94 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



each and sprint with them to the office where they 

 were to be delivered. If this office were within a 

 block it was pretty sure to be stuck with the gold. 

 There were daily disputes over the time of deliv- 

 ery, for the boy who had raced a hundred yards 

 with a backload of gold was always sure he had 

 arrived in time, while the cashier who refused it 

 pointed at the clock. Then the boy impeached 

 the clock and appealed to Hammond of William 

 Street, the Wall Street standard of time. 

 Watches were compared and a boy delegated to 

 go with him to Hammond's where they settled the 

 dispute. 



Hammond's face and office are pictured in my 

 memory to-day because of a lesson I received 

 more than a generation ago. It was at a later 

 period, when gold checks and gold certificates 

 had taken the place of coin for delivery, and a 

 million dollars of gold was represented by a small 

 package. I was in the outer office when a boy 

 from Hallgarten's rushed into the office with a 

 handful of gold certificates for delivery. 



