The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-04-19
"Puts ana Calls

e'fWhat is the extent of the trading in
puts and calls@' said reporter to Mr..
90 j. B. Hobbs, President OF the Chicago
09s~ Board of Trade, who proved to be very
well posted
81 couldn't tell you.'' s
Cant you guess@
81 6 THAT would be the only way"
Guess then"
81 can't"
lis it 200 900 bushels day?''
40, ves.r
sFs@a "More than that?''
. iig "A good deal.''
'sDouble?''
"Yes-sometimes in the Millions
't ''Who are engaged in the business?"
Pretty much everybody
Are you?'
as- Eyes. Customers want us to buy
4s and sell puts and calls and we have to
do it, because that has grown up to be a
ss7 large part of the trading"
''Do all the commission houses take
hand?''
''Not'all-only those who are engaged
in speculative trading. A great m any
do it for protection. One may be long
and buys a put so that if the market
goes down he il all. right. Another
may be short, and if he sells, because he
would just as leave have put as not.
Then others buy and sell and trade on
them, For instance, man buys put
alta certain price under the market. If
The market declines to near that price he
will buy the property and take the
chances of an advance
"You know of the law prohibiting
3 such tradingp'
ts2I'sYesn al
What explanation is given for its
violation?n
IS r''None whatever" So
e Is it dead -letter?''s
" Yes 1t is such common practice
that nobody pays any attention to the
.Ssf bdsin 5ssP ''hs i'0'F' Sea' down on the
xst No. 1t has been the practice for
twenty years. ~
ssa a",When is the trading. aone?'s
After the two o'clock call"
''Has there been an increase since the
g a Law was passed." 4 9&oDa
The business increases with the vol
ume oftrade'' 0i5H4E
q Tho lawis of no use, then?'i a1f
g Trading in options is the custom all
over the country. 1t is the practice in
New York on the Stock Exchange and
on the Cotton Exchange. The most
prominent men are operators in puts
and calls" sNs>@
.sWhat was the law framed forg'
81 think for protection. When there
are violent fluctuations and man has an
amount of property put to him on de-
Ginning market he gets no compensation
for it, That is to say take 5000 bushels
OF wheat man buys put for ten
49, dollars. It may decline ten cents a bush
ell. The loss on that would be $500, and
he only receives as compensation ten dol
lars.''
:" He doesn't buy the property?''
Yes. When they put it to him it be-
IS comes trade just the same as if 1t was
On o,1F.1 Aoo
sale'' Ss|
ssdsn't it true that in the bulk of cases
10 property passesPp -
no MOI
Property actually passes?'
IS :. TIA man buys a put and the market
declines SO that he can put it, or If he
buys call so that he can call it, the put
and call then becomes actual trades
just as much of o trade as if made in any
other wav.''
ingg'
Fhe law applies to the trading. That
is. put is illegal, and if Wou put the
property you cant recover any damages
through the courts = II
Then it is a question of HONOR
THAT is all sa
care the trades honoredp''
~ ~ 'Yes, as rule.'' - "a
q 1 = 'sWhat proportion OF the commission
men are engaged in this business ?n -
81 don't know
"HalfP''
ia aT'I couldn't saw" TkA@
IA good manyP" .stfl
e.us 'tYes. ] don't wish to name them. |
but the business is SO common that II is |
not discreditable at all 1t may be in |
violation of the law, but they are not
doing any injustice. Puts and calls |
might possibly do great deal of harm
to the parties who sell them They can |
never do any harm to the parties who
buy them, except to the extent Of the /
money paid. which is very small per- |
y centages
Why not to those who buy themp''
because the party who buys onlyl
runs the risk of losing the amount he T
pays Tor the privilege. For instance |
Inc money paid on FIVE thousand bushels
OF wheat is ten dollars and on five thou
sand bushels of corn is five dollars. He I
can lose only ten dollars on the wheat
ana hve dollars on the corn; but the
party who sold may have the property
80 put or called, and lays himself liable to
lose very large amount"
DO you think it advisable for peonle
IN the country 60 send money here to be
invested in puts and callsP''
"No, siri' II
Are not the FIRMS square who a(yer-
tiss that they win make such invest.
Inentsp'' :
sasss.Ihey may be square. but man in
tne country who buys a put or aEcaH