We give below a few definitions of some of the more important words used in the financial operations of Wall Street.

The Street itself has been the center of finance of this country for nearly a hundred years, when the New York Stock Exchange was established.

Here are offices of the greatest and wealthiest financiers the world has ever known.

It is the greatest speculative center in this or any other country.

Here are found the men who create and handle railroads and the largest industrial enterprises in the world.

In the Exchange millions of dollars' worth of stocks and bonds are bought and sold every day.

Here are found hundreds of banks, trust and safe deposit institutions, private bankers and capitalists, a money center which controls seven-tenths of all the money in America.

In Wall Street you may buy or sell one or more shares of the stock of any great railway or industrial company in the country.

Here is where all important enterprises are financed, and where the public sends enormous sums of money to be invested for speculative gain.

INVESTORS.

Those who come into the market and purchase securities for the purpose of holding them as safe investments for their money, securing an interest or dividend income thereon.

SPECULATORS.

Those who buy and sell upon margins for quick profits. They are non-producers. They are simply gamblers, with the odds badly against them. They sometimes prosper for a while, but lose their money in the end.

INVESTMENT SPECULATORS.

Those who buy stocks judiciously, selecting choice securities whose value is well known, buying when values are depressed, and selling when sufficient advance occurs to give them a good profit. This they repeat over and over again, and make money while the speculator on margin loses. It is to this class that we appeal.

"A BULL."

A speculator who buys expecting to sell at a higher price. He is called "long" on the market, meaning that he is buying with the expectation that the market will go up and that he will sell out at a profit. His belief not only is that prices are going higher, but he uses all his influence in every possible effort to make them go higher.

"A BEAR."

A speculator who sells in the expectation of a decline. He is called "short" of the market. He is selling what he has not got. He does this in the expectation that prices are going down, and that he will be able to buy the stocks at a lower price than that he has to pay for them, and by delivering them at the price at which he sold to make his profit. He puts up his margin and takes his risk. As an illustration of what a "bear" is and does, suppose you believed that in a week's time corn would go down in price; therefore, you sell and promise to deliver so many bushels of corn at a certain price. If corn does go down, and you can buy it at a lower price than that at which you sold, you are a winner. If it disappoints you, and it goes up, you have to deliver it anyway, and are out of pocket.

"A LAMB."

A man who thinks he knows all about the Wall Street game, and bases this belief on the fact that he keeps abreast with the times, reads all the financial columns in the newspapers, wades through all the Wall Street papers and watches the ticker faithfully and conscientiously. When he is sure he knows all about it he goes jauntily down into the Street, and soon discovers that he knows nothing about it at all. He finds this out just at the moment when all his money is gone.

"A FLYER."

A flyer is a more or less reckless gamble, which pretty nearly everybody feels strongly inclined to make once in a while. When a flyer turns out right it is a very profitable thing, but the trouble with it is that it rarely turns out right or anywhere near it.

"A BREAK."

A rapid decline in prices of stock.

"A BULGE."

A quick upward movement in prices of stock.

"FLAT."

Stock loaned by one broker to another without interest is loaned "flat."

"A HEDGER."

One who buys a quantity of stock, and then for fear he has made a mistake, sells the same quantity in order to "hedge" against the loss that he fears is to come. A "hedger" usually makes nothing, because the profit on his purchase is offset by his sale, or vice versa.

"LIQUIDATION."

Generally selling out of stocks previously purchased by the "bulls."

"MANIPULATION."

Forcing stocks too high or too low by misrepresentations, rumors and false sentiments.

"OPTION."

A contract that one person will deliver to another a certain thing at a fixed price within a certain time.

"POINT."

One dollar or one per cent. a share on stock is one "point." Stock advances and recedes by "points," and is always so quoted.

"PRIVILEGES."

"Puts," "calls" and "option" come under the general head of "privileges."

"PROMOTER."

A broker who secures the capital to finance corporations.

"REALIZING."

Closing out stocks or contracts of any kind to secure profits.

"SOFT SPOT."

A general but slight weakness shown in prices.

"AN OVERSOLD MARKET."

This means a market in which the traders have sold "short" to an extent which conditions do not warrant. They thereby place themselves at the mercy of the "manipulators," who stand ready to squeeze the "shorts" when the proper moment arrives. "AN OVERBULL MARKET" means the reverse of this situation.

"RAIDING THE MARKET."

Concerted action of sellers of all descriptions, who discover some cause for loss of confidence in the maintenance of prices and sell right and left every stock for which they can find a buyer.

"A DULL MARKET."

This describes a market where there are few transactions and small fluctuations.

"A HEAVY MARKET."

One in which prices barely hold their own, and are inclined to sag off a little during the day, closing lower than they opened.

"NET GAIN."

The actual amount of profit after taking broker's commission, war tax, or revenue stamps.

"GROSS LOSS."

The entire amount of loss suffered after adding broker's commission, war tax, etc., to the loss on the transaction.

"ROUND TURN."

This means a complete deal after having bought and sold or sold and bought, as the case may be. For instance, in stating a broker's commission you would say that it amounts to one-sixteenth for buying and the same for selling, or one-eighth for the "round turn."

