AMERICANS AT WORK: STOCK EXCHANGE

[Music] here are yesterday's closing Market aages Industrials up 11 and 1 qu rails Up 3 and8 utilities up 34 [Music] America is a commercial Nation dependent upon the manufacturer and purchase of goods and services on a scale achieved by no other people ours is a constantly expanding economy due in large measure to the productive capacity of our labor force under our system though money as well as man must be productive our working wealth is something we call Capital money that is invested rather than used for the direct purchase of goods and services a necessary part of making money work is the job of exchanging it for the partial ownership of a company these shares may be purchased by anyone having the financial ability money is traded for a share in a company in a special Marketplace the Securities Exchange Americans at work work are involved every day in bringing together the money and the marketer here through a broker any buyer May bid for stock in the world's [Music] business in the Securities markets of principal cities all over the world and in Brokers offices the business of the stock market is transacted this is work that fects the economic well-being of everyone the purchase of just one share of stock AIDS in maintaining or expanding the production capacity of American industry it is an opportunity available to everyone not just the finers with the money invested new plants are constructed new businesses started old ones given new life that means more work for more people and increased production facilities mean new jobs for our growing Workforce the relationship between money and man and their dependence one on the other are continuous let more and more people people realize this and are investing in their own Futures accounts for the widespread demand for the services of Stock Exchange Brokers to many people the trading floor of a stock exchange is the most exciting place in the world each day at 10:00 the opening gong is sounded this is the signal for the beginning of the day's training immediately the men pick up where they left off the day before at the closing signal at 3:30 in the afternoon the trading will stop as abruptly as it began at raised platforms telephone order clerks receive information from their Brokers offices orders to buy or sale are transmitted to the broker's representative on the trading floor an intricate code of hand signals makes this the fastest functioning Stock Exchange in the world at the trading post a trade is arranged and exchange clerks record the [Music] orders a network of pneumatic tubes carries the details of the transaction to the ticker tape millions of shares of stock are bought and sold each day on the [Music] exchanges the tube room of this Stock Exchange is the internal Communication Center of the market through here orders go from Trading Post to trading post from post to telephone clerk in fact to almost every area of operation the messages in the capsules are checked for Destination and dropped in the correct line like all the other operations at an exchange this must be handled quickly and without mistake because here as nowhere else time is money the little slips in the tubes contain information about buyer and seller broker and amount these are important to everyone involved in the transaction [Applause] [Applause] the facts about the stock issue involved the name number of shares the bid and ask prices are important to every broker and [Applause] investor so necessary is this information that a special communication system is operated by each exchange to keep those interested informed of every change in in the stocks the ticker tape machine does more than produce confetti for parades it is an almost instantaneous transmitter of exchange proceedings the information from The Trading Post arrives by special tube the ticker tape operators translate the buying and selling into printed words that tell the story of the tra on the trading floor of the exchange and in broker offices across the country the messages in the ticker tape room are immediately flashed projected images are seen in some places and printed tapes are read in others both bear the same news so many shares sold at the agreed price higher lower or the same as the last [Music] sale if trading is usually heavy the tape May lag several minutes behind during the [Music] day in the quotation room can be seen information about all the stocks handled on the exchange here are posted bid asked and last sale prices [Music] Brokers may call the quotation room for the up to-the-minute conditions of stocks they are buying and selling for their customers a glance at the board gives the operator a quick picture of the market action of any company whose Shares are listed it is a continuing giant record of American Business a steel company shares selling at 47 and 1/2 up 1/2 shares in an electronics company 106 up one an airline stock 455 down two a manufacturing company shares 89 no change an automotive stock 926 up 1 a utility stock at 41 down two [Music] [Applause] the quotation board is the standard reference work for Brokers the women who are in charge of its operation are able to read it and give each caller an immediate answer to the question what's the [Music] market this microfilming operation here in the Clearing Corporation is a vital part of the stock exchange function in a minimum of space important Market data is carefully [Music] stored the trades are checked by the Clearing Corporation staff before the balance sheets are made [Music] up this is the heart of the system which provides for the actual exchange of money and shares this is the business side of selling stocks here the work progresses a bit more [Music] slowly unlike the Trading Post there is no tension no excitement here just call facts and figures the recordkeeping machines process the accumulated data to give a calm accurate accounting of the day's activity those who do this work are the Unseen people who operate the exchange their work is a vital part of the trading of stocks in American and foreign companies even with machines to help much of the activity is handwork in this inner sanctum of American business and finance union members keep the wheels turning just as they do in basic industrial occupations [Music] behind the men on the floor of the exchange are hundreds of Clerks and assistants whose speed and accuracy are essential to a smoothly functioning Market since the middle of the revolutionary era Securities have been traded by Brokers using basically the same methods as their modern counterparts as the amount of trading increased more people were needed to Aid the brokers in conducting their business [Music] today the exchange is the broker's working office and the modern Business Machines are an indication of a fast exchange of stocks and bonds without them and their operators the detail work would never keep pays the amount of work done in the Clearing Corporation is determined by the amount of activity on the trading floor [Music] the market itself is the investor measure of the health of our economy when trading is normal things are relatively stable when the number of Securities offered far exceeds those bid for prices tend to go down if the number of Securities bid for far exceeds those offered prices tend to [Music] increase at the end of each day Runners appear at the exchange delivery department to pick up transfer envelopes containing Securities for delivery to their respective brokerage offices [Music] this is the story of the people who make the stock exchange work their jobs are the one seldom thought of in terms of the stock market but their work is invaluable and indispensable to the investor and broker alike they gather the information make it instantly available all over the country and keep the necessary business records as members of the office employees International Union AF L CIO they play a key role in the business of combining money and Men Americans at work for you Americans at work presented as a public service by the AFL CIO next week another story of Americans at work Americans whose skill and effort help keep our country great and strong