THE COMMISSION HOUSE
proper. As the included example shows, this statement is ruled
into vertical columns for the entry of details regarding trans-
actions, and is dated horizontally. Throughout, each transac-
tion recorded is clearly designated as a purchase or sale, and its
financial extensions as either debits or credits. At the bottom
of the statement it is balanced to show the final money debit or
credit balance, and the “long” or “short” securities in the
account.
Summary of Mr. Blank’s Transactions.—In the account
of Mr. Blank here taken as an example, the customer in the
beginning deposited as margin 5 Atchison general 4s, 40 shares
of Pennsylvania, and his check for $8,000. He at once pro-
ceeded to sell 100 Columbia Gas short at 8014, and to buy 100
Reading at 114)%. A few days later he successfully “made a
turn” in Southern Pacific by purchasing 100 shares at 13214
and two days afterward selling them again at 135. After this
Mr. Blank did nothing for two weeks, when he “covered” his
previous short sale by purchasing 100 Columbia Gas at 8114
at a loss of 34 of a point; at the same time he purchased 100
shares of Baltimore & Ohio R. R. at 125. After a few days
more he purchased 100 shares of Pan-American Petroleum B
stock at 553% and sold short 100 shares of Crucible Steel at
1098. This latter short sale was more successful than the
former, since later on Blank “covered” at 10314, although for
three days he was forced to pay a premium of 4 for borrow-
ing the short stock. Let us see how the bookkeepers of Jenkins
& Co. posted the above and other items upon Blank’s monthly
statement.
At the outset Blank’s securities deposited as margin on
August 1 are entered as “Received” and he is credited with his
check for $8,000. His first two transactions—the short sale
of Columbia Gas and the purchase of Reading, were also actu-
ally made on August 1. The date of these items on the state-
ment, however, is August 2, for items are dated not according
to the dates when contracts for the purchase and sale of securi-
