266 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE
bond market resemble those in both the active and inactive
bond markets for American corporation bonds above described.
Thus, in an open space the “foreign bond crowd” and its Stock
Exchange quotation clerks handle active issues, while the same
filing cases for bids and offers on cards as are used in the
inactive bond market are also provided here for inactive for-
eign bonds. So greatly have Stock Exchange dealings in U. S.
Government bonds dwindled since the years immediately fol-
lowing the war, that these are now handled in a rather incon-
spicuous corner of the room.
Reporting System for Bond Prices.—The system for
reporting bond prices is very similar to that employed for share
prices, except that because of the lighter volume of bond trad-
ing it is simpler in operation. In the bond room there are two
stations for printing prices on the bond tape, one of which
handles prices made in the active bond market, and the other
those made elsewhere. As bond transactions are effected,
reporters inscribe them on slips and take them to the appro-
priate station, whose operator proceeds to “typewrite” the
appropriate symbols and figures on the tape in much the same
manner as that already described in the stock market.® The
bond and the stock ticker systems are entirely separate, and to
obtain quotations for both, § commission brokerage office must
have two different ticker machines. Bond tickers are not as
widely distributed through the United States as stock tickers.
Also, due to the less active character of the bond tape, bids and
offers for bonds as well as price quotations for actual trans-
actions are often printed upon it, and this practice has the
result of widely extending the bond market on the Stock
Exchange.
The ordinary unit of trading in the market is the single
$1,000 bond, and thus the Exchange bond market is really one
for “odd-lots.” Lesser denominations of $500 or $100 can
also be bought or sold there, but usually at fractional variations
Ts See Chanter VI. o. 168.
