The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-12-25
SELLING FUTURES.
The Interest of Farmers Should be
Awakened.


and the desire of the present congress
to give due thought and consideration
to matters affecting the farmers interest
will be anxiously looked for. Who can
blame the constituency of any member
of congress if regardless of their wants,
he has been found silent in congress
when their interest called for continued
study and activity on his part.
To begin with, the question which
most directly affects every toiler on
American soil who works hard to pro-
duce the best paying crops, taking the
chances of severe winters freezing out
his wheat; taking all the chances from
the opening of spring until the harvest
of various insect enemies to his growing
crop, which will hardy be paying one
without sufficient rain and heat at re-
curing intervals Finally the autumn
comes, and as is the case this year they
have succeeded in harvesting a good
crop. Then the vital question comes up
as to how much profit they will be able
to obtain over and above the cost of pro-
ducing it, for largely on those profits de-
ponds their ability to purchase not only
the necessaries but many of the comforts
which are more necessary to them in
their isolated calling than many who
live in communities.
1t is generally supposed that supply
and demand of farm products fixes the
value or price of same; but let us stop a
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truth in that supposition. 1t would be
true if there was nothing that came in
competition with the sales of actual
produce when the holders of it desired
to sell; but what is this large volume of
grain and pork that we see daily offered
on the large so-called Merchants Ex-
change or boards of trade, notably the
New York Produce Exchange, st. Louis
Merchants Exchange and Chicago
board of trade. Are those offerings for
future delivery made by direction of the
owners of the actual property? No,
they are largely offerings for future de-
livery by what are termed professional
market manipulatOrs. They are permit
ted to sell all they choose of their prom
ises to deliver in the future. Now stop
for one moment and consider what i'm
pels man who does not own wheat TO
sell it for future delivery at, in many
instances, a lower price than the cash
product could be obtained for and carried
until the time of delivery considering its
attendant expenses of storage, interest
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what he does not own not hoping to lose,
but hoping to make money. Now as a
rule, say in the past five or SIX years,
have sales of that character returned a
profit or loss to the seller? 1t is generally
conceded and it is true that the bulk of
they are variously termed, have made
money, where they and their fellow
gamblers are members of the so-called
merchants exchanges. But in reality a
large portion of the business done on
!. them Is practically the same business as
is done in so-called bucket shops
throughout the country, though
} they claim the greater virtue of
making a delivery, but practically
speaking, settle by paying the differ
ences. If the enormous volume of short
selling by bears has proven to be re-
munerative to them they must have sue
ceeded in generally depressing prices
: from the time they sold it until they
bought it back, or even upon their sales
If they have made large sums of money
out of these practices then it follows that
the owners of actual stuff, unless it was
sold for future delivery, have lost on the
decline in prices produced by the bears.
The writer has been a close observer of
these markets for some twenty years
past, and this criticism is not founded on
any theory, but from actual observations
of the so-called business, generally
termed gambling in grain.
Many people presume that gambling in
grain is like gambling at cards, only
hurtful to those Immediately connected
with the dealings. That it is so in refer
ence to gambling with cards or other de-
vices is true; but in reference to the pro-
ducts of the soil its injury is far reach
ing. as it makes lower price for the
farmer to sell his produce at, and he in
turn has less money to spend or pay his
debts with, and of course the value of
his farm is rated at the profit that can be
made from its tillage.
The writer considers the damage that
is done for many years past by the short
selling professional as incalculable. So
much more stuff is offered for sale and
has to find purchasers that it is inevita-
BILE that prices are depressed from what
they would be if nothing but the actual
or bonafide stuff seeking a market day
bv dav and month by month, as the con-
sumptive necessities of the people de-
mand, were alone being offered on these
various markets; and as the markets are
glutted by the large offerings for future
delivery of course the cash value has TO
decline.
Mr.. C. A. Pillsbury, the great Mime
apolis miller is reported as saying: "a
step which would cure the whole trouble
would be to stop the selling Of grain for
future delivery except by parties who
absolutely own or control the product,
and would be able to deliver it if called
upon. | believe this will be done within
few years, even the constitution of the
United States has to be amended IN order
to do it. which would take years 10 &C
complish."
Ii IS a perfect mystery 10 me that the
Farmers Alliances are paving attention
to minor evils and overlooking this YAM
pire which is sucking their very life
blood The legitimate situation has been
such during the last three or four years
that wheat should have sold st 81 per
bnshel at any railroad station in Kansas.
The tremendous short selling Of hun
dreds of millions Of bushels which the
party selling does not own, nor ever ex-
pect 10 own, has knocked the bottom
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