1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

,,, 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 [ 48]