The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-11-13
SHAM SPECULATION.
A View of the Bucket-Shop Business from
the Regular Brokers' Standpoint.

"A view OF the 1sucket-ShOp Business from
the Regular Brokers' Standpoint.
Chicago Business.
The bucket-shops have made many great
scoops" during the past year or two. Their
thousands of customers have margined their
trades down TO certain points, below which it
seemed impossible for values to CO. Deprived
of legitimate speculative support, the market
settled nearly to the limits fixed. Then this
play followed: The opiniOnated public doubled
it's bets, and the bucket-shop combinations take
a portion of the money and raid the markets
savagely and with effect Quotations drop be-
low the low-water mark, and thousands of Gus
to mers find themselves ''frozen out" This
game has been played repeatedly and with al
most unvarving success by the strong bucket
shops The smaller concerns profit by the
manipulation as much though they had an
active part in the DEAL and their customers as
certainly lose. The total amount wrested from
the bucket-shoD players on these plundering
raids for the last year alone has been estimated
at $10,000,000 to $4,000, 600, not counting the
money that was taken on steady drain.
Nothing could more strikingly illustrate the
difference between the principal and the agent
Bucket-shops take the trades and become inter-
ested in freezing out their customers. If their
customers win they must lose. On the other
hand the commission merchant or broker never
loses his identity as an agent, and his relations
with his customers always friendly He
would rather see his principal make than lose
cipal advised 70 the best of his ability. The
bucket-shops are vitality interested in having
their customers lose. That is the great percent
age against the bucket-shoD spectators
Were there no bucket-shops an important in
centiye to manipulation hostile to the public
would be removed. Could the true inward
ness" of bucket shop speculation be explained to
the patrons of bucket-shops. a very considerable
portion Of the trade that is done in them would
be- turned back into the legitimate channels from
which it has been diverted.
Bucket-shop statisticians have figured that
eight out of every ten men who play at their
the assumption that the customers receive fair
treatment. But they do not receive fair treat
ment even sernblapee of fair treatment,
except while they losing money. 1t is the
history of Understanding that when the mar
kets take turn favorable TO the country specu-
lators the bucket-shops proceed to put limit on
profits else repudiate their contracts entirely.
Bucket-shop contracts are illegal and void.
Claims against these concerns based on such
contracts are absolutely worthless in the eyes OF
the law, and cannot be collected Their bust
ness is purely gambling. Nothing is ever
bought or sold. For two or three years the
markets have been so uniformly against 'the
country" partly because of the withdrawal oil
country support and the growth of retroactive
mock speculation, and partly from natural
causes that only a few shops have found il
necessary to 'lay down" o. tssir customers.
The game has been all profit on one siSS and oil
loss on the other.