, 1875-12-18
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE,

70 the Editor of TAs Ghirago TRIBUNE:
CHICAGO, Dec. Ito any person at all
familiar with tho uoard Of Trado during the
now little moro than its twenty years existence !;
Of tho many tragic incidents which havo yoar1y
occurred amongst Its members; Of the fortunes
" lost aud Won "; OF men who ut ono time wero
looked up to as authority, but who soon failed
and left for other ttelds"; q short okotch of
it, hihtory may be Interesting, and hope elm
structing": For the first lyo yoars of lis e1-
istencc,-aay from 1858 until about l85s,-vo
used to taAo our pasa-books ovesy morning to
tho elevators of Gibbs l. Griffin, Munger Il
Armour and Flint Il Wheeler. nnd have entered
up tho cars Of grain received for the day then
NO wont On tlo Board of Trade and sola say to
Wnlker, bronson Il Co.. s. ?. PomotoT, or
George 8teol, e.c.. who woro the principal
shippers OF tlat day, and who paid for tho
nrtual gtaiu as received, and shipped
II to Buffalo, Oswego. New Yorl, and other
po!uts. How different was all this from the sya-
ten OF to-dayl AZ that time NO wero engaged
IN an honorable busireBs. and could call our
solver merchants. How Is It now? But gralu-
ally tho business began to change-Arst by sell
Ing to STRIVE, then by trading In ortona. b1cA,i.
whilo the elevators commenced to tssuo vare-
house receipts for grain. now suloa Of tho BoErd
wore adapted or old ones amended, until now wo
have tho most perfect machinery which human
Ingenuity can dovlsa to spscnlato and bunko ono
anothor-hnd particularly tho uusophlstfcated
countyyman-out his OF money, In what ia called
option trading.
70 cap tho Whole, the Doasd laya this ne.sou
enacted what thoy call rules to prevent "cor-
ners," which makes It perfectly safe for our dis
Interested frienls OF, tho Board to ssll short
TO- any extent, aud thus depsocfate tho
value Of tho cntro crop Of the West,
on the ptice. Of, whcl, tho real
ospey Of as o Tsn ao equity 3 . aepsnas
We havc membership Of over 1,o00. That tie
short etdo is tho y winning s.lo " has become
pEoyosb on the BOARD Almost eyery new
ces solltng short, and begins It onco to bavl
about tho "i.nncnso amount in s!ght," 'anor-
NOUS reccipts," "tromondous growing crops"
"noyer ayntiling like 1t before, tho:prsyaillng
Tha newspaper reporters, who say it j. not for
the prevailing aentiment Of tho momLs.s Of sho
hoard, acting on thas theory (whtot baioye
q 70 he be same saox one e .nd q oas IT, H.
papers these exaggerated reports aFo spresd Ail
over tho country. Now York and tho East read
these reports, aud prlcos At ouco dacIino thero.
eumuiations In Atnerica. sud. OF course, prices
decllaa there ALSO. Our dts,ntcIessea And phil-
anthropio short-sollor has broko4 tho market,
has made money, but hss ho not dono II 1t tho
e1penso Of the real good Of tbs country n large
snd by procoss II loaat questionable in its
Would It moi promote the real interest of ths
whole Northwest II our board would ~ once
abolish ell its foolsh and misch!eyous Sulss
which It has recently enacted to preveut corners
and try to check this TsokteaA short selling OF
millions OF bushels Of grain per wosk Il tnay al
most eay d&lly) by Irresponsible patsioB, who