A. stockbroker told me in New York 2 month or two ago that he believes the modern woman is not jonly an ardent student of this phase of modern economic life, but that the women of America as a whole vrobably buy equally as much every day on Change as the men of the! country.
No matter where you go, high and low, rich and poor are alike well out in the stream, and many working girl, long out of her depth, is mortgaged up to the hilt for many a long day to come because of her gambling indiscretions. In the country districts it is the same—Jeveryone seems to, be Change mad.
believe that the Stock Exchange activities have been almost directly' responsible during the last year or two for the lavish expenditures]
for luxuries in this country.
is well known that trading always responds to a bull market, for it is a distinctly human trait to spend money with a free hand when that money has been easily earned. The truth about human nature is that "unearned mone} from any source—a poker party at the club, a windfall, an inheritance, inning the Champions or a lucky'
of any kind—is desperately hard to hold. That is why in the] immediate environs of New York, matter how dead legitim business may be, trade is quick by the lavishness with which people spend their money that has come easily to them vid the Stock Exchange route. There can be no doubt that, not alone in New York but throughout the United States, luxury purchasing goes on at an amazing rate because of speculation activities. The most direct testi. many comes, I notice, from the] New York handlers of the more expensive motor-cars. The more money that is made in Wall Street, the greater the increase of sales of the three or four expensive Ameri can ears and the one. British car that outbids the lot.
Increase in Objets d'Art Another aspect of trade direct! affected by Wall Street profits art importations. Customs officials and statistical experts of that. department declare that they could, not speculate upon the connection of art importation increases with, Wall Street prosperity, but a natural deduction may be based upon the figures, which show that private citizens and galleries are gradually increasing this country's} store of valuable art objects and antiques.
In this country everybody who is Janybody is doing business with one or more brokers. In the cities there fare men who—a few years or months ago working hard for living,—now follow Exchange. is down at his brokers' offices. the first thing in the moming and watches the board more assiduously than a merchant watches his cables. It is his business. He does nothing else. He is always on tap. He gets in and out on a sure profit, no matter how small, and because Ihe stays with the game morning noon and night, asleep and awake, he succeeds; and with such tremendous opportunities makes a million dollars. But there is also another sort of person "plays the Stock Marke!
"He is|- the country person, the man of some financial substance, who is in. constant touch with his brokers, and who may. turn over during' the course of the day with no qualms whatever probably fifty times as much stuff as he did in the days when he first felt- the _gambler's itch, Still another class—the woman, not the business woman, professional woman, or the society woman, but plain woman of the household. In many cases, unknown to her husband, she has a small flutter—makes a few dollars—goes and then, either truck,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.