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Show A CITY OF CAW1BLERS. j TUB ABSORBING PABSIOM ToVL STOCK SPECULATION IN SAN FRANCISCO. A San Francisco correspondent of the IVeiv York Times writes: Everything Every-thing seems to be subordinated to the mining stocks and to Bpeculation in mining. Here they are not satisfied with one bourd, but must have three, although the pnpulittion of San Francisco Fran-cisco is barely 250,000. There is the Pacific board, the California board, and the San Francisco board, each of which baa ila stock exchanga and ia independent of the othenj. This ia pretty much as if there should be iu Now Turk ciiy an Atlantic stock exchange, ex-change, ami a New York city stock exchange, nut though the busineesn transacted in Gotham rcpreaenta ft population of over two millions, ono stock exchange baa hitherto been found amply sufficient. It is obvious from this ono fact that gambling in mining shares must bo ft very general pursuit, and indeed it is. The man who resolutely confines himself to the strict channels of his immediate business is looked upon by the community com-munity with thoso mingled feelings of I contempt nud admiralion which a' thorough-faced drunkard feels for a teetotal friend. He envioB hie vigorous vig-orous health and admires tbo calm blood which courses through the un-fevered un-fevered veins, yet after all, be thinks the man is ft milk sop, too cowardly to know the joys of Bacchus. Sj hero in San Francisco, everybody takes a nibble at the treacherous bait. The merchant down, town, whose capital is jugt sufficient lor bin im-y im-y porting btisinc-sa, is on the sly hearing l' Opbir, while the wife ol his bodom b is bought the atme atov-k for a risa. o L L is clerks are all embarked on small speculative shipa of tho eame kind and condemn t'.iemselves to voluntary poverty in hopes ol making a great raise and then yoing into busincas for i themselves. Kven the very conk in the kitchen is enabled through the discriminating business tact of sonio brokers to share iu the delirious dauce, for with so email a lum as a dollar one can venture in. The method by which the single-dollars single-dollars ul the poorest classes of the community are raked in by the sharks of l.uidt rmloi fl and California "tree id, is the familiar put and call of Wall and Broad in ourowndelighlful ciiy. Here you can have a put or ft call upon a single share of Ophir or any other stock in the market for one dollar. The consequences ia that the mind- of almost the entire adult population are riveted uou mining -tucks. Bulletins of the prices current are circulated every half hour, t-.xpoetd to all th brokers' otlUvs and in all the money ex-cba.iis, ex-cba.iis, and aont to all the leading hotels. 'ILe larg-j broking offices, where business is done ou a grand Hcale, are furnished with enormous DliK-ktxtards, on which the d'.llerent tocks are painted in legible while characters, and the Lluctiu lions are marked in cliA.k every hour. In; front ol these offices hundreds of: men calbcr every day, coming a early ai '.'o'clock and lingering until the final tiiotAtions uro marked, when lhy slowly retire. Sometimes, whrn there ib great exciteinunl in llie nun ',n H ahuri n. therfl are thousands of t uich loliertrs, in Bidewalks arr, cti'ik id, and to pitsj on one uu--d 1 walk in Iho flreel iisdf among the Iniillmg vehicles. 1 hey are t't'ii- j tially a ijueer crowd, comrrvud ol t-j i culalors ai:d lonfira. Not tiiat lucre is ai:y intriiic ditb reace be iw-.-n llum, fur the -peculator ol llii cliaract-T 10 simply a loafer wbo has raisi-vl ftalaku and ia MWa.ililif' r faults, and iiu? lu.ifi-r is a (ip-'cuUlor wtio is pciin!.- .tnd is awaiting a t ike lnm ct.iiMi bitiinato cnir.ML. ou may know ca-iiy liic men who uro in luck fruui thrwe wh.i are l Kit. 'II. e f rmcr havt'decriil hahihmritt, ai.d 1;savv watch-cliaitis of gold cpiarli in brod "tliiilt; tho Utter am fi.ul iu rus'y vaati'rn rlotti from I.k-h l:.e iy latin), I'lviii tho t-.il'T an iutlt ecril' ti'it) k 1 ud of purplf. Ti.t y have n-itliir nauiua imr w.imli-ciiaim, w.imli-ciiaim, a:;J il inner is a pr.b!riii to br o!rt-l cilhir I'V ut-ui-i.int che k ( r by the spirit of mi i'i i-iTif ttfiich such a pursuit is calcnlatt U rwlvc, n.fre lin-y atm.J, t" lucky and the ia-nnil'"-, in r.iu or .ii.:,nit', tiuriog liic livelong d.iy, w.it'-fni.a' tu.it niiserai-.f eptdiUtiTe pot bui::iig Sj lor; as thry can noiko a lucky Lit or two, or f.111 borrow Irnm oltirre, llifv mulii.'! thu rilraonlinary km I of ii:e. iirn they nm whut it nn phaticai.y Cii.Itd "playrd Out,'1 I lie nirrprinnig srek tho nunc, an t tlir siiil'.lusa ill ift into ciiino. 'J i.i.a i v i.l.'iilly w. irs lliMi lh-!i lh-!i tt-ri'', (ur wil:i m-Mii the gmlilTs "uerpii s are not p.ir.ilv ifl, uud ho din work for Ins living, and buy lotP ry tp krta, t.. Hut h. rc l p Hi t k. Hieinrre f.ct (hat a man iis cot a put upon nans fav.inlf nfiM-k "fma tn enlillc him in bis own mind to n p isilirn renpito fnim any ii. tno pcciip.ili..n until the turn lc Undid for or .igaint bim. |