Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-15

| SION To-Day. w. ID. Vanderbilt. who had
been subpenaed, came, accompanied by
Chauncy M. Depew, counsel for the New
York Central & Hudson River railroad.
Vanderbilt took the witness stand and tes
titled of dealings in futures. He said it
had become the custom to buy and sell
without intending to deliver. AS he did
not deal in it he did not know much of it,
and could only speak of the matter as
it affected railroads. Sometimes there
would be large call for grain, and all out
| cars will be called upon. All at once the
demand will cease and elevators will be
full. From 500 to 1000 cars will be
| standing loaded on the tracks. Then other
men have to suffer. have been railroad
ing for nineteen years, and it is like any
| other business. AS to a remedy or sug-
gestions, have talked to our people a
great deal about it, and cannot say that
we ever came to the same conclusion twice
as to legislation concerning corners.
He did not know enough of them to offer
any suggestions. The people give me
credit for being a great Spectator in
stocks. L never bought share to specu-
late, and never sold a share a stock short
Every time have bought them [ have put
| up 20 per cent. margin. Hundreds of
other men buy them and do not put up
margins at all. There are thousands of
things IN the newspapers about me that
are not true. They appear day after day,
| and have no more truth than I tell
you. Newspaper men are as the rest of us,
earning their living. They are good fell
lows, but living by writing sensational
stories and doing that remarkably we'll. L
picked up paper this forenoon and saw
an article concerning me that had not
| shadow of truth in it. It is supposed he
| referred to the reported purchase of the
| Omaha road. l think the system of deal
| ing IN future has bad effect. No man
who goes into Wall street but comes out
| loser at some time. The trouble in the
Northwest, the throwing of things into
chaos has piled up freights
that We can hardly move. Matters have
| been so pushed that he had been COM
PEELED to buy seventy-ive new locomotives
| and borrow twelve. When he went to
tailor shop he expected to pay for his own
clothes and some other mems, too. He
spoke OF the dressed beef carrying interest,
| and said his road believed it could carry it
by the pound. To attempt to touch it by
| corners was bad for both sides, and the
subject should be left to men who knew
| more about it than he. 1t is expected Jaw
| Gould will testify this afternoon.
Good gracious calculated Uncle Rufus
| Hatch, as Senator Boyd was about to ad-
minister the oath to him, ''have got to
| tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the TRUTH"
care you familiar with making cor
ners!' was the question asked.
1--WE heard people speak of corners. I
never made one that I remember. I don't
know other peoples business and 1 don't
know whether I am associated with per-
sons who are making corners or not.
corner is buying more of certain COM
modify than really exists, in order to
sell to somebody else for a profit.
The Hannibal & st. Joseph corner was
an illustration of how tightly the boys
sometimes get squeezed. Laughter.)
| L had no Interest in that corner. Making
of corners is very detrimental to COM
merce. never knew of but one corner of
any kind that was grand success. That
was the Harlem corner number of years
ago, gotten up by Vanderbilt. He had the
money to carry it through, and it was
success. There was some leg islation of
some kind as nearly as can remember,
which was adverse to the property, every
Heterogeneous, senator's, assemblymen,
clerks, all hands-sold Harlem short.
Vanderbilt bought it in, held on to it, and
made them all settle at 1926. A great
panic followed. Those who had sold
what they didn't have, suffered. That was
all there was of that. I don't suppose.the
stockholders of the railroad suffered, and
those who were able to hold on as long as
Vanderbilt did uDada moDavO
The question of futures was then taken
up, and witness answered: ''It is a diff
cult question to answer. Now, last year
bought three times more
corn than there actually was in market. 1
simply bought the imaginations of other
people as to whether the price was going
up or down. If had held on to the stuff
thirty days longer than I did, I should
have Melted 100000 profit. That whole
transaction was about as illegitimate as
business transaction could we'll be- I did
not want the corn to use, and those I
bought of didn't have it to sell. Laugh
ter). Chicago is the headquarters of
modern spectators, though her business
in this line has dropped off little in this
direction in the last year and a half. The
public found out that the officers of the
grain board were playing on them too
much of heads win and tails you lose.'
In other words, they changed the rules to
suit their own Strengthened circumstances.
The legislation out west on this subject
has had no effect whatever. 1t doesn't
count as drop in the bucket. Chicago is
the great primary receiving port in the
world for grain, cattle and lumber
Under the subject of watering stock,
Uncle Rufus had some interesting words
to say: when Vanderbilt declared IS Der
cent.scrip dividend, he went to the legisla
ture and got it legalized. Ask Channcy
Depsw. BE will tell you all about how it
was done. The consequence is Wander
bilt must charge just as much more for
freight and passenger fares in order to
make up. The result you see in
poorer accommodations, in the
hiring of boys to do mems
work, in telescoped cars, funerals and
things. Yes; stock watering is antagonis-
tic, suppose. to industrial interests, and
am opposed to stock watering unless T
am IN it myself. It's occurring every
day. However, railroad industries are be-
ing the principal sufferers from stock
watering. Now, Mr.. Fink, who is Van