444 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE
Membership in the Exchange, however, is not simply a matter
of money. Even though the applicant for membership has suc-
cessfully arranged to purchase his seat, it will not be trans-
ferred to him without the favorable vote of the Committee on
Admissions. This Committee thoroughly reviews his past
business career, and if it has been such as to indicate a lack of
integrity on his part, he will not be allowed to acquire the seat.
The applicant must also be free from debt, and have adequate
capital to enter the business; if he is purchasing his member-
ship with borrowed funds, no lien arising from them can rest
on the seat so that its full value will not be applicable to his
debts in the event of subsequent insolvency. Certain formal
requirements must also be met—the applicant must, for exam-
ple, be an American citizen, be sponsored by two Exchange
members, etc. Thus the efforts of the Stock Exchange to safe-
guard both its own members and their customers, the investing
public, in all security transactions conducted under its auspices,
commence at the very outset of each member’s career.
Constitution and Rules.—The new member is also re-
quired to sign the Constitution and Rules of the Exchange,
thereby promising to abide by its regulations and making him-
self subject to the rigorous discipline for which it provides.
The necessity for and justice of these Stock Exchange rules are
indicated by the fact that fpr their own sake Exchange mem-
bers heartily advocate their strict and instant enforcement,
even on occasion against themselves.
The Constitution of the Stock Exchange has evolved gradu-
ally from the original brokers’ agreement made under the
buttonwood tree in 1792;* it embodies over a century’s experi-
ence on the part of several generations of American stock-
brokers, through the many trying and difficult periods of our
past national economic life. It makes no pretense of providing
specifically for all possible eventualities in a highly complex and
ever-changing business. It lacks the ponderous inclusiveness,
TT (See Chapter III, p. 63.
