them. If the City or the State is powerless, let the general government
take the matter in hand for the general good. Take gold, for example.
There are not over two millions of the solid coin used as a basis for
the operations which in a single month represent a sum twice the amount
of our national debt. The harpies who gather around the Gold Rooms in
their mad shoutings are at the same time shouting 'Death to the
republic!' They unsettle all values, and are, as a mass, a public
calamity, and should be dealt with as such. As with gold, so with
stocks, and no nation can long afford to let its future hang upon the
will of a mass of unprincipled men who daily bleed its prosperity
beyond all calculation."

These things are well known in New York, but no one heeds them. Each
one thinks he is shrewd enough to avoid the dangers which have ruined
others, and only discovers his mistake when it is too late to repair
it. Men of all classes, even ministers of the Gospel, and frequently
women, rush into Wall street in pursuit of sudden wealth, where, to use
an old adage, "if they are not gored to death by the Bulls, they are
sure to be devoured by the Bears."

Persons who wish to succeed in New York, or elsewhere, should shun
speculation. Legitimate business offers brilliant rewards here, but
speculation means ruin. If you wish this assertion enforced, go into
Stewart's or Claflin's stores, and see how many salesmen on small
salaries you will find there who were once wealthy merchants doing
business on their own account. They succeeded in their legitimate
pursuits, but were not satisfied with their success. They wanted more,
commenced speculating, and lost every thing. Men to succeed here must
be energetic, cautious, enterprising, and economical.