, 1881-10-16
CoRNERING THE MARKET: HOW TO
ST1p IT.

The substance OF j uQ ge jaulesOuS ClAAA &c
to the grand jury concerning illegal opera
tlons on the Board of Trade was telegraphed
from Chicago, and has attracted considera-
BILE attention in other cities. 1t may not re-
suit in the Indictment or punishment OF any
of the parties who have recently combined to
corner the wheat. oats, and other markets on
the Chicago Board of Trade, because the
necessary evidence may not and probably
will not, be presented to the grand jury;
bat it will have the effect to increase public
agitation of the criminal character Of cor
ners, and help prepare the way for reforming
these practices altogether. For instance, the
New York JIdil, under the title "Cornerlng
Crime,'' makes the following comments:
Judge Jameson produced sensation on Tues
dav while cnurglng the grand jury OF the CrtMi-
nal Court, Chicago. by citing the statute and IN
structing the juryinen to consider ANY erluehce
they may receive that It has been violated oF
grain gamblers. ana to act fearlesiy and prompt
ly TO vind cate the lnws- Corners have been SO
frequent in ChicnEo and So injurious to legltl-
mate rrsttfic that SOME measure lnr thetr pr. pre.
ycn1iou Is much TO be desired. Judge jameson
spoke Justly when he said: 1.-The thing which
VIC know MS a corner in the market might oe
briefly described as process OF drying unsns-
pectIug dealers in grain. Stock and the Ike into
corral and relieving them OF their purses. IL
is species Of robbery. but une which it is difii-
ssys confidently that .sthe nefarious business Of
pr,lip gambling is threatened with annihllAuon
here in lis own particular abode. we shnll noI
be SO san41lfue Of such result until We hear that
some grain gambler has peen fined or imprisoned
under the s1utute ciie1 i,y Judge Jameson 1t
is very difficult to obtnn evidence TO GonE,ct
rumseifers and common gamblers OF violations
Of law. and 1t is likely TO be sttla more oiihcuI
to convict the authors Of corners OF crime.
There is no doubt that there will always be
great difficulty in proving the existence OF
=. corner'' in the courts, since 4 & corner" is
III the nature of conspiracy, which, rs a
rule, can only be established by the evidence
of one or more of the co-c0nsprators whom
iuries arc apt to discreltt. The Illinois stat
ute grew out of a very general conviction
that corners were injurious to public i'll
tcrests, but it seems to be scarcely explicit
enough to cover the ground and to lead to
conviction. The statute is as follows: "
Whoever contracts to have or give to himself
| the option to sell or buy at futureuny grain OF
| other commodity. stock of any railroad or other
corporation. gold. Or lOrcstalls the market "
spreading false runors to influence the price ot
] commodities therein, or corners the market, u
tries to do SO in relation to any OF such cotunod'
tiles, shall be fined not less than sio no: more
exceeding one year, or both--Reulsed Statutes
Illinois. Chap. So, Sec 1870.
Three otfenses are defined in the above
statute:
| ~ An option to buy orsell grain at fut
ure date is prohibited and punished But {
contract to deliver, or contract to TAXI
grain, at future date at :: certain price lla:
been held BY the courts not to constitute al
option. The only transactions which seem t
be covered by this term are the so-callet
s.puts'' and "calls,'' which are privilege!
| bought and sold to sell or to purchase Sc
much grain within a certain period. Thest
transactions are made to some extent
though not recognized by the Board o
Trade; but they are SO inconsIderable Of lat
that they do not affect the markets. A singl'
| conviction under the statute would suffice tt
put an end tn them altogether -.
! {a) Forestalling the market is made .
penal offenso when it takes the shape O.
"spreatllng false runlors TO- influence th'
priceof commodities therein.'''~ Forestallint
originally meant something Of the samt
nature as what is now understood By corner
ing, but the Illinois statute has limited tht
significance Of the term'to the spreading O
1injurious .rumors- such as false reports o
failures OF the product Of certain districts
ETC. >. -
T.: {3) "Cornering the markell or trying tt