ExpertTrader
Fun Poster
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- Joined
- Dec 25, 2009
- Messages
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About Bucket Shop Brokers
==========================
That Saturday morning I chased over to Hoboken to the
Teller place. They had fitted up a big customers' room with a
dandy quotation board and a full force of clerks and a special
policeman in gray. There were about twenty-five customers.
I got talking to the manager. He asked me what he could do
for me and I told him nothing; that a fellow could make much
more money at the track on account of the odds and the freedom
to bet your whole roll and stand to win thousands in minutes
instead of piking for chicken feed in stocks and having to wait
days, perhaps. He began to tell me how much safer the
stock-market game was, and how much some of their customers made
-- you'd have sworn it was a regular broker who actually
bought and sold your stocks on the Exchange and how if a man
only traded heavy he could make enough to satisfy anybody. He
must have thought I was headed for some pool room and he wanted
a whack at my roll before the ponies nibbled it away, for he
said I ought to hurry up as the market closed at twelve o'clock
on Saturdays. That would leave me free to devote the entire
afternoon to other pursuits. I might have a bigger roll to carry
to the track with -- if I picked the right stocks.
I looked as if I didn't believe him, and he kept on buzzing
me. I was watching the clock. At 11:15 I said, "All right," and
I began to give him selling orders in various stocks. I put up
two thousand dollars in cash, and he was very glad to get it. He
told me he thought I'd make a lot of money and hoped I'd come in
often.
It happened just as I figured. The traders hammered the
stocks in which they figured they would uncover the most stops,
and, sure enough, prices slid off. I closed out my trades just before the rally of the last five minutes on the usual traders'
covering.
There was fifty-one hundred dollars coming to me. I went to
cash in.
"I am glad I dropped in," I said to the manager, and gave
him my tickets.
"Say," he says to me, "I can't give you all of it. I wasn't
looking for such a run. I'll have it here for you Monday
morning, sure as blazes."
"All right. But first I'll take all you have in the house,"
I said.
"You've got to let me pay off the little fellows," he said.
"I'll give you back what you put up, and anything that's left.
Wait till I cash the other tickets." So I waited while he paid
off the other winners. Oh, I knew my money was safe. Teller
wouldn't welsh with the office doing such a good business. And
if he did, what else could I do better than to take all he had
then and there? I got my own two thousand dollars and about
eight hundred dollars besides, which was all he had in the
office. I told him I'd be there Monday morning. He swore the
money would be waiting for me.
I got to Hoboken a little before twelve on Monday. I saw a
fellow talking to the manager that I had seen in the St. Louis
office the day Teller told me to go back to Dolan. I knew at
once that the manager had telegraphed to the home office and
they'd sent up one of their men to investigate the story.
Crooks don't trust anybody. _
"I came for the balance of my money," I said to the
manager.
"Is this the man?" asked the St. Louis chap.
"Hold on!" said the St. Louis fellow to him and then turns
to me, "Say, Livermore, didn't we tell you we didn't want your
business?"
"Give me my money first," I said to the manager, and he
forked over two thousands, four five-hundreds and three
hundreds.
"What did you say?" I said to St. Louis.
"We told you we didn't want you to trade in our place."
"Yes," I said; "that's why I came."
"Well, don't come any more. Keep away!" he snarled at me.
The private policeman in gray came over, casual-like. St. Louis
shook his fist at the manager and yelled: "You ought to've known
better, you poor boob, than to let this guy get into you. He's
Livermore. You had your orders."
==========================
That Saturday morning I chased over to Hoboken to the
Teller place. They had fitted up a big customers' room with a
dandy quotation board and a full force of clerks and a special
policeman in gray. There were about twenty-five customers.
I got talking to the manager. He asked me what he could do
for me and I told him nothing; that a fellow could make much
more money at the track on account of the odds and the freedom
to bet your whole roll and stand to win thousands in minutes
instead of piking for chicken feed in stocks and having to wait
days, perhaps. He began to tell me how much safer the
stock-market game was, and how much some of their customers made
-- you'd have sworn it was a regular broker who actually
bought and sold your stocks on the Exchange and how if a man
only traded heavy he could make enough to satisfy anybody. He
must have thought I was headed for some pool room and he wanted
a whack at my roll before the ponies nibbled it away, for he
said I ought to hurry up as the market closed at twelve o'clock
on Saturdays. That would leave me free to devote the entire
afternoon to other pursuits. I might have a bigger roll to carry
to the track with -- if I picked the right stocks.
I looked as if I didn't believe him, and he kept on buzzing
me. I was watching the clock. At 11:15 I said, "All right," and
I began to give him selling orders in various stocks. I put up
two thousand dollars in cash, and he was very glad to get it. He
told me he thought I'd make a lot of money and hoped I'd come in
often.
It happened just as I figured. The traders hammered the
stocks in which they figured they would uncover the most stops,
and, sure enough, prices slid off. I closed out my trades just before the rally of the last five minutes on the usual traders'
covering.
There was fifty-one hundred dollars coming to me. I went to
cash in.
"I am glad I dropped in," I said to the manager, and gave
him my tickets.
"Say," he says to me, "I can't give you all of it. I wasn't
looking for such a run. I'll have it here for you Monday
morning, sure as blazes."
"All right. But first I'll take all you have in the house,"
I said.
"You've got to let me pay off the little fellows," he said.
"I'll give you back what you put up, and anything that's left.
Wait till I cash the other tickets." So I waited while he paid
off the other winners. Oh, I knew my money was safe. Teller
wouldn't welsh with the office doing such a good business. And
if he did, what else could I do better than to take all he had
then and there? I got my own two thousand dollars and about
eight hundred dollars besides, which was all he had in the
office. I told him I'd be there Monday morning. He swore the
money would be waiting for me.
I got to Hoboken a little before twelve on Monday. I saw a
fellow talking to the manager that I had seen in the St. Louis
office the day Teller told me to go back to Dolan. I knew at
once that the manager had telegraphed to the home office and
they'd sent up one of their men to investigate the story.
Crooks don't trust anybody. _
"I came for the balance of my money," I said to the
manager.
"Is this the man?" asked the St. Louis chap.
"Hold on!" said the St. Louis fellow to him and then turns
to me, "Say, Livermore, didn't we tell you we didn't want your
business?"
"Give me my money first," I said to the manager, and he
forked over two thousands, four five-hundreds and three
hundreds.
"What did you say?" I said to St. Louis.
"We told you we didn't want you to trade in our place."
"Yes," I said; "that's why I came."
"Well, don't come any more. Keep away!" he snarled at me.
The private policeman in gray came over, casual-like. St. Louis
shook his fist at the manager and yelled: "You ought to've known
better, you poor boob, than to let this guy get into you. He's
Livermore. You had your orders."
