410 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE 
brokerage office, whether in the lofty cliff dwellings of the Wall 
Street district, or elsewhere in the United States. In the bank- 
ing section of even small American cities one can almost invari- 
ably discover a brokerage office, built sometimes of cut stone 
like a small bank, or, if less ostentatious, with its green silk 
window curtains, and its stereotyped legend in gold letters, 
Jenkins & Co. 
Members of the New York Stock Exchange 
Not so many people, however, are equally familiar with the 
detailed methods by which business is transacted there. 
All commission houses are partnerships, at least one of 
whose partners is a member of the New York Stock Exchange. 
Corporations are not permitted to own a seat there? But a 
considerable difference, of course, exists between the various 
commission houses in the scope and variety of the service they 
render the public. There are also fundamental differences be- 
tween the main office and its branch or correspondents’ offices 
beyond the Wall Street area. In order that we may see as 
much as possible of the brokerage house machinery, we will 
elect to visit the main office of a fairly large commission house 
located at soo Wall Street. 
Appearance of a Typical Commission Office.—As we 
enter the outer door we gnay see several windows marked 
“Cashier,” “Telegrams,” and “Deliveries.” But since we are 
neither messenger boys nor stock runners, we enter the cus- 
tomers’ room. 
The first item of furniture which usually strikes our eye is 
the large quotation board on the wall, although some firms do 
not employ one. Some brokerage offices still prefer the older 
type of quotation board, which consists simply of a large black- 
board upon which current prices are chalked, while others 
favor the oak or mahogany board with cardboard tickets. This 
latter type of board is equipped with horizontal ledges in which 
2 See Appendix XVlIa.