The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-19
OPTIONS AND FUTURES.
WESTERN GRAIN MEN AGAINST
TIE BILL.

"
A Miller Demands That No DiscrImi-
nation Be Made If the Bill Ia to Be
Pessed-The President OF the Mil
wauk ee Chamber of Commerce Sug-
gests Congressional Investigation
Before the Bill is Rushed Through.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1s.-The last days
hearing by the House committee on agri-
culture on the anti-options bill was given
to the western grain men who were against
the enactment of the proposed legislation.
W. G. Brown, miller of Fostoria, o., told
the committee that any anti-options bill
should be made uniformly operative on all
and should not discriminate. If the bill un-
der consideration were passed and applied to
all contracts, he said, it would be illegal for
the pastor Of church to contract to deliver
two sermons each Sunday for specified
time, none of the sermons being written at
the time the contract was made. The house
builder also would be liable to punishment
if he contracted to erect a house when he
did not have the necessary stock Of timber
on hand.
AN INVESTIGATION SUGGESTED.
E. P. Bacon, president of the Milwaukee
Chamber of Commerce. on behalf of that
body, asked that legislation be delayed, and
that a congressional investigation Of the
subject of futures" be made during the
recess of congress. He maintained that the
system enabled the producers to dispose of
their crops more readily than would other
wise be the case.
Dennison d. Smith of the Toledo Board
OF Trade and Mr.. Raymond of Detroit de-
olo thotf - l..
the farmers would soon curse its promoters,
for it would injure and not benefit them.
Wilbur F. Boyle, a lawyer Of st. Louis.
made legal argument IN support of the
contention that dealing in futures is gam
bling and should be suppressed.
Mr.. Clifford of Kankakee. ILL.,, then IA
vored the amendment of the bill so as to
make the seller only liable for violation of
the law and not the troker, who, he said,
could not necessarily know that his GUS
toner had no right under the provisions of
the law to make the sale. This closed the
hearings and the committee adjourned until
next Wednesday.
THE WASHBURN BILL.
The subcommittee OF the Senate commit
tee on the Judiciary listened this morning to
an argument made in opposition to the
Washburn bill by Samuel W. Allerton Of
Illinois, who stated that he had been
practical farmer for the past forty years.
The prompter Of this bill seem to birn to be
mill combine" controlled by English
capital. 1t was designed to destroy the
Chicago market, the greatest center mar
ket in the world. Legislation of this
character had been enacted and was
further proposed. and if it were continued
before congress got through citizen would
not be able Co breathe the fresh air of
heaven without being surrounded by gov
ernment spies and detectives. Individual
righ is were on the verge of destruction. He
ventured a prediction that every congress-
man who voted for the pending bill would
Ia two years be as dead politically as dried
Egyptian mummy.
OTHER OBJECTIONS.
j. Fl. Norton. a shipper of Chicago, D. B.
Smith of Toledo, and Mr.. Bacon of the
Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce objected
to the bill on the ground that il would cause
serious restriction to trade in farm products
which would harm those engaged in hand
ling them and entail risks by fluctuations in
the markets which are now avoided by sell
ing on future delivery. The speculative in
stinct was common to oil men, and as nations
advanced new methods we're devised to
promote speculation. Remove the present
method and some other worse in forrnIwould
take its place