Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-07
THEY MEAN TO DIE HARD
If They Are Finally Forced to the
Wall by the Farmers.
TIE RULES COMMITTEE WAKES UP.
Waterways Resolutions Presented by River
men to Senators.
CROOKED NEW YORK CUSTOM OFFICERS


SAWYER, of Minneapolis, who was before
the House Committee on Agriculture, two
davs ago, in opposition to the anti-options
bill, to-day continued his statement to the
committee, respecting the system OF busi-
ness practiced by the large wheat buyers of
the Northwest, and defending the custom of
buying options on the exchanges to cover
the possibility of loss on the wheat in eleva-
tors He said the speculator carried the
surplus for the actual wheat buyers under
the option system, and enabled them to sell
their wheat from time to time, as fast as it
could be absorbed If the wheat in store
were showed forward the market would be
Quilted and cash wheat would fall to very
low price. BY buying futures against the
wheat ne had in elevators the elevator
owner insured himself against loss.
Nj Moses said that cotton brokers some
times lost money through spot cotton going
down while features were going up, and
asked Mr.. Sawyer if he was not liable to
loss in this way.
Risks Taken in the Business.
Mr. Sawyer admitted that he was, and
said that he had to take that risk in the
business He lost S4O, 900 at one clip in this
way, and another time rival company had
don and buying options against it here. The
tariff was the premium on gold wheat ad
vaneing / cent with each advance of a cent
on the premium of gold. Tine cost of labor
however, did not advance for some time, so
that the farmer was getting cheap labor and
high prices. Since the resumption of
specific payments the price of labor has not
receded, while the price of products had
declined.
H. Ii. Aldrieh, of the Chicago Board of
Trade, was then given an opportunity to
finish the statement he had heretofore made.
He said that Yesterday the statement had
been made that anv other explanation of
the decline in prices of cereals than "short
selling was childish. 1t was perhaps
worth coming to Washington to hear that
Edward Atkinson, David A. Wells and the
expert of the Department of Agriculture
were children, and he read from articles by
these men to the effect that prices infyears
past had been regulated strictly by the law
Of supply and demand throughout the
world. short selling, TO his personal
knowledge; was very common 10 to 20 years
ago
a Statement Not Disputed.
It had been stated that offerings were un-
limited. 1t was hardly necessary 10 attempt
TO disprove that statement, because if it
Z.
ing. 1t was not the short seller who caused
the great and sudden declines in prices, but
nearly ALWAYS it was the man who was
"long" of the market He became tired of
carving, and depressed prices in his efforts
10 get ont 1t was not the -iRterest-ef-tlte /!
short seller TO depress prices except for the |
time being, and be did not endeavor to force /
them down below point at which he could i
bay back at profit. The most active and |
1.,,r- l.
ing to close out his contract.
Mr.. Moses asked if spot wheat-which |
was the wheat the farmer sold-would not |
be higher if futures were done away
with?
Mr. Aldrich said that if too much wheat
was not sold the price now might be better,
bur in Nav it would be lower, and the spec
ulator, owing to the lower rates of interest
he paid, could carry the wheat cheaper than
the farmer
MiIlers Can't Guess Too Far.
Mr. Hatch asked if there would not be a
healthy demand all the wear round if the |
system of buying futures were abolished
Mr. Aldrich replied that possibly that |
might be so. but the miller who made his |
European flour contracts six months ahead |
could not, without the future system, agree |
TO deliver flour abroad, because he did not |
know the price of wheat six months hence. |
The time given Mr.. Aldrich having ex- |
pired, he filed the article he quoted from.
Mr.. Hatch said that members of the COM |
mittee who knew that the expert of the ag- |
ricultural department who had been quoted |
was StatiStician Dodge would know what 1
weight was TO be given to his statements |
Every tobacco dealer remembered that bis
report several years again upon the tobacco
crop (Which report he repuplished in ad-
vance Of the crop had cost the tobacco
growers OF Kentucky, Virginia, North Car
oliGa and other States 25 per cent of the
value of their crop, and Mr.. Dodge was
two or three months afterward
''to take back the report, after the farmers
had been robbed OF a large part of their
crop"
Mr. Funston, of Kansas-Tf YOU want to
impeacn Mr. Dodge you had better give
him a hearing
Nr Hatch-I will be very glad to do so:
the gentleman from Kansas is familiar with
the facts, aud they are as 1 have stated
them
Mr. Funston-I would prefer to try Mr..
Dodge before we Lang him.
An Attack From Indianapolis.
E. Nattullath, of indianapolis, next at
tackled the dealings in futures as 'wind
selling, that injured the producers. The
|
done between October and April, and dur
ing that time the farmer had to accept the
prices caused by the short
seller Along in the spring there
might be 'fbulce" in prices.
but that did not benefit the farmer, be-
cause he had previously been compelled to
sell his crop. The owner of wheat, he ex-
plained, saw the unlimited quantities of
wheat, the seller of wind, - offered on the
market, became fearful that consumption
would never catch up under such circum-
stance, iosh teaTt and dropped his contracts
Nobody could tell which was actual and
when was wind selling" and as conse-
lueRce OF there being 100, 000, 900 bushels of
wheat sold where only 1000, 900 of wheat
existed, prices were kept down. Usually
here was period of about four months be-
wcen the selling and buying of wind. !"
md as May came around the speculator
made another turn by selling July deliy- ,
~" which to a considerable extent regu-
aicd the price of MAY" wheat
sIilI 4 Another Bill Submitted,
lie compared ''short" selling to the issue ,
+ stock in excess of the capitalization of a
abroad company. No one, he said. bet on I
aces on the belief as to which horse was
he fastest: what the bettor wanted to know
vas how the Jockey had been manipulated
The wheat speculator did not concern him
elf half 50 much about the crop and higher ,
r lower cable pffces, but asked what
and other large traders would do
'eople had become tired of losing money 5
p this "Av, and consequently the volume
1 business had become smaller
The speaker then criticised the old But )