The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-01-26

IL discussing futures the Chicago
Times says there were sold
ON the Cotton Exchange in New
York in the last year more than thirty
million bales of cotton. As the total pro.
duction was only one-iifth of this, it is inter-
red that the alleged buying and selling Of
cotton was only gambling disguised, for il
only six million bales were raised, how
could thirty million bales have been sold
in one city? Four-tiiths of the so-called
sales of cotton, at the lowest computation
it is said, were mere bets on the rise or fail
of the price OF cotton, and not purchases at
all; hence most of the dealing in cotton must
be gambling.
1t does not Sem to occur to the severe
casuists who take this view of the matter
that if a bale of cotton is sold only once
every two months, the aggregate sales for
the year will be six times the actual mum.
Der of bales, and that it may change hands
III the most legitimate trade Citener. The
aggregate sales of wheat in this market
were many times the amount of wheat ever
brought here, but the general and very
common charge that most of the dealing in
wheat was gambling results from very SUI.
perlicial view of gambling, on the one
hand, and what is unquestionably legiti.
mate trade on the other.
III tlc nrsl plaVc, puts, calls ana
"straddlesn or the dealing in nothing ,ut
the rise and fall of prices, which is undoubt.
| edly betting and nothing else, is confined
| to the "bucket.shops, and is barred by the
rules of the Board of Trade. What are
bought and sold on the board are ware.
house receipts for grain and provisions
This sort of trading has been wittily de.
scribed as buying what you don't want and
selling what you haven't GOT But If som,
of the gentlemen who are greatly exercised
in their minds over the iniquity of thi.
business will examine ordinary mercantile
operations MS conducted on the liberia
credit methods of the present day, They
will learn that nearly all of it comes under
their condemnation. Take, for example
the country merchant who has good credit
and comes TO Chicago and buys $1,000,
worth Of dry goods, for which he gives hi
note. lie is certainly buying what h,
doesn't want, for he never could wear tina
amount of goods and he does not pa,
money for what he GETS he does not evei
put up margin, as the buyer of wheat OF
the board has to. He buys those goods OF
credit for. the express purpose of sellin,
them again, ut an advance in price
before the time comes for him to take II,
his note. Those goods are not his so Ion,
us he has not paid for them, In any stric
sense of the word and rs he sells them be
fore he pays for them, he sells what h,
doesn't own. As he buys what he docsn'
want, and sells what he doesn't own, h,
must be gambler, and the Grand Jury o
Cook county ought to indict him.
But II is said he at least gets the goods
1t Is true he borrows them, but he docsn
own them, and he borrows them In the ex
pectation of being able to sell them a
higher prices than he paid, and In time !,
furnish him with the money to pay fo
them. lie Is taking his chances Of maxim,
out even giving such II guarantee OF zoe,
faith AS Is involved In putting up margin
which always has to bear certain ratio ;,
the fcll value ot the article lyx1 IN, Eth,