Seat Costs

The value of memberships in speculative exchanges, like the price of speculative commodities and securities themselves, usually rises before and during a period of business prosperity. Recently, in Manhattan, two new records for exchange memberships were made: 1) In the New York Cotton Exchange, $35,000 was paid for a "seat"; later two bids, one at the same figure and one at $37,000, were made without calling forth any offers. 2) On the New York Curb Exchange, a seat brought $10,000--also a new high price for all time.

Seats on the New York Stock Exchange have not yet attained their record of price of $115,000, reached in 1920, but they have nevertheless climbed within reaching distance of it. The last reported sale of a seat on the "Big Board" was for $108,000--an advance of $5,000 over the previous sale. Moreover, it is said that $110,000 has been subsequently bid for a Stock Exchange seat in vain.