If the time a man spends in finding out the mistake he has made in selecting this or that stock haphazard for speculative purposes, were devoted to obtaining some special information about one particular stock which he might have good reason for believing was worth attention, his chances of making money would much improve.[34] This plan is adopted by the more sensible speculators who sufficiently understand the difficulties of the business to recognize the importance of laying down certain principles of action. Money cannot be made for a continuance with any degree of certainty without hard work. When this proposition is demonstrated, which it undoubtedly can be, the whole question of speculation as an occupation, a pastime, or a business, call it what we will, resolves itself into this, that unless a man devotes the same hard work to it that is necessary to earn a fortune in any other calling, plus the possession of an intellect of a special order and considerably above the average, he must be a fool to speculate at all. [Sidenote: AN AVERAGE INSTANCE OF HAPHAZARD SPECULATION.] In order to bring more forcibly home to the mind of a man who may know nothing of Stock Exchange matters, the wisdom of imprinting upon his understanding the uselessness, in the long run, of playing at what is nothing better than pitch-and-toss, we will just sketch a case in point as an instance:—Supposing a speculator to enter the office of a stock broker. He has, perhaps, some hazy ideas about the future financial condition of Spain, for example. He has noticed the stock has fallen to 19¾, and this seems to be very low for a country which has so far struggled against the corruption of its rulers, and the laziness and apathy of its population as a body, and has managed for a long time, by hook or by crook, to meet the exterior coupons by paying them in other people’s cash. The probabilities certainly must be, he thinks, in favour of their paying another half-year’s interest, if after that the deluge of national insolvency should flood the land. He contents himself with gathering to a focus the intelligence that stands from morning to morning in the telegram columns, and comes to the conclusion that something will turn up to supply the exchequer with another loan to meet the next dividend, and in that case the stock must at once jump up to 22 at least, perhaps to 25, as there would then be six months to turn round in. Now, what we submit is, that to speculate deliberately upon such a system as this, is not far removed from insanity; and yet it will be acknowledged by those conversant with the modus operandi of the haphazard speculator, that his plan of attack is based, for the most part, upon this absurd system of guess work, no serious trouble being taken to estimate the extent of the forces opposed. Some fanatical faith is placed in the doctrine of chances that the fluctuation wished for will occur, and he shuts his eyes and waits.