When a man wants correct advice in law he goes to a professional lawyer in good standing, one who has made a reputation in the courts, and who has afforded other evidence to the public that he is thoroughly reliable. No man of average common sense would trust a case in law to a bar room “bummer” who would assert that he was well acquainted with Aaron J. Vanderpoel, Roscoe Conkling, and Wm. M. Evarts, and had got all the inside “tips” from these legal lights on the law relating to the case in question. The fellow would be laughed at, and, in all probability, if he persisted in this kind of talk, would be handed over to the city physician to be examined in relation to his sanity, but in Wall Street affairs men can every day make similar pretensions and pass for embodiments of speculative wisdom. If speculators are caught and fleeced by following such counsel, the professional brokers who are members of the Stock Exchange, are no more to blame than the eminent lawyers to whom I have referred would be for the upshot of a case that had been taken into court on the advice which some irresponsible person had pretended to receive from these celebrities of the New York Bar. Professional advice in Wall Street, as in legal affairs, is worth paying for, and costs far less in the end than the cheap “points” that are distributed profusely around the Street, thick as autumn leaves in Vallombrosa, and which only allure the innocent speculator to put his money where he is almost certain to lose it. My advice to speculators who wish to make money in Wall Street, therefore, is to ignore the counsel of the barroom “tippers” and “tipplers,” turn their backs on “bucket shops,” and when they want “points” to purchase, let them go to those who have established a reputation for giving sound advice in such matters, and who have ample resources for furnishing correct information on financial topics, as well as a personal interest in making all the money they can for their clients. There is no difficulty in finding out such reliable men and firms in the vicinity of Wall Street, if speculators will only read the newspapers, or make inquiry of the first messenger boy they may happen to meet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER IV. IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS TRAINING. SONS OF INDEPENDENT GENTLEMEN MAKE VERY BAD CLERKS.—THEY BECOME UNPOPULAR WITH THE OTHER BOYS, AND MUST EVENTUALLY GO.—NIGHT DANCING AND LATE SUPPERS DON’T CONTRIBUTE TO BUSINESS SUCCESS.—GIVE MERIT ITS TRUE REWARD.—KEEPING WORTHLESS PRETENSE IN ITS TRUE POSITION.—RUNNING PUBLIC OFFICES ON BUSINESS PRINCIPLES.—A PIECE OF GRATUITOUS ADVICE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION.—A COLLEGE COURSE NOT IN GENERAL CALCULATED TO MAKE A GOOD BUSINESS MAN.—THE QUESTION OF ADAPTABILITY IMPORTANT.—CHILDREN SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED IN THE OCCUPATION FOR WHICH THEY SHOW A PREFERENCE.—THOUGHTS ON THE ARMY AND NAVY.