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,,,
f/aldorf Bar Days
A.
B.
Huc;lson; "Al" Dryrer, Burton S. Castles, who
ow1~ed
a · ea t deal of New York real estate, and who
speciali ed in cotton; John
R.
Keim, a jeweler; Joseph
Mo , who was associated with William R. Hearst;
and Clarence Fuller, known among his circle as the best
tape-reader uptown.
For one long period, Steel was the stock most dealt
in in that room, with Texas Oil a good second, though
that occasionally divided interest with Mexican Petro–
leum. No wonder that the manager of the office was
willing to take no more customers. That broker's dozen
gave him all the business he could handle, individual
operations sometimes running into what was then an
amazing number of shares. The biggest lot ever bought
or sold in that room was
70,000
shares of Steel. As a
matter of fact, that lot was both bought and sold, be–
cause the deal was made right there in that office be–
tween two men. However, the sale had to be consum–
mated through the Stock Exchange, and the House
telephoned the orders down to its Stock Exchange mem–
ber to be recorded, so that the transaction would be
legal.
There was a good deal. of buying and selling between
individuals, but, of course, the transactions were not
regular until the matter was put through the Stock
Exchange. A deal woqld start by one man's reading the
news one way, and another in another fashion. One
would come in the office feeling decidedly bearish. An–
other w0uld talk bullish. The bear would decide he
wanted to get rid of a lot of Steel, or something else
he had on hand. The bull would take him up. They
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