Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-04
MONEY IN MARGINS.
Attack on Grain Gambling
Before a Congressional
Committee.
ANTI.0PTI0N LEGISLATION
Demanded by Farmers and Producers
Who Don't Believe Futures
HELP THE SALE OF BREADSTUFFS.
Mint Director Leech Talks at Length About
Free Silver.
ANTE.0PTION LEGISLATION
HELP THE SALE OF BREADSTUFFS.
Mint Director Leech Talks at Length About
Free Silver.
TO ENGLAND'S BENEFIT If 1T CARRIES


WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. 3.-The Com
mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep
resentatives to-day began its series of hear
ings of the various anti-option bills pending
in Congress The bill which is most likely
to receive the sanction of the House Com
mittee is the one presented by Mr.. Hatch,
the Chairman, defining options and futures
and imposing heavy special taxes on dealer:
therein.
c. Wood Davis, the well-known sta
tistician of Kansas, appeared to-day In ad
vocacy of the bill He said
Nv sole business is that of a farmer and
producer. Finding this business unprofita
Bile in recent years, was impelled to an in
vestigation of the causes of the depres slor
in prices of farm products. L started tc
work procuring data from all parts of the
world, official and otherwise. found thai
up to 1854 the world was producing more
wheat and breadstuffs than it required.
large accumulation took place the world
over, but since 1884, if numerical data can be
relied upon, the world has produced in but
one year since that time as much wheat rs
it consumed; That year was lSSI. IN ios,
there were 400, 900 900 bushels of wheat piled
in the farm and other granaries OF the world
Since that time we have in 4 sense drawn
upon that surplus.
The Farmer and the Tariff
Eow, it follows logically, that when the
world is producing less than it consumes
the price of wheat and other breadstu1ls
should increase. Yet such has not been the
case. Why is this? l viii not go into the
question of the effect of the tariff or the cur
rency supply upon the price of these COM
modities. 1 cannot see that the question OF
tariff affects the farmer materially. am a
Republican and 4 protectioniSt, but in some
cases l have no doubt the tariff enhances
the cost of his necessities. Now, after the
year 1870 there had grown upon the boards
of trade system of dealing in fictitious or
fiat products. This system began with the
short selling of gold in Wall street during
the war, and was carried into the eX-
changes of the country during the seventh
decade 1t became, so far as learn, a dis
turbing factor about the first of the last
decade-that is, after 1880. Its influence
seems to have grown with wears
The gentlemen on the other side of this
question tell us that in order to market the
1arm products OF the country we must have
these new methods. Yet we marketed, l
think, more breadstuffs and pork, relatively
to population. ten years ago, before this
method came into vogue, than we do today.
If we were then able to market our products
without these methods, why cannot we do it
now? They tell us we cannot do it without
the money. But there is more wealth rcla-
tivelv in this country now than there was
10 or u or 15 years ago.
The Money Tied Up in Margins
Recently one of the bankers of Chicago
told me there was more money tied up in
margins on these future sales than would
pay for the entire visible and invisible sup
ply of wheat three times over. The heavi-
est visible supply OF wheat we ever had was
g. 600 bushels. II the invisible supply
was another 62 OO0, 600 bushels, then Sl34, ,000.-
O00 would move this entire crop at 81 a
to-, e a
has overtaken the production II wheat
brought 81 20 per busbel in Great Britain
for the nine years ending in 1874, why
should it not bring a good price
now, with a lessened product per capita
1t is, think. because of the offering of un-
limited fictitious amounts on the markets,
without any regard to the real product. Asa
natter of TACT, the prices of grain are fire.
Guently made in Chicago by three or four
men. L have here a telegram received the
other day, which says: "Pardridge is bigger
than the market, and has sold freely all
day." Now, Partridge has for the last three
or four days dominated the market of Chi
cago, and been able not only to determine
the price of wheat there, but the price of
wheat in exchanges all over the world. He
has made the price for himself, without re-
gard to the amount produced. young
man in Chicago who can raise $3.50 can
throw 0O0O bushels of wheat on the market
through this system
"Do you think it possible to put a stop to
this method by national legislation" in
quired Mr. Lewis
81 think so. 1 should not be in Wash
ington if 1 did not think so. The Butter
worth bill, the Hatch bill, the Brosius bill
or the Washburne bill in the Senate, will
either of them put stop to this practice"
stock of Breadstuffs Drawn Upon.
"You stated" said Chairman Hatch,
'that since 1884 the ratio of consumption of
the world has increased over the production
of breadstutfs. Now, since 1884 is it not q
fact, demonstrated by the best statistics of
the world, that we have drawn greatly upon
the reserve of brea6stuffs that had accumu-
lated by reason of the other conditions up
to that time?''
Eyes, sir. The writers for all the English
trade journals and economists admit that.
The condition which now exists in Russia is
due to the fact that the reserve of wheat and
rye formerly produced is now exhausted.
The famine really existed in Is provinces
of Russia before the harvest of the past year.
thus showing an entire exhaustion of the
reserve"
The Committee on Agriculture will nave
hearings daily upon this subject for one
week, audience being given to representa-
tives of both sides Of the question.
Just before the adjournment of the COM
mittee II. H. Aldrich, Murray Mason and
others representing the Chicago Board of
Trade, spread before the committee a
voluminous memorial in opposition to anti
option legislation. The arguments con-
tanned in this memorial are chiefly that
boards of trade are essential to the market
ing of the farmers produce, and that the
dealing in options and futures is a stimulus
necessary to the maintenance of boards Of
trade. ''The pending bills" SAYS the
memorial, contemplate an attack upon one
line of business, singing it out from every
thing else, and are in that respect vicious
class of special legislation. Designed os-
tensibly for the suppression of gambling in
the products of the soil, they would, if al
lowed to become law, extinguish an estab-
lished system. without which producers
would be absolutely at the mercy of COM
binations of capital formed to pray upon