BEHIND THE TICKER TAPE

wow to the thousands of tourists from all over the world who each day pour into manhattan island to visit america's greatest city this quietly imposing building at 86 trinity place will prove to be one of the most colorful sites in new york the american stock exchange nerve center of american business and industry this exchange is a kind of supermarket where brokers buy and sell securities for clients scattered throughout the world at these eight-sided trading posts about 850 corporations are represented by nearly 1 000 securities valued at more than 28 billion dollars with hundreds of brokers and clerks contributing to the roar on the floor information is passed by means of hand signals without a spoken word orders to buy and to sell involving thousands of dollars are flashed by telephone clerks to the floor brokers strange as it may seem the hand signal is part of a rich and colorful tradition that began more than a century ago when this marketplace of finance was called the outdoor or curb market and brokers met on any convenient sidewalk curb to buy and sell securities buying with push carts and carriages for a place to transact business america was young then with factories and railroads to construct mines to be open cities to build no group of men could possibly provide the immense amount of capital required it would need the savings of thousands of investors so it was here on the streets of manhattan amid the courtly manners of that bygone day that many of the first stock issues in america's biggest industries were bought and sold early in 1900 the market located in front of 44 broad street but brokers still met on the curb outside summer or winter rain or shine completely weatherproof this hearty group of brokers carried on business as usual as industry grew so grew the marketplace millions of dollars were changing hands on the curb and almost anybody could come and set himself up in business to the leading brokers it became evident that the time had come for the establishment of more formalized procedures in 1911 a group of the leading brokers met to set up the new york curb market association from then on only men of established reputation were admitted and the membership was limited to 500. stock issues were now closely reviewed before being admitted for trading by the public and detailed records kept of sales and prices but as the market continued to grow a new problem arose how in this teeming crowd could busy brokers and clerks find each other when there were orders to be executed promptly time was precious the value of stocks often changed rapidly the price might rise or fall before the order could be completed and lucky indeed was the broker who could find a telephone that wasn't in use i've got it i've got it what do you mean got what i've got the answer to this i'll call you back so i'll be down there so we can talk back and forth when you want the room sounds like a crazy idea but if you want it it's okay with me now the clerk was right up there in the window with his telephone where the broker could find him without a minute's delay soon the royal stock brokers clerks hanging precariously over the window ledges of broad street became one of the sites of old new york and the den of voices could be heard for blocks around but the den brought problems of its own what no i can't hear you what okay all right no no i'm 400. steamboat yes he's got it at last and the stock brokers hand signals have become the business tradition of the curb market but each busy day brought additional problems hats the sea of straw hats and everyone alike once again clerks found it next to impossible to locate their brokers in the crowd the answer to the new problem arrived in a small brown box the broker signals n-i-c-e h-a-t nice hat the clerk replies g-r-e-a-t great the idea caught on and soon the marketplace was blossoming out in some of the richest hues and most colorful garb ever be held in new york state financial district colorful though it was the outdoor market disappeared in 1921 when it moved indoors into the spacious quarters of today's market but let's see exactly how this exchange works this broker has a client out in denver who is interested in buying shares in the continental manufacturing company cmf is the symbol for that company how's cmf 25.5 bid offered at three quarters last sale a half this means that there is someone willing to buy at 25.50 a share and someone willing to sell at 25.75 a share and that the last buyer paid 25 and 50 cents a share the man in denver will have that information within one minute mr sanborn i have that quotation on continental manufacturing 25 and a half bid offered 25 and three-quarters last sale 25 and a half buy 100 shares for my account at uh 25 and three quarters places new york send a spy order and take an order from denver to buy 100 cmf at 25 and three quarters buy 100 cmf at 25 and three quarters okay 87 that's our broker's call number just come back on that quote 25 how's cmf half offered at three quarters 25 and three quarters for 100 cmf so within minutes after the order was placed in denver the transaction in new york is completed nothing is signed the broker's word once given is as good as a certified check seconds later the ticker is chattering out the sale of cmf stock 100 shares at 25 and three quarters on this big screen in the exchange trading room the ticker tape is duplicated a minute-by-minute report of american business and finance from small factories like this one american industry has grown with prodigious speed to its immense size of today and the capital to build the nation from a raw frontier to the greatest industrial giant in the world came in large part from the sale of securities on the curbstones of manhattan today this busy exchange is the financial marketplace not only of america but of 21 other nations as well more than 500 cities throughout the world being directly linked with the american stock exchange through its branch office network much has changed on the skyline of manhattan today the quaintly colorful curb market with its shouting brokers in their gaudy hats and jackets is one of the sites that have passed with the years but the part it has played in the building of the nation during its early days in the outdoors and today in this modern skyscraper will not soon be forgotten you