The advocate and Topeka tribune., 1892-11-16
N0W OPTION TRADING DESTROYS
PRICES OF Farm PRODUCTS.

the grlevOus wrong done Cne most In
dustrious section OF the population by
the offering Of unlimited quantities ol
fictitious products upon the exchanges
by "short Sellers" "non-owners F" and
she igers," and thus determining the
prices of the products of the soil, en-
acted, so far as lay in tt power Of that
body, q bill intended to restrict the
offers Of such products to the owner and
those who have acquired, from the Os0aer,
the right to the future possession of q
specific quantity of the article offered,
the object sought being to confine offers
to the property in existence and available
for delivery.
Apparently law of this character
could work neither harm nor hardship
to one honest dealer or producer, nor is
it opposed to any legitimate interest OF
the consumer. who, under it's operation,
would pay no more for farm products
than was justified by the relative scarcity
or abundance Of the desired article, as is
now the case with all products not sold
short upon the exchanges. Under
such conditions reasoning men would
natural y suppose there could not, among
reputable merchants, bankers and busi.
ness men, be developed any opposition
to such an act, yet there went up from
the small privileged class who have
usurped the functions Of supply and de-
mand, as well as from bankers and others
who profit indirectly by this system, one
prolonged wall and protest against even
the consideration Of such q measure; but
the representatives of tha people, know
ing the needs OF their constituents and
the justness Of their demands, supported
this measure regardless Of party lines,
and, by the decisive vote of 167 to 46,
sent the bill to the senate, whore it's op-
ponents attempted to smother it by q
reference to the committee on finance,
which happened to be 30 constituted
that such reference would have been it's
deith warrant. Fortunately this we'll
laid scheme was discovered in time, the
friends Of the bill warned and the refer
ence was to committee a little less in
imical, which nearly done it to death by
unnecessary delays, so much time being
consumed in committee as to enable the |
enemy, when the bill was at last re-
ported, near The end of the session, to |
take it over, under the rules OF the senate,
to the December session, although every
vote had upon amendments showed that |
could the bill be brought to final vote |
1t would pass by good majority. 1t
now, fortunately, stands at the head of !,
the senate calendar as the unfinished !
business and comes up for consideration |
Immediately the senate convenes, and |
having precedence, cannot be shelved, il |
its friends are alert, until finally acted |
upon by decisive vote on its passage,
which ought to be secured long before
the end OF the coming session, as it |
blocks the way to all except routine bust.
ness.
Up TO the time Of the passage of the |
bill in the house its opponents had evil
IDENTIFY not believed its passage possible, !
aad their opposition, while sufi .iently |
active to give rise to much solicitude for |
the fate OF the measure, had not then
assumed that viciously active form that
it has since. Now, however, the enemy
is intensely active, and with immense