f paper. These _tickers_ are rented to these offices by the
telegraph companies, and as fast as the sales are made the quotations
are ticked off in thousands of offices in all parts of the United
States.

TECHNICAL TERMS OF STOCK EXCHANGES

The term _bull_ is applied to those who are purchasers of stock for
long account, with the purpose of advancing prices, as the tendency of
a bull is to elevate everything within his reach. The term _bear_ is
applied to those who sell short stock, with the purpose of
depreciating values. The _bear_ operates for a decline in prices. The
broker's charge for his services is called a _commission_, which in
the New York Stock Exchange is one eighth of one per cent. each way on
a par value of the security purchased or sold. A _point_ means one per
cent. on the par value of a stock or bond. _Stock privileges_ or
_puts_ and _calls_ are extensively dealt in abroad and to some extent
here. A _put_ is an agreement in the form of a written or printed
contract filled out to suit the case, whereby the signer of it agrees
to accept upon one day's notice, except on the day of expiration, a
certain number of shares of a given stock at a stipulated price. A
_call_ is the reverse of a _put_, giving its owner the right to demand
the stock under the same conditions. A _put_ may serve as an insurance
to an investor against a radical decline in the value of stocks he
owns; a _call_ may be purchased by a man whose property is not
immediately available, but who may desire to be placed in a position
to procure the shares at the _call_ price, if they are not below that
in the open market when he secures the necessary funds. The speculator
usually trades on _margins_. If he has $500 to invest he buys $5000
worth of stock, his $500 being ten per cent. of the total amount. He
expects to sell again before the remaining amount falls due. The
_margin_ is usually placed by the speculator in the hands of a broker
as a guaranty against loss. Although these brokers are really agents
for others, yet _on 'change_ they stand in the mutual relationship of
principals. A _margin_ is merely a partial payment, but a broker
buying stock for a client on _margin_ is compelled to wholly pay for
it. If he has not the necessary capital his usual custom is to borrow
from banks or money-lenders, pledging the stock as collateral
security. In foreign exchanges the element of credit enters more
largely into the conduct of business. Where