THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 120, 6 May 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

AND HOW IT OFTEN TURNS” ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE.

It is generally known that the London Stock Exchange, besides, being the centre of investment business, is also a hotbed oi gambling -taking the risk of the difference between buying and selling prices at given elates. When the great South African goldfields Ixiom of ’95 was in progress. I knew a young stockbroker, who had tint recently bought his membership, who plunged wildly for the rise. In' tivo months ho netted some' fifty thousand pounds. He bought a fine yacht, and, before taking a Mediterranean cruise, gave nil his pahs a great "flare up” at the Monico Restaurant.

Tie looked in at Monte Carlo, whilst his yacht lay at anchor off Cannes. In one week lie lost a fourth of his gains. (liir Lad',' of Fortune turned hoi back upon him, ant! he steadily dropped all he bad, gambling on ’Change, on the racecourse and at cards A tew vears later he went with the Yeomanry to the front in the Boer War. mid v. as killed.

TWO PICTURES Wlii-n the mad Australian boom, engineered by the late Whittaker Wright, commenced, two voting authorised clerks of my a'-qnnintance bought and sold on their own account. Ono was buying clerk, and th<> other confii-ed his attentions to selling. They began c.mtiously, hut, as their bank balances view, threw off all restraint, bought their meinbersh'p. anil starfcxl larger offices. They “got out of the market” ! •■fore the crash came, and it tuts an open secret, that they had cleared a quarter of -i million of money. Here is a reverse of this picture. A f lend of mine Lad a fine income and ;• profitable business. He became a • bear” of Amoiican railroad shares after th'y nad enioved a heavy rise at the beginning of ’99. He was caught, by the professional bulls, and ruined. Hi took his position so much to heart that lie committed suicide. In ’f)'i I had a friend connect cd with Llovd’-. who patronised all the great race meetings. His hobby was to bet on ''outsiders’’—horses on which thbookmakers offered long odds. Sometimes he brought off’ a nice coup. He offered me a seat in his wagonette for the Derby ci tint year. I personally 'aw him put £101) each on six nutsid- < rs. Amongst them was Jeddah, with odds- of 100 to 1. Jeddah won, and the big bookmaker who took the bet gave him a. cheque for .£IO,GT) then .-■nd there and insisted in paying for Hie champagne.

The trioud I refer to has passed tluoiigh the bankruptcy court twice since that dat°.

CITY GAMBLING DENS

I p to a very few years ago many gambling cb>bs_ prospered mightily in the City and West Encl, paying certain members of the police force to “hold their hand ” One City baccarat club nas frequented by stockbrokers, mer- < harts, bookniak: rs. and all sorts. I l>avc seen thousands of pounds change hands in an evening, and men who camo m with hundreds go out begging tor a- drink and a few shillings to see them homo, whilst tho.se who were broke ’ at the start have won lar"c sums.

(hue man was left five thousand pounds in IPC.I. J? v the end of l!)()d he hail got through it all at tlm gaming clnbs. He Hies on Lis family now. But another man, whose name is fumiliar in connection with multiple retail scops, financed his business at its nio't(Huca! -stage by his luck at cards.