, 1870-01-31
PLAYING WITH LOADED DICE.

Every puSlnesa man OF this clty,-eI-
ceptinR only some portion OF tho elevator
nen,-ackuowledges the justice Of the
proposition made by the Board Of Trade |
that there should be an honest registration
Of the receipts Of grain. The 1efuaal On
the part Of the elevator men to acquiesce in
such registration goes very far to COZ
firm the suspicion that they can and do
take an unfair advantage Of the present sys-
tenn, and must be construed IL an ayowa1 of
their determination to continue to do 80,
II they were willing to carry on the grim
business on fair, legitimate basis, they
would At once assent to proposal which is
only intended to make it At all times a
matter Of Trustworthy record how
much grim is nctua1ly in the market. Nor
is it questio in which only the desle1s in |
grain in this city are oonce1ned. The stats |
Of the market here regulates it, to largo
degree, everywhere else in the country, and |
is Of vital importance to tho farmer who
sends bis products to Chicago for sale. As
now managed that market depends, not
upon the amount Of grim in the elevators,
but upon the number Of receipts issued BY
the elevator man. The Board of Trade
asks simply that the two shall be made, By
actual registration, to accord. The elevator
man refuse, in effect, TO have their
powers Of loading the market
curtailed. It is az II bank ahould
insist upon the right to issue notes
for the redemption Of which there is
no security either in bonds or specie-as il
tho Directors Of a railroad should Claim
the privilege Of Issuing certificates Of stock
without legal authority and for which there
is no representative value. The result, of
course, wonld be, as jim Fisk impudently
but t1uly said Of the Erie stock utter it had
been 50 managed by him, that sit had
ceased to have any value except for specu-
htiTe purposes" And such will soon be
the fact in regard to the grain certificates Of
Chicago; they will have "ceased to have
any value except for speculative purposes.
The elevator men virtually acknowledge
this; and they not only acknowledge il, but
they refuse to take any step to correct it
even SO simple and honest IN one as that
proposed BY the Board Of Trade.
It is Just as we'll, perhaps, that this is
uow distinctly understood. The existing
system Of grain storage and receipts is 80
vicious that radical cure must be found
for it somewhere aud somehow. The grain
trade Of the West is too Important to the
commerce Of the country to be played with
] as gamblers play with marked cards OF load
ed diee. The farmers want the value Of
the fruita Of their labor, and, when they
understand the facts Of the case, will find
market where they may be sure Of honesty
| and fair dealing. There is certainly no
natural law which throws this important in
terest into The elevators Of Chicago and the
hands Of their owners, and the tzade will and
ought to seek some other centre Il it is
only to be made here the nero
basis Of g combination Of gamblers, In
juIious as tho loss Of the grain trade would
be to this city, it Is loss that is sure 10
come If this decision Of the elevator men
is persisted in. Theirs are, We know, honest
and upright men in the elevator business
here; but If they are, as is alleged, email
gamated in one grand consolidation, ne can
understand how their conscieuces are
quieted By such division Of responsibility.
The only way they can be walked up is by
loss Of business all around, aud that vii
surely come, un1eas fair and square e1.
| hibit Of the amount Of gra1n in ssore can he
had, from day to day, in sono such way a
that proposed By the Board of Trade.