NY Stock Exchange 175th Anniversary
The New York Stock Exchange celebrates the 175th anniversary of its founding. Speakers include Gustave Levy, Chairman of Stock Exchange Board of Governors; G. Keith Funston, retiring President of the New York Stock Exchange; Mayor John Lindsay; Governor Nelson Rockefeller; and Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
The program begins with the National Anthem. WNYC announcer explains the event.
Gustave Levy, chairman of Stock Exchange Board of Governors, offers a benediction of sorts and announces the guests on the dais before introducing G. Keith Funston, retiring President of the New York Stock Exchange.
Funston discusses the founding of the NYSE in 1792, evoking the New York of the time and its agrarian economy. He discusses its evolution into an exchange of securities. He stresses the importance of adjusting to the times. He reads a letter from President Lyndon B. Johnson, written especially for the occasion. He praises the city of New York and its mayor, John Lindsay.
Lindsay thanks the men on the dais. May 14-20 is declared NYSE day in New York. He also evokes the formation of the NYSE. He jokes about almost losing the NYSE. He recalls the etymology of the name Wall Street. He reviews the history of the NYSE and its relationship with New York.
Funston introduces Rockefeller.
Rockefeller thanks the notable guests at the event. He discusses the 6 columns at the NYSE, stressing the association of the NYSE with NYC. He talks of transportation innovations in New York that are beneficial to the NYSE. He praises the employment opportunities the Stock Exchange provides. Rockefeller praises the free market in its role in sustaining open society and democracy.
Funston recalls his happy years representing the Stock Exchange. He goes on the introduce Vice President Hubert Humphrey, a close associate of Funston's.
Humphrey thanks Funston, Rockefeller, Lindsay, and other non-speakers. He tells us his speech covers much of the same ground as the prior speakers. He discusses reading the history of NYSE. He discusses its hand in helping to defray the costs of the American Revolution. He goes into the parallels and inseparability of economic freedom and American freedom - between the formation of the Exchange and the formation of the United States. He discusses the tax cuts of 1962, buttressing his economic credentials to the crowd, eschewing Kennedy's Keynesianism. His discusses fiscal and monetary policy and American capitalism and its role as America's strongest weapon in the war of ideas (against Communism), more so than America's scientific achievements. He discusses investments in education, health, and human resources paired with economic investments. He does not believe in a welfare state, but rather sustaining human welfare. He downplays the problematic dichotomy between workers and owners, etc. He cites Alexis De Toqueville's statements about American character.
Levy thanks Humphrey and other speakers and looks forward to the 1992 bicentennial. The band and choir sing "Happy Birthday."
The WNYC announcer closes out the program.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 92390
Municipal archives id: T2520
