The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1890-03-08
THE BUCKET SHOPS.

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nopolies, and that sort of thing as
much as you please, one grand COM
mercial mystery has thus far defled
solution. Why, without bushels in
creased production of wheat through
out the world in the last five years,
with an increase of five or ten per
cent. in its consumption, has wheat
continued all this time to steadily de-
cline in price, until now it has reached
the lowest figure touched in forty
wears. The question has puzzled
Edward Atkinson, ID. A. Wells, ana
other eminent political economists,
but thus far has remained without
satisfactory solution.
Within week, however, in cXpia-
nation and defense of the resolution
of the Chicago Board Of Trade to
shut off all quotations in order to
close the bucket shops, the reason AS
signed for such action seem to furnish
at once the long sought solution.
The transactions of these shops In
fictitious wheat are so enormous that
the actual amount Of wheat in the
country is but drop in the bucket IN
comparison. Says Mr.. Pillsbury, OF
the great Pillsbury- Washburn mills
at Minneapolis:
at is hard enough for the market
To stand the immense movement OF
wheat that takes place Immediately
after harvest. as the farmers are all
so poor they want to sell three-fourths
of their wheat during the trst three
months, and that largely overst0cks
the market and depresses prices; but
the gambling in grain has grown TO
such an immense extent that the act
ual amount Of the farmers sales, I'M
mense as is, is but Il mere bagatellc
compared with the wind sales made
through the bucket shops. The lcglt-
innate situation of wheat has been
such during the last three or four
wears that wheat should be worth 81
bushel at every railroad station in
Minnesota, and IL is this tremendous
short selling Of hundreds OF millions
Of bushels, which the person selling
does not own and never expects TO
own, which, added to the large total
of actual sales, has knocked the bot
tom out of the market. The way the
markets are now run, a man selling
a million bushels of wheat which he
does not own has just as much effect,
or even more effect, than a man sell
ing Il similar amount of wheat which
he does own, for the reason that these
big bears have been so successful in
their selling that their very prestige
draws big amount of followers.
This evil has grown to be so tremen-
dous that it will tend to depopulate
the farming communities unless II IS
stopped, and vigorous methods Will
have to he taken to stop 1t. III this
short selling is not checked in some
way or other in five years from now
wheat will sell as low as % cents a
bushcl at the different railroad sta
tlOns in Minnesota"
With the closing of the bucket
shops as the first grand step in the
right direction, Mr.. Pillsbury thinks
one other step would cure the whole
trouble, and that would be to stop any
short selling of grain except by per-
sons who absolutely own or control
the grain, and would be able to deliv-
er it If called upon.
The farmers, who are at present en-
gagged all over The country in earnest
inquiry into and discussion of mat
tiers pertaining to their interests.
should lose no time in probing this
matter to the bottom; and If they can
see their. way clear through it, they
will have no difficulty in getting what
ever legislation they may ask for TO
remedy the evils that af1lict them.
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