The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-23
FUTURES HELP PRICES.
WHITE FINISHES HIS SPEECH
AGAINST THE OPTIONS BILL


Prohibition-The Speaker Denies
That the Members OF These Bodies
Deserve the Title of Gamblers.
WASHINGTON, July 22.-In the Senate to-
day the resolution offered yesterday by
Mr.. PETER instruoting the judiciary com
mittee to inquire into the relations Of en-
ployers and employees. the rate OF wages
and as to what legislation, IL any, should
| be enacted by congress on the subject, was
| taken up and Mr.. PETER addressed the 3 en-
| ate IN explanation and advocacy OF It. MIR.
| PETER argued that there were but three
| ways to meet labor troubles. One was for
the government to keep its hands
off and let employers and en-
| ployes settle the matter themselves; the
second was for the government TO establish
| and regulate the rate Of wages; third was
| that the government take possession Of
private manufacturing establishments and
conduct them as public institutions. Mr..
| PETERS preference was for the first named
| method. At the close Of his remarks the
resolution was referred TO the committee
| on education and labor.
The resolution heretofore offered by Mr..
| Voorhees, looking to the establishment OF a
tribunal Of arbitration in labor questions
was then taken up and Mr.. Call
| addressed the Senate in support of it.
!
| Pinkerton detective force was violation OK
the law and of the constitution, and that
| any man should be indicted for raising
| troops or using troops at his own sweet will
| and pleasure without the sanction Of the
courts or Of the authorities Of the country.
| No action was taken on the resolution, which
went back to the table.
THE OPTIONS BILL TAKEN UP AGAIN.
The anti-options bill was then taken up at
O.1E -, NJ nd
| his argument, begun yesterday, in
| opposition 20 it. He considered
| it a philosophical mistake 10 attempt
| TO prevent the tendency to speculation on
| boards of trade, where there were proper
| restraints and restrictions, and to encourage
| and foster speculation where such restraints
| and restrictions did not exist. IL was sim
ply DETECTION of the course Of gambling
| from It's legitimate channel into bed in
| which its effects were wider aud more per-
nicious. There was, Mr.. White said, a con-
| census Of opinion on the part OF the great
| commercial bodies of the country against
the measure. In proof Of this he sent TO the
clerks desk and had read the resolutions
| of the chamber Of commerce ct the state OF
| New York protesting against it as injurious
| TO the best interests OF the community. He
| also sent up and had read the protests OF
bankers Of New York, Chicago and New
Orleans against the bill He also sent up
and had read list Of other bodies that had
sent memorials TO congress against the bill.
That list comprised the New York. New
| Orleans, Savannah, Houston, Mobile,
Greenville and Memphis Cotton Exchanges,
the Milwaukee Chamber Of Com
merce, Chicago Board Of Trade,
New York Produce Exchange,
New Orleans Board OF Trade, New Orleans
Clearing House Association, bankers, mill
ers and merchants of Toledo, Baltimore
Corn and Flour Exchange, Chicago merch-
ants and manufacturer, and Minneapolis
| Clearing House Association, Business Union
| and Chamber of Commerce. Were these
great associations. he asked, mere bodies Of
degraded and abandoned gamblers And
| yet that was the inevitable outcome OF the
arguments in support Of the bill. Speak
ing of the system of Futures" Mr.. White
said that before that system came into
| existence the cotton business was confined
to large capital. Large fortunes were re-
quire TO carry and hold the product,
whereas, now, under the system of future
equality; and men with small capital were
the equals Of men with larger capital"
BENEFITS OF THE FUTURE SYSTEM.
He proposed now, he said, to summarize
the benefits which the future" system con-
ferred on the cotton planter by an ex-
animation OF the state of the cotton trade
before and after the future period. He
proposed to demonstrate that ths future"
| system had been a merciful blessing TO the
southern cotton planter and to the cotton
| trade and that its destruction would
entail on both, this year, loss of over
500, 000, 900. He sent to the clerks desk and
had read kilograms from many cotton fac
| tors In New Orleans, asking him TO use his
efforts against the bill. These kilograms,
he said, did not come from cotton buyers
but from cotton sellers, men who carried
/ sH .
He had read kilograms to the same
effect from New Orleans dealers in
rics, sugar and produce. Mr..
White went on to explain that before the
introduction of the future" system the
whole cotton crop was precipitated on the
market in two or three months, creating
great glut in the market and causing a
fall in prices. AS that evil grew the FUTURE
system was devised. For whats For the
purpose Of bridging over that glut and
spreading large receipts of cotton over a
long period instead OF having them thrown
on the market and sold at reduced prices.
GEORGE DENIES THE CLAIMS.
Mr. George remarked that he would try
at some time during the session 60 show that
cotton was not affected by future" sales
except deleteriously.
Mr.. White proceeded with his argument,
supporting it with cotton statistics in years
!
system OF futures" his contention being
that the depr ession in prices came earlier in
the year, before the future" system than it
did afterward. He claimed also that the
greater the amount OF future sales in
proportion to the value of the crop the
higher was the price, That, he
said, arose from the economic prin-
ciple that the greater the trading in an
article, the higher prices went. He had
made comparison of the Quotations in the
price of cotton before and since the
future period and asserted that the range
of fluctuations was greater before than it
has been since
Mr.. Ransom asked him whether the act
usl prices we're not higher in the former Pc
riod than In the latter.
Mr.. White replied in the affirmative but
said that all prices had fallen in the last
twenty years, whether the articles were
traded in under the future system or not.
That system had nothing TO do with the
general shrinkage in values. With those
figures staring him in the face he dared not,
he said. vote for the bill. His Judgment
was that the effect OF it would be to bring
confusion disarrangement and turmoil into
the commercial organization of the whole
world. and that the cost of IL TO the people
of the southern states would be from $780,
100000 to 1000 900. And what good
could it dol Was there not a cotton ex-
changs where futures we're dealt In IN Liv-