The New York herald., 1869-11-04
SPECULATION y-gAMaLiaG.
NOVEMBER 1. 1909.

10 THE EDITOR or TIE HERALD:-
In your issue of Saturday, October 20, there Is q
communication which is intended as an answer to
an article that appeared IN your columns on the 18th
uit.. headed ''Goid Gamblers and Faro Gamblers v
which was reply to article signed 1T. p. Akers
Secretary Of the Gold Exchange endeavoring "a
show that operators In gold were not gamblers bu,
speculators Tho article In reply TO Mr.. Akers' com
municasion was written on the 10th OF October and
sua1 Your recent correspondent thirteen days sub
sequenty on the 2othi thereby showing that he had
given the matter ample consideration, and had put
u before the public in the very strongest ana most
favorable light tnat his own ability, combined with
that OF the Secretary of the Gold Exchange, could
develop or the merits Of the case would permit.
would like to trespass ON your valuable space TO
answer this last communication with the assurance
tnaS VIII not again trouble you or the pubic with
9ny further discussion on the subject Your oor-
respondent asserts that the arguments ne adduoes
completely refute those the article OF che 10th ult.
cannot see where the slightest refutation comes
In. but on the contrary. think that his arguments
offer an opportunity to clinch and settle the subject
II not beyond contradiction. certainly beyond coa-
travention.
quote the salient points OF hts argument and
shall answer them In detail. First, he asks what
difference there is between spe0uiatng In gold and
speculatng IN cotton or c0rns answer, there Is q
very great diference for sDeculator in cotton aud
corn has something tangible 10 base his operations
upon, as he knows tnere Is no contingency by winch
either eau tall Ia price more than two or three per
cent III twenty-lOur hors but H. on the contrary, he
neither obtain nor doltye but must rely upon paying
margin In case Of loss, then ho IS gambling
IN those commodities. and not specializing. But
when combination or capitalists can send gold up
or down the sliding scale twenty por cent III twenty
minutes, to call that speculation shows either
utter ignorance or the true meaning OF the
perverSOn thereof In order that there may
DO no further misunderstanding OF the meaning
Of these two W0rds. l propose to explain
them. Speculation means Investing money In any
thing thai has solid foundation, whereby y man,
although NOT successful IN his venture Is not likely
TO lose all his capital and when successful he Ii sat
isdod with profit AZ fair market rates. and more
than satisfied when 1t yields him handsome per
cenlag9 above legtmate interest; but when he
ventures largely beyond that he quits speculative
taxing the chances OF profit or loss IN anything,
matter whether 1t IL IN gold or at faro bank in
stocks or on horse race, and there Is no
limit TO the profit aimed at. Inat IS my theory
OF tho difference between speculating and gambling.
Now let US sec the view The HERALDs correspondent
the 29th ult. takes Of tue matter He says "that
speculation is not gambling WIN appear plainly
upon the baro statement OF Two points OF difference
First. speculation always deals In properly gam
bling nevor. 1t is the rise fall OF property that
makes the gain OF loss OF the specuat0r. Specula
ton cannot be gambling; for u Ii founded on con-
tracts for the receipt anu delivery OF property and
out OF such contracts express or implied, declared
understood, grow all rights oil duty. all obllga-
"BIack Friday" there were $500, 100000 In gold
bought by specuators-as they call themselves
the city Of New YORK. would ike U to know where re
the property was upon which those contracts were
based. Why, all the property or oil the members OF
the gold board combined could not, ut 81 81 In
rency, nave delivered the gold to satisfy those
tracts. But your correspondents tells US that the
late gold clique, or ring, mad no intention 0f making
good their contracts II their vlian0us scheme Jailed
ana entailed loss upon them. Now, as 1t Is
wen known fact that many OF the leading men anu
this nefario3 scheme it does not speak very highly
OF the moral sense OF obligauon or honor Entertained
0y Hpecuat0r5 IL gold. suppose VIC regard tni5 aS
an exceptional case, as ID claimed, and q bold
attempt by unscrupul0us sc0undrels to swindle the
common community, there have been several other
upon which $lO0,000. QUO 10 gold been
bought In day without creating any extraordinary
Set ana thus no DOUBT YOUR corresppndeas LOOKS
upon as o legitimate transactlOn-n fact lair bus
ness speculation. Now. rs has been before stated,
there not more than $20,O00,000 oil told, public
or private, IN the city. would like to know now
those contracts were To DO fulfilled and the property
delivered which we are told Is a condition neces
sarY to constitute legitimate speculation Possibly
the secretary OF the Gold Exchange can cpner out
the problem; but when I went to school all the
figures In arithemetic from simple addition to alge-
gra, could not prove the proposition.
The truth is there IS no scn thing as speculation
In gold; for 1t has very nearly UNIFORM value Ia all
Civilized countries. What Ii called specializing In
gold n In reality specuiatng on the policy OF the
IDLY proved by the TACT that during the recent gold
excitement, when the transactions IN Wan street
the Secretary Of the Treasury TO mis- assistant
to sell 81 900 the next day broke up the schemes
them ike leaves In whirwind. Where, tnon was
the property upon which speculation Is founded
How much Of y was given up to satisfy the cont contracts
at the rate OF 81 80 IN greenbacks there IS no con-
nngency short OF war with tne European Powers
that could make 1t intrlnsicaly worth 81 so t0-mor
row the credit VI the United states government Is
good aud the fluctuations IN the daily and fall
now is simply the effect Of manipulation BY the gam
commercial purposes, which ls easily obtained, and
were 1t not for Tue Vaccinations OF those gamblers
gold to-day would command but little higher pre-
MUM than the Legitimate rate Of exchange between
Europe and this country.
ult gives as reason that man cannot be ''c0r-
ncred In gambling u that he "purs forth no con-
tracts which require the purchase Of property for
their satisfaction" That may be very true, but
know OF my own personal knowledge that tney often
put forth contracts which require the hypothocation
gamblers lie has alluded TO- they enter into
tracts with the intention OF repudlang them II they
ersliy BAY up to the last dollar that they are aole
Now, few words on The subject OF corncring and
| am done. man Invests his money on horse
race or at faro bank and upon the winning side;
IL "a only TO tue amount OF ten dollar BILL all the
capital on the race course or ali the money that the
bankers at faro can raise cannot corner crush out
or take his money away from him. but IN stock or
gold operations lew capitalists can combine to-
aud they have frequently done co. regardless OF the
fact that they were reducing hundreds OF
families TO privation and want IN tueir greedy
ayariciousncss to accumulate few thousand dollars
that they had no more need OF than tue Atlantic
ocean has for the few drops Of an April shower,
while to their victims 1t would have been refresh
Ing and fe-sustanng as mama from the heavens.
Now Mir. Editor, there must be some indescroaoie,
and 10 me inexplicable odium attached TO the word
gambler; for while upon The one hand men who are
| engaged In the most reckless and unscrupulous
gambling transactions ever known, either la ancient
| or modern Il nes rcpudiate the word as degrading
| and call themselves 'speculator5,' on the other
| hand, narrow Drained gamblers, who hold doubt
fu position among then 0wa fraternity, assume the
name of brokers, under the hallucinstion that II
adds to their respecability bus not even the lions
skin under which the trs class endeavOr to disguise
themselves can prevent the length OF their
attesting the true nature OF the brute, while In thc
second case, all the borrowed feathers OF the peacock
| are unavailing to conceal The jackdaw the moment
| he opens his mouth. What then, Is the difference