Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1910 — Watkins Little Investment [ARTICLE]

Watkins Little Investment

By S. E. Kiser.

By practicing self-denial for several years ,he managed to save up S3OO. While doing this he became a student of finance. Every morning he .would read the financial quotations. .The long lines of initials and the columns of figures that at first were meaningless soon became as an open book to him. He could remember what C. J. and F. closed at a week ago last Tuesday, and if R., A and W. went up a point he knew just how much more it would have to advance before reaching the mark which some wise men had set for it. Now, this man, whose name, by the way, was Watkins, had a sort of a head for figures, and one evening after he had been thinking for a long time about Miriam Ives—a neat figure she was—he did some figuring on F., L. and B. common. “Supposing,” he said to himself, “that I bought about $3 00 worth of it at 15 and sold it at 30. That would increase my working capital to S6OO. Then on the next slump I could invest my S6OO and sell out for $1,200. It was a simple proposition. All he had to do was to be a little patient. After the third turnover he would have $2,400; the fourth would see him $4,800 to the good. Before he got up to the fifteenth year of his career as a buyer and seller of F.', L. and B. common his head' began to be dizzy, and, putting his pencil in his pocket, he went out to ask Miriam if she would be his wife.

He kissed her a''few times and told her candidly what was going to happen. “Archibald,” she whispered, “I don’t care for all these terrible riches. Wealth is an awful responsibility. Let’s keep your S3OO and furnish a nice flat with it.” But he convinced her before’ he left that it would be almost criminal if he neglected to take advantage of the opportunity which was opening before, him and he continued to watch the financial page. On the 15th of July F., L. and B. common was quoted at 17. Then A. Watson transferred S3OO of his from the savings department of the bank and opened up a checking account against it. At the same time he gave a certain broker an open order to buy twenty shares of F., L. and B. common at 15. A week later he had a dizzy spell when he saw the stock quoted at the figure he had named. Later in the day he was informed by Bloodgood, Ketchum & Co., that they had bought for his account twenty shares of F., L and B. common.

A week later F., L. and B. common was quoted at 11, and there were rumors of a reorganization which might result in the wiping out of the common stock altogether. Archibald Watkins began to have sinking spells, and he fell into the habit of breaking engagements with Miriam. Two or three times he decided to sell out aqd save w'hat he could of his hard-earned money, but he put it off from day to day, hoping there might be a ■ reaction. By the middlfe of August the stock was quoted at 6%, and the young man who had figured out profits of about $8,000,000 for himself in fifteen years was convinced that the broker who had referred to F., L. and B common as “a nice old lady” had been mistaken. He quarreled with Miriam because she thought he was foolish for not saving what little he could from the wreck. “Think how much more sensible it would have been,” she answered, “if you had taken my advice and kept the money to furnish the flat.” That made him angry. It was the kind of talk he had always heard from his mother when she was alive, ft had always been, “Archibald, if you had only listened to ine!” So he rushed away from Miriam, bitterly saying: "When I get S3O a share for.my stock I’ll come back.” ‘ • On the following day it went down with a sickening “plop” to 3*4, at which figure Archibald WatKlns sold out. Pqducting the commissions there was left for him about S4O. out of the S3OO which he had paid as his tuition fee. The next morning he noticed that the reaction had begun, and In four weeks F., L. and B. common was selling round 25. When it touched 30 again A. Watkins sat and studied the figureprtong and earnestly. Also he rereau a note which he had received that morning from Miriam fve«.

“Dearest Archibald (she wrote), I see now that you really did know what you were talking about. Forgive me for the doubts I expressed concerning your wisdom. Be sure to come this evening. " I am so anxious to tell you how much I admire you for your courage and for your shrewdness. I have just heard of the dearest flat And lam dying to congratulate you on yj»ur —or may I, dear, say ‘our’—-success? Yours impatiently, "Miriam.” "Well,” he said at last, pulling a tong sigh and letting the note drop from his flngerk, “I’m a goat if I’d have believed before it happened that, they'd go to so much trouble lo get the money I put into it.’ _ .