Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-03-16
ROBBING THE FARMERS.
Grain Gambling Denounced.
In the Chicago Herald OF March ap-
pears the following:


Minneapolis, now controlled by an Eng
l lish syndicate, is greatly pleased at the
2 stand taken by the Chicago board OF
} trade in proposing to shut off quotations
after March q in order to close up the
bueket-shops. ut is a very good thing
for legitimate farming and milling In
terests in this section" said Mr.. Pills
} bury to the Herald correspondent to-
night. These bucket-shops are largely
/ instrumental in causing the very low
prices at which grain Of all kinds is now
and has for years been selling, and if
the evil Is not checked grain will abso-
lutely be worth nothing in the course of
a few years. Another step which would
cure the whole trouble would be to stop
any short selling OF grain except from
parties who absolutely own or control
the product, and would be able to deliver
the same If called upon. I believe this
VIII be done within very few years,
even if the constitution of the United
States has to be amended in order to do
1t. 1t Is mystery to me that the Farm
erS' Alliances and their representatives
are paying attention to minor
evils and overlooking the vampire that
Is eating the very life out of them. In
stead OF being antagonistic, the milling
interest and farming interest should
work together. These low prices are as
disastrous to the milling as to the farm
ing interests, and | am willing to stake
. my reputation that the majority Of the
| mills III the northwest have lost money
during the last three or four years. |
never knew the milling interests to be
! prosperous on low prices of wheat. The
legitimate situation has been such dur
| ing the last three or four wears that
wheat should be worth 81 per bushel at
! every railroad station in Minnesota.
! This tremendous short selling of hun
! dreds OF millions of bushels, which the
/ party selling does not own or never ex-
/ pected to own, added to the large amount
of actual sales, has knocked the bottom
! out of the market. These wind" sales
| have at present just as much effect on
{ the market as genuine transactions. for
/ the reason that these big bears have been
so successful in their selling that their
! very prestige draws a big amount of fol-
lowers. This evil has grown to be so ire
mendous that it will tend to depOpulate
the farming communities unless it is
stopped.
The idea that the millers have not
! been paying the farmers enough for their
wheat is entirely wrong l will put up
large forfeit that | can prove to any
falr-mlnded committee that, with the
exception of few mills who have a
very great reputation for their flour,
and whose product will sell at increased
prices on account of this established
reputation, most Of the mills have paid
more for wheat during the last few
years than they could afford to pay.
The fact IS, the production throughout
the world has not increased any, taking
1t as whole, during the last i've or ten
years. II this short selling is not checked
In some way in five years from now
wheat will sell as low as % cents per
bushel at the different railroad stations
IN Minnesota. The Chicago board of
trade Is now working in the right direc-
ton, but after they have closed up the
bucket shops let them close the gamb-
ling on their own board and cOnfine
their business to legitimate transactions.
This whole western agricultural country
would see such boom as it has not seen
for great many years. The legitimate /
conditions are all right for it, but the
illegitimate conditions could not be
worse.
As to whether Dir. Pilsbury is correct |
IN saying that the millers of Minneapolis |
have paid as much for wheat as the |
price of their flour would justify, we
are not sufficiently Informed to decide. /
But in SO far as he ascribes the present /
low prices of wheat to the system of |
gambling in grain which prevails in !
Chicago and other cities, there can be no |
reasonable doubt that he is right The /
greatest enemy that the farmer has to !
contend with today is the short seller
the man who is eternally Offering for /
sale thousands aud millions OF bushels /
when he does not own or control a single /
buShel, and in nine cases out of ten will /
not be required to own a busheI, because /
these sales are ''wrung out and settled .
through the clearing house as it is .
called, without any actual grain being
needed in the transaction. In the end it /
turns out to be mere wind" But at /
the time the seller IS offering to sell it:
at the time he is bowling himself /
hoarSe in the board of trade irving to
get some one to buy it, ii has all the
appearance and all the influence in de-
pressing the price that actual grain
could have.
y bill has been introduced in congress
by Mr.. Butterworth, of Ohio, which
seeks to impose heavy license fees and
taxes upon this system of short selling
(or, as it really is, gambling in farm
products. On its face the object Of the
bill is to provide revenue for the govern
ment. But, Judging from the high rate
OF licenses and taxes it imposes, it Is no
doubt intended to practically destroy
this great evil. 1t imposes these burdens
on deals in what is known as Options"
and futures 1t Is certainly drawn in
the interest Of the farmer and against
the interest of the specUlator. The de-
opposition the bill has met h
from the grain quarters where this short
selling Is carried on Is sufficient evidence
that the gamblers in farm products viii
defeat it if possible
In our Judgment, if Mr.. Butterworth's
bill becomes a law, the evil pointed out
bv Mr. Pilsburv viii be torn up. root and /
branch, and a greater degree Of prosper
ity than any other legislation could pos
sibiy give them.
TIE sWINDLE OF OPTION DEALING
u II. AicEnnis. president OF the cham
Der of commerce of s.. Louis. has given
out ms views on the Butterworth bin for
publication, in which he holds that the :