"COMMISSION."

This is the remuneration which the broker receives from a customer in executing orders for the purchase or the sale of stocks or grain. This payment is based on the par value of stock or grain bought and sold, and not on prices at which the transaction was executed.

"A POINTER."

Information supposed to come from the inside and giving you an infallible tip on just what is going to happen. Sometimes information of this kind is valuable, but rumors of the wildest kind are so continuously floating around the Street that a "pointer" is more than likely to be an unfounded, silly rumor, which somehow has gotten into respectable company. If you know that the information comes from a reliable party who knows what he is talking about, and have money enough so that you can make an investment—not a speculation on narrow margin—and can afford to hold on after the methods of this company until prices rise, the "pointer" may prove a good thing.

"A POOL."

A syndicate of men who combine forces to get control of a property.

"A CORNER."

When a "pool" or an individual quietly buys up the shares of a property so that they can absolutely control it, it is called a "corner." Those who succeed in effecting a corner will not let the "bears" cover their "short," except at extraordinarily high prices.

"A SQUALL."

Depressing news that comes unexpectedly upon the market, and frightens the timid speculators into letting go their holdings.

"A SLUMP."

A continuation of depressing influences which makes the margin dealers sell out.

"A PANIC."

A time when most of the "bulls" have been wiped out and everybody is a "bear" on the market and goes "short" because it is the prevailing sentiment.

"Squalls," "slumps" and "panics" are disastrous to the ordinary speculator, and ruin them by the thousands. They represent, however, the very best opportunity for money making, as has been shown in hundreds of instances. They will give this Company the chance to buy the best sort of securities at prices so low as to make big profits a certainty. It is under these conditions that this Company will make its purchases. With patience enough and capital enough it is possible by acting promptly at the time when these bargain days occur to make more money in Wall Street than in any other place in the world.

"A RALLY."

A state of affairs which exists almost immediately after the public has unloaded its "long" stocks and put out a "short" line.

"A CALL."

A privilege to buy a certain number of shares at a given price within a certain space of time.

"A PUT."

A privilege to sell a certain number of shares at a fixed price within a given period of time.

"A SPREAD."

When an operator buys or sells both a "put" and a "call."

"ON CURB."

The private dealings made outside the Exchanges. A curb-stone broker is a familiar figure and carries on his business every day in Wall Street.

"INSIDERS."

There are two classes of Wall Street men known as "insiders." One is a class which is really inside. Officials of Corporations, of banks and Trust Companies and wealthy financiers who really control the properties dealt in the Exchanges are really "insiders." They control the market, but never give out under any circumstances any information, and in most cases they do not know themselves just what they are going to do from one day to the next.

The other set of "insiders" are those who only make the "lamb" think they are on the inside. They never have any money of their own to speculate with, and they sell their "knowledge" to outsiders for fraction profits when there are any. They advertise and give out their pretended information, and have it sent out all over the world, knowing that every city and town may be depended upon to produce "lambs."

BUCKET SHOPS.

A place where you can bet whether a stock will go up or down. You do the guessing and the "bucket shop" makes the money. If you win sometimes you get your money back and sometimes you don't.

"TIPSTERS."

The "tipster" in Wall Street is like the tout on the race track. He pretends to know all about it, and is a very solemn and mysterious individual. He tells one man to buy and another to sell, knowing that whichever way the market goes one of them will be a winner, and the "tipster" will get his share. The one who wins tells his friends, who think the "tipster" must be a wonderfully shrewd individual, and in this way he builds up a profitable business, and the "lambs" come flocking his way. He keeps on telling one set of his victims to buy a certain stock, and another set to sell it. Whether the stock goes up or down the "tipster" wins, and those who are on the right side of this particular deal spread his name and fame among their acquaintances.

"INFORMATION BUREAUS."

These bureaus are "tipsters" pure and simple, only they travel under the name of a "bureau," instead of their individual names.

"A SCALPER."

One who is in the market continually guessing and gambling on the rise or fall. He risks a thousand dollars to gain twelve and one-half dollars.

DEALING ON MARGIN.

This means that the buyer of a stock only deposits with his broker a small part of the value of the shares he is buying or selling. He is simply gambling, and very hazardous gambling it is. If he guesses wrong, he must pay up more and more margin or lose altogether. Dealing on margin is the favorite sport of the "lambs," and it is very profitable, indeed, to those who take advantage of their misfortunes. The odds are all against the speculator on margin, and sooner or later his money disappears and he disappears with it.

A SUCCESSFUL OPERATOR.

A man who is neither "bull" nor a "bear," but simply waits and takes advantage of opportunities. He knows the power of money. He knows the weakness of the public, and how gullible it is. He knows how to worry and scare the people. He sets his machine for the game and gets it. Ordinary market affairs do not interest him. When a "squall" appears he is notified instantly, and gets ready for business. He knows all about the stocks that he deals in, precisely what they are, and just what to do. He knows what to buy and just to a fraction when to commence to buy it. He gives his orders, pays no more attention to it, except to see how much he got. He buys just as closely to the bottom as it is possible to get, and when it is all over he goes away happy, asking to be notified when the market is up again.