If it falls more than that amount,
A may make a good profit; for B, having accepted the bonus, is bound to take the stock,
even though it may be selling five or ten per
cent. below the price at which he agreed to
take it.
A "call"is pretty much the same thing,
with this difference: A gives B a hundred
or a thousand dollars, or whatever sum may
be agreed upon, for the privilege of "calling" from B a certain amount of stock,
within a given number of days. If the stock
advances, A may "call" it and make money.
If it declines, he need not "call" it; but, of
course, the bonus he gave to B is forfeit.
There are times when the business in "puts"
and "calls"is quite large, and a great deal
of money is made by it; but, like all other
kinds of speculation, it is dangerous to the
inexperienced.
"Scoop" is a term less familiar to the
pubic than any of the foregoing. The
"scoop-game," a very common one in Wall
Street, is played in this way: A clique of
speculators, let us suppose, want to get possession of a good deal of some particular
stock, which they have reason to believe will
soon advance in price; but, of course, they
want to get it cheap, and they accomplish
their object by starting a break in the stock.
This is done by offering it at low figures.
They instruct their brokers to offer small
quantities under the market-price, and keep
on offering it lower and lower, until other
holders of the same stock, who are not in
their confidence, become alarmed and sell
out at the best price they can get. In the
mean time the clique have other brokers buying all the stock that is offered; and thus
they get possession of a large amount of
stock at low prices, whid~ they can probably
sell, a few days later, at a large profit. The
"scoop.game"is one of the most profitable
that the Wall-Street gentlemen play.
The process of "washing "-a very good
one in its ordinary sense-is often employed
in Wall Streat. "Washing" is a peculiar
operation there-very peculiar, indeed-and
the outsider ought to keep as far as possible
from the suds. A clique is as necessary to
it as to the "scoop" business. There is a
stock on the list, for instance, that the public
persists in letting alone; and the holders of
it want to stir up some excitement in this
stock, and induce the public to buy it. llow
do they proceed? Their plan is quite simple:
Several brokers-let us suppose four-are
employed to "wash" the stagnant stock.
No. 1 offers to sell. No. 2 takes what is
offered. No. 3 wants to buy. No. 4 sells 3
all he wants. This is kept up for a few days,
the price rising steadily as the "wash" proceeds; but not one share of the stock is actually sold. But the innocent outsider, supposing these fictitious transactions to be real, and
thinking there is a chance to make a turn in
the stock, goes in as a buyer himself. Ten to
one, he will1]never get as much for the stock
as he paid, for it falls stagnant again when
the speculators have got it off their hands
"Coppering" is a term recently introduced, but very well understood in the stre~t.
It means operating in a direction contrary to
that of another operator. For example, one
man buys a particular stock, believing that it
will advance; another man, observing that
the first has not been lucky in his operations,
sells this particular stock, believing fl~at it
will decline. Or the first may sell a stock
"short," and the second, calculating on the
other's ill-luck, will buy. This sort of speculation is carried on only by the smaller class
of operators, and may be set down as sheer
gambling.
A "straddle" is a double privilege, entitling the purchaser to either "put" or
"call" a stock. The hem's is generally
double the amount paid for the single privilege of "put" or "call."
A "margin" ~ the money deposited with
the broker through whom stocks are purchased, as security against a sudden depreciation. The amount is generally about ten per
cent. of the par-value of the stock. "Margins" are the rocks on which so many adventurers on the uncertain waters of speculation
are utterly wrecked.
"Carrying" means holding stocks on a
"margin," in anticipation of higher prices.
Often a stock is "carried" for six months
but generally the time is not more than two
months, and frequently not more than a week.
~uick turns are the rule with the majority of
speculators.
"Watenng"is the operation of suddenly
increasing the capital stock of a company.
Wall Street was thoroughly familiarized with
it by the reckless Erie managers, who earned
a notoriety that honorable men certainly
would not covet. It is very dangerous to
holders of the stock previously in the market.
DANiEL Co~~oaav.
CHRISTMAS IN THE OLDEN
TIME
N a curious little tract printed in 1645,
entitled "An llue and Cry after Christmas," there is a quaint inquiry for a very old,
gray-bearded gentleman called Christmas, who
used to be a familiar guest in the households
of rich and poor. Assuming all sorts of fantastic shapes to suit the fancy of his friends;
appearing in splendid attire at royal festivals
and in more modest garb in humble homes,
his coming was welcomed with mirth and jollity. "Whoever can tel what is become of
him or where he may be found," says the
queer old tract, "let them bring him back
again into England."
This pathetic inquiry suggests its own
answer. The Christmas of those early days,
with his gay revels and his generous cheer, is
a figure of the past. Centuries ago he disappeared from his accustomed haunts, and
has never since come back Long before Rip
Yan Winkle had wandered off to his a
sleep among the mountains, the jovial old
fellow had departed. Perhaps the festivities
which once greeted the venerable visitor have
followed him to other worlds than ours,
where he may even now be enjoying his boisterous merriment. Some traces of them, indeed, still linger in old English homes, but,
though the forms remain, the spirit which
gave life to them has vanished. It will not
come at the call of our modern sirens, sing
they never so sweetly. Attempts to revive
the old customs are usually dreary failures.
They remind us of those theatrical tournaments where knights with pasteboard helmets
and creaking cuirasses try to represent the
heroes of chivalry. The armor which could
hardly stand a thrust from a determined jackknife would have but a poor show against
the blade of Saladin or the sword of Ceeur de
Lion. No carpet-knights with their tinsel
finery can cheat our fancy with visions of the
Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Christmas, indeed, keeps its hold on
human interest with a strength which time
has not impaired, but the modes of its celebration have changed with the changes of
modern society. It is interesting and instructive to recall its early observances, because they illustrate so vividly the characteristics of the olden time. They throw a light
on the dim and distant past which is looked
for in vain in pretentious chronicles. We
must turn to the poets and dramatists rather
than to the historians for these pictures of
life and manners-to Ben Jonson's frolicsome