The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-06-12
H,-TUE ANTlopTIoS BILL.

There are twenty pages OF the bill. III puts
penalty OF $4,000 and ten years imprs on
ment on long and short sales OF cotton. hops.
wheat. corn. oats. rye. barley. grass seeds. flax
seeds. pork. lard. bacon. and other edible
product OF swine" 1t Allows such sales on
license fee OF 81 900 annually. with a further
tax of Ave cents per pound for cotton. hops.
pork. lard. bacon. and other edible, product Of
swine. and twenty cents per busAel for the
other articles. Each person applying for
license is to give $4,000 bond that h. will
faithfully comply With the law. Such trans.
actions are hnmpered with many other re-
strctions and conditions whole amount
ing to prohibition of such sales.
The bill came from the Committee on Agