The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1872-09-06
THE CHICAGO WHEAT CORNER


style, by Robert Clarke & Co., Cincin-
natl. Price So
THE CHICAGO WHEAT CORNER"
Capital not unfrequently lends
itself to base uses. The late at
tempt of spectators in Chicago to
make a "corner" on wheat, il the
most recent instance of this kind.
And all the world rejoiced when
the telegraph, some two weeks ago,
announced the failure of the scheme,
and that some of the disreputable
operators had been financially ruin
ed. One of old wrote that he had
lived long, and that he had "never
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his
seed begging bread" and hence it
is that those who would speculate
on the very necessities of Gods
poor, are in a great majority OF
cases, brought to realize the wicked
ness of their schemes. Heaven it
self seems to flown upon such dis
reputable business.
1t has been asserted that large
sums of money were lost. If SO we
are glad of it. It may seem hard
hearted to so express ourseli
over other peoples misfortunes, but
whenever capitalists combine their
money power to monopolize the
food we eat aud to raise the price
on any article of everyday con-
sumption, we hope they will lose
by it. These CORNERS" by the
Fisk and Gould class of financiers
haye done much injury to the bust
ness interests of the country in the
past few years, and oppressed those
who were the least able to stand the
effects of their operations. They
are worse than gamblers, because
they injure society at large. There
ought to be no such power among
men as that which money gives to
make these "corners" on different
articles, and we always rejoice to
see them robbed OF it in the way the
Chicago spectators were. They
corned themselves. Outside of a
limited number of farmers who
rushed in their wheat at tho highest
prices nobody was benefited.
1t will be remembered that the
spectators were not operating in a
fair and open grain market, as reg
ulated by the supply and demand OF
wheat. On the contrary, they had
concerted measures for preventing
that fair and natural market by
giving to it fictitious and unreal
values, hoping to be able to COM
mand the price of bread throughout
the entire country, and thereby OF
gathering in their millions from the
earnings of the poor. The action OF
the market itself showed that they
had advanced the price of wheat to
the extent of making an increase OF
at least two dollars and a half on a
barrel of flour. All this and more
was to be returned to those specula-
tors; and all this and more was to
come from the pockets of the con-
sumers to fill the vaults of those
Chicago spectators.
1t is the right of the public to
have the price of bread, and the
other necessaries of life, regulated
by the common laws of public sup
ply. Whoever takes measures to
thwart the operation of those
natural laws does community an
indefinite wrong. For that wrong
there is no penalty against the
wrong-doer in this country, except
in the loss of the means he uses to
effect that wrong-the loss of his
money. To such people the idea of
a moral principle being outraged
by their conduct would scarcely oc-
cur; and if it did it would only be
scoffed at and derided. The hope
of immense gains at the expense of
the public presents to them only
one aspect, to make money. Against
this view there is no argument to
be drawn from the ethics of trade
of the least convincing force. There
is but one thing that can prevail
against their views, the loss of
thier wealth in the undertaking.
Such an event is apt to make their
successors pause and ponder before
undertaking to usurp the laws of
trade. Men are slow to learn even
from such experience. 1t is within
the knowledge of every adult citi-
zen that various attempts have been
made at divers times by men of
wealth to "corner" the bread mark
ct of this country and monopolize
the supply. We have rarely heard
of success in this base design.
All have been visited with over
disaster. There seems
to be a decree of Providence against
success in this kind of business.
In truth, when q man assumes to
usurp and control the royal laws
that govern trade in all its legiti-
mate channels, how can he presume
to hope for ultimate success, when
success is founded upon violated
laws that are as old as the universe.