All stocks and bonds offered for
sale in the Exchange are closely
examined by a committee, and
none can be dealt in until it is
found to be a bona fide
security. Two sessions of the
Board are held daily, the
morning session at half-past
ten, and the afternoon session
at one o'clock. The order of
proceedings is the same on both
occasions. Two lists of stocks,
the Regular and the Free List,
being called each time. The
Regular List is made up in
advance of the session, and must
always be called, and called
first. It is divided into five
parts: 1. Miscellaneous Stocks;
2. Railroad Stocks; 3. State
Bonds; 4. City Stocks; 5.
Railroad Bonds.
The session is called to order
by the Vice-president, after
which the Secretary reads the
minutes of the previous meeting.
The Regular List is then called,
and the work of the day begins.
Very little interest is
manifested in the call, of
miscellaneous stocks. Bids are
quickly made and accepted, and
there is an evident desire to
get through with this part of
the routine as quickly as
possible. The offers and sales
are repeated by the
Vice-president to the Secretary
as fast as they are made, and
the transactions are recorded by
him in the minutes, while a
clerk registers them on the
blackboard on the platform.
Should a dispute arise as to the
purchase or sale of a security,
an appeal is made to the
Vice-president, whose decision
is final.
Railroad stocks are next called,
and in an instant the Board is
in an uproar. Offers to sell and
to purchase come in rapid
succession, sometimes a score or
more at a time, and are all
yelled out at the top of the
brokers' lungs. The noise is
terrific, and it seems as if the
operators had suddenly gone mad.
A stranger can make nothing out
of this confusion, but the keen
eye of the Vice-president is
everywhere on the throng, and
his quick ear catches the offers
and bids, and notes the sales,
which are promptly communicated
by him to the Secretary, who
writes them down.At the same time the clerk
records them on the official
blackboard, and the telegraph
operator flashes them to all
parts of New York, where they
are noted on the long ribbons of
the thousands of "Tickers" in
the offices, hotels, saloons,
restaurants, and bar-rooms of
the city. Thanks to these
"tickers," or recording
instruments, men can watch the
market, and buy and sell, miles
away from the Stock Exchange,
for the "ticker" keeps them
informed, minute by minute, of
the transaction there, and the
telegraph puts them in
instantaneous communication with
their brokers.
The railroad list completed, the
excitement subsides somewhat,
and the other portions of the
regular list are called,
arousing more or less interest,
according to the popularity of
the stock or the condition of
the market. Then the Free List
is in order, and the members can
request the Vice-president to
call such securities as they
wish to deal in. At the close of
the Free List members may ask
for the call of some stock that
has been hurriedly passed over
in the call of the Regular List.
This completes the work of the
Board, and the session comes to
an end. The afternoon session is
but a repetition of the
morning's proceedings.
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