VOObyM

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
I have told some of these stories to friends, and some of million. And Jim Fisk just
looked at him and said, "Go ahead! Do! Sell it short and invite me to your funeral.' "
"Yes," I said; "and if that chap had sold it short, look at the killing he would have made!
Sell some UP. yourself."
"Not I! I'm the kind that thrives best on not rowing against wind and tide."
On the following day, when fuller reports came in, the market began to slide off, but
even then not as violently as it should. Knowing that nothing under the sun could stave
off a substantial break I doubled up and sold five thousand shares. Oh, by that time it
was plain to most people, and my brokers were willing enough. It wasn't reckless of
them or of me, not the way I sized up the market. On the day following, the market
began to go for fair. There was the dickens to pay. Of course I pushed my luck for all it
was worth. I doubled up again and sold ten thousand shares more. It was the only play
possible.
I wasn't thinking of anything except that I was right 100 per cent right and that this was
a heaven-sent opportunity. It was up to me to take advantage of it. I sold more. Did I
think that with such a big line of shorts out, it wouldn't take much of a rally to wipe out
my paper profits and possibly my principal? I don't know whether I thought of that or
not, but if I did it didn't carry much weight with me. I wasn't plunging recklessly. I was
really playing conservatively. There was nothing that anybody could do to undo the
earthquake, was there? They couldn't restore the crumpled buildings overnight, free,
gratis, for nothing, could they? AH the money in the world couldn't help much in the
next few hours, could it?
I was not betting blindly. I wasn't a crazy bear. I wasn't drunk with success or thinking
that because Frisco was pretty well wiped off the map the entire country was headed for
the scrap heap. No, indeed! I didn't look for a panic. Well, the next day I cleaned up. I
made two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It was my biggest winnings up to that
time. It was all made in a few days. The Street paid no attention to the earthquake the
first day or two. They'll tell you that it was because the first despatches were not so
alarming, but I think it was because it took so long to change the point of view of the
public toward the securities markets. Even the professional traders for the most part
were slow and shortsighted.
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