Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-19
ANOTHER INNOCENT.

l - III q
| Jim Keene Before the Senate Committee
| on Corners---He Regards them as q Great
Public Benefit---He was Never Engaged
I'm One in All His Life---He Simply
Bought Fifteen or Twenty Million Bush
els and Combined for self-Protectien.
NEW YORK. Dec. 1S.-The senate COM
mlttee on corners in grain listened to the
story of James R. Keene to-day. He said
no was speculator and had been twenty
years in business in this city and San Fran
cisco. He never knew of any orner of
any production that worked iniuriously ON
the public. Corners in bread stuffs
did not last long enough to work injuri-
ously. Agricultural laborers and others
are benefited by the results of corners.
Any interference in this matter would be
injurious. A coal corner was the only one
ne remembered that had been injurious to
tho public. The anthracite companies
fixed prices out of all proportion. That
corner originated out of the necessities of
the corporation. The latter was overbur-
dened with debts, and had to make a cor
ner to pay dividends and extricate
itself from difficulties. The heads of
the different coal companies did what
others would have done in their places.
Stock watering and dividends combined
tended to raise the price of coal. Stock
watering meant an increase of capital
without giving an equivalent. Private
Nv,
poration at one valuation and reselling to
the corporation at advanced prices without
giving any further equivalent is stock
watering. He could not name any coal
companies that watered their stock,
though he knew few days
ago certain coal companies were
compelled under pressure to increase the
capital stock. He thought the commerce
and business of the country could not be
carried on with system of dealing in fu-
lures. The "bucket shop system was de-
moralizing in its tendency, as there was no
pretence to deliver the provisions sold. It
was simply an act of gambling. 1t was
bank kept for people to play against.
There was no element of business in it.
The law should suppress these systems.
Transactions on stock and other great
exchanges were not done in that
way at all. People in Chicago
and other exchanges who deal in future
deliveries agree to pay money when the
purchases are received, and they must
take the deliveries. These are absolute
business transactions. Dealing in futures,
things bought outright, are not gambling
transactions. The Chicago market re-
fleets the public opinion of the country on
corn, wheat, lard, and pork. 1t would not
be fair to call these speculations gambling
transactions, although doubtless good
deal of speculation is done. The whole
business of the country is speculative in
the highest degree. Speculation is the
real civilizer of the country. Speculation
has built up the West. Speculation
was the greatest benefit to the people of
this country. He meant good, healthy
and legitimate speculation. Disastrous
fluctuations we hear of in stocks are as
suredlY in accordance with the system of
supply and demand. The volume of bread
stuffs in this country is SO large it cannot
be controlled, and even though temporary
corners are made the market soon regu.
lates itself. Corners do not affect the pub
lie; they do not last long enough to do so;
neither do they affect transportation or
the foreign trade. The consequences are not
far-reaching or disastrous. Witness never
was engaged in conner in all his life.
The ''Keene corner" he supposed, was so
called because he was the central figure in
the combination which owned large guam
titles of wheat This combination was not
formed to corner, but merely to protect
themselves from the tender mercies of the
bears. The syndicate disbanded long be-
fore the wheat was sold. The syndicate
held certain amounts of wheat
and combined for common defence.
When hue and cry was raised by the
press about the corner the syndicate had
to sell the grain at a loss. We never sent
agents throughout the country to buy up
all the wheat. Should suppose the most
wheat we had was between 100000 and
2O,OO0,OOO bushels. The syndicate was
formed in December and many gentlemen
belonging to it dropped out in
May. transportation to the West,
although restricted, was not suspended.
The price of wheat at Chicago at that time
was $1.15 to $1.2O per bushel. Farmers
were certainly benefited by the alleged
corner. The canal boat interest was af-
fected benefcially. Perhaps freight cars
got no freight, but the reason of that is
the rates were practically cornered. Such
rates as they have now are more disastrous
than any corner I can now recall. The
rates are fixed by Commissioner Fink and
railroad men.
The ScoytlIes