There is little need to speak of the New York Stock Exchange’s charities and benefactions, because these are well known. Scarcely a day passes that some one of the members does not ask of his fellows a contribution, however small, for a worthy charity with which he or the ladies of his family have come in contact, and invariably the mite is freely given, although there may not be time to spare to hear the story. The private and unostentatious benefactions of members go on at all times, and cannot be discussed here. When the _Titanic_ went down, a fund of $25,000 was raised in a day, and a committee of members of the Exchange was on the pier when the survivors arrived to do what could be done. The Mississippi floods met with a similar response; indeed, every great calamity that spells suffering and sorrow and need finds an instant expression of sympathy and practical assistance from the floor. In times of national gravity, such as an outbreak of war, the Exchange will always be heard from with its volunteers and its funds for equipping a regiment; hospitals, churches, and all worthy charities well know that appeals are responded to with a zeal that is alike nonsectarian and generous. Never in my experience on the floor have I heard a complaint from a deserving employee of the Stock Exchange. Salaries are wisely increased with length of service, pensions are given by the governors to aged servants; hospitals, medical treatment, nurses, and sanitariums are provided for the sick, and funds are supplied to families of deceased employees. A spirit of helpfulness, sympathy, and generosity is in the very air of the Stock Exchange, an absolutely fine spirit that takes pride, too, in caring for its own members who have been unfortunate. Finally, let it be said that the Stock Exchange man is human. He knows the “rub of the green,” he suffers as all men suffer, but he does not complain, nor solicit odds. All he asks is fair play; a little patient study of what the Exchange stands for; a little better understanding of its usefulness in our commercial life; a little recognition of each man’s effort to uphold a high standard of business honor; a little of the cordial support which he himself, with stout optimism, extends to every worthy thing. CHAPTER IX THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, AND COMPARISONS WITH ITS NEW YORK PROTOTYPE