Since the beginning of 1929, the United Press has thrice revamped its financial news system in quest of greater speed. Two years ago, a single Morse wire, with a capacity of thirty words a minute, provided member newspapers with all the financial news they wanted. Most of them wanted only Curb and bond reports. Local brokers provided them with what news they wanted of affairs at the Big Board.

These days, however, a high-speed automatic double-trunk channel, with an output of 125 words a minute, is hard put to fill demands and new vehicles will step up the volume. A San Francisco newspaper which never printed any financial news save a general half-column summary on the markets, now requires three wires to accommodate its need. And all over the country, even in the smaller cities, editors have increased the space devoted to financial news to columns and pages.

Editors have said—and it is credible —that the public’s awakened interest in markets has changed the complexion of the entire daily news report. Since her affairs impinge directly upon our national prosperity, Europe has become a more vital element in the news. Stories of European politics, crops, budgets, and whatnot, which not long ago would have speedily found their way to the editor’s commodious wastebasket, are welcomed now with palpitating headlines and inexhaustible space. And the most technical reports on credit mergers, stock distributions, soluble only to experts, plow into the public prints.

It does seem rather far-fetched, though, to believe that the public as a whole either cares or understands a great deal about these technical elements which in their inner harmony or discord affect the whole structure of world financial equilibrium. Most of it is too oblique. Where in it, we ask, lies the granule that may dislocate the scale plans balancing United Ironing Board common? No, most of us have neither the knowledge nor the patience to determine such things. We have an authority more personal, more comprehensive. It is, on the whole, instinct, “hunch,” if you prefer it, and “red hot tips.”

Source: The Outlook, 18 September 1929

Related posts:

1. Wall Street 1929 Part 9
2. Wall Street 1929 Part 6
3. Wall Street 1929 Part 8
4. Wall Street 1929 Part 11
5. Wall Street 1929 Part 7

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Stock Market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments and pings are closed.

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