170 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE
know the price within $10 per share. Thus, a sale of 300
American Tobacco at 24834 was formerly printed “AT
3.24834,” but later “AT 3.8348,” etc.
Thus it comes about that Jones, waiting in the Baltimore
hrokerage office, presently sees a quotation for U. S. Steel
on the tape and has reason to think that it may be his stock
which was sold, while at almost the same moment Smith in
San Francisco sees the same quotation and has reason to believe
that his buying order has been executed.
Limitations of the Stock Ticker.—Of course, the cus-
‘omer in an out-of-town brokerage office must not be too hasty
in concluding that the first quotation which appears on the tape
following the placing of his order of necessity represents the
sale of his own stock. Both from the many physical steps out-
lined above which must be gone through to transmit and exe-
cute orders for stocks and to report their prices over the ticker,
and from the mechanical limitations of the ticker system itself,
it is obvious that considerable delays may sometimes arise be-
tween the placing of the order in the commission house and the
appearance of the quotation on the tape. Furthermore, it is
often good brokerage for the broker to wait, as Wilkins did,
hefore executing a customer’s orders. Smith was saved %%
on his stock through just such a delay. Yet if Smith, after
placing his order, had begun at once to watch the ticker he
might have thought that the very first subsequent quotation
really represented the purchase of his own stock. If, while his
srder was en route to the floor, Steel should have sold at 14934
or 149%4, he would not in consequence be justified in leaping
to the conclusion that he had suffered an injustice when he
received his confirmation of his own transaction at 150.
Inactive Stock Post.— With unusually inactive stock issues,
the above procedure followed with active stocks would not be
aqually satisfactory. In 1927, special methods for dealing in
sich inactive shares were inaugurated by the Exchange. A spe-
