Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1892-02-11
SHORTS.
Packer Whitaker Uses Strong
Language in Regard to Them.
Low PRICES LAID TO OPTIONS
Speculative business Grown Immonsely-
More Sellers Than Buyers-New Or
leans Bankers Protest Against
the Anticipation Bill

seller Is to-day the anarchist OF Amer
lea" said John Whitaker large pork
packer OF St Louis and wichita, To-
day In an address TO the house commit
tee on agriculture In advocacy OF the
anti-option bill
To Representative Alexander Mr.
whitaker said that unquestionably
the tendency OF short selling" was to
depress prices and TO interfere
wi h legitimate trade. Farmers, he
said, were not compelled to m rtet
their grain instead OF storing 1t, but
the experience OF the last eight years
was that holding wheat was sing
game AID that, with this unlimited
short selling beating down the price
each year, the best time for them to
sell grain was rs soon as 1t was har-
vested
wipe out, II possible, the short sell
er, the non-owner. in other words, the
American anarchist" sal Mr. Whit
taker. That is what he is, l say 1t
soberly. The short seller is to-day the
anarchist OF America, the worst one
we have, and he will make the farmer
come down and sell his stun under the
red Nag
Mr.. Whitaker said that the wheat
exported this year had probably aver
aged In price ninety-hve cents shell
and that II this pr posed law had been
In effect he believed II would have
brought consi ierably more than 81.
lie did not believe Tho law would hurt
owners Of real grain or provisions, be-
cause, II fictitious offerings were done
with. the murlxpt yynul6 hn
piled with a'tual grain or provisions
and there being smaller quantity
offered, prices would be better In
New York II was regarded as necessary
to sell 80, 100000 bushels Of grain TO
market 100000 or 900. 900. We pro-
duce no coffee, and for That reason he
believed in option selling in coffee.
That gave the American citizen cheap
err coffee, as IL enabled the price T. DO
fixed by sales Of large quantity OF
coffee that was not In existence. OPP
tion wheat sales had recently begun in
Liverpool aud the practice was good
for England because she was large
importer OF wheat
I'm your experience what effect has
the fictitious sale OF meat products up
on the prices? asked MIR. Hatch.
MIR. whitaker said that IL had con-
tinually lowered the price. Meat
products, he thought, would have been
from 10 to 30 per cent higher II they
4 had been competing with real prod
ucts. Whitaker said that in his judg-
ment this fictitious selling produced an
abnormal condition of the market
which defeated the law of supply and
demand. Cotton, he believed, would
have sold for eight cents or more this
year but for short selling by bears.
Mr. Whitaker said that he freque ntly
received letters from Europe saying
the writer's could pay better prices for
meats II the American market would
only be kept steady. But this market
could not be kept steady when the cash
price was being pullcl down by sales
for future delivery by every Tom, Dick
and Harry.
Mr. Moses called attention TO the
fact that as general rule when port
receipts Of cotton were very large
prices went down, and when the re-
ceipts were smalsprices went up, and
so with car receipts OF wheat
Mr. Whi 'taker admitted that receipts
operated in that way to certain ex-
tent, but his observation was that the
information had not the tendency to
send the market upward, or affect 1t to
the same extent as Information that
tended TO send It down.
Mr.. Moses asked; III meat traus-
actions were considered as real prod
ucts only, could not the western pacS'
ers form u trust get control OF the ac-
tual products and put the price away
beyond the reach 81 the consum-
ers? Could not Armour FOR instance,
WI n MS mllllOnS OF money, RbJ e DnIfOl
of all or enough wheat to control the