WOMAN IN WALL STREET.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3383, 18 July 1927, Page 2

WOMAN IN WALL STREET.

How a woman lias successfully invaded Wall Street and in ten years has established what is believed to be the record of dealing more extensively in Liberty bonds than anyone else in tlio world, has just been revealed by C. F. Childs and Co. of New York. A total of 30,000,000 dollars of Liberty bonds bought and sold since April 6, i 917, is the record held by Mrs Irma Dell Eggleston, who ten years ago was placed in charge of Government securities in the trading department of Childs and Co. The firm was trying out an experiment in putting a woman in so important a position and after a decade they have just announced that Mrs Eggleston has handled the largest total of Liberty bonds that any of the highly skilled traders can claim. The total of her transactions is nearly double that of the New York Stock Exchange for the same period, they said. On one ocasion she handled 38,000,000 dollars in a single day, which is probably a record for Wall Street, the firm said. In 1922, the banner Liberty bond year, Mrs Eggleston traded in more than 5,000,000,000 dollars of the securities.

Mrs Eggleston, who is known in the “Street” simply as “Mrs E.” is recognised as one of the shrewdest bond traders in the business and one of the foremost authorities on bond securities in the country. She is one of about half a dozen women traders in Wall Street. The value of the securities bought and sold by Mrs Eggleston since the first Liberty bond issue would be more than enough to retire the entire national debt of the United States, “I can’t say just what it was that led me into the bond business,” Mrs Eggleston said. “Chiefly 1 think it was a desire to learn to do something useful that would release a man for active service. I found I liked the work immensely and have remained in it.

“The total of my trading grew to such an immense figure because I have been engaged dealing solely in Liberty bonds ever since the first, issue was floated,” she continued. “Other traders have been in and out of the business, but I know of none who has stayed at it steadily as long as 1 have. “The bulk of my trades were from 1917 to 1920, inclusive and my biggesl year was 1922. Trading is 'be only game I have found that: - ..ys me money. All other games 1 have to pay to play. Still people hear of the billions of dollars worth of securities I have handled and think the profit must be correspondingly large. As a matter of fact, the profits are very small in handling Liberty bonds, probably about half of what is commoniy supposed.” Mrs Eggleston said that negotiating a deal with bankers for 0,000,000 dollars or 10,000,000 dollars of Liberty bonds was a. simple transaction, compared with the task of persuading the person of moderate means to hold on 1o his o-dollar bond. She asserted t'-at

the Liberty bond business bos fa Pen below what it was in the peak years of 1920 to 1922. “The reason is that practically all the small investors have got rid of their holdings,” she explained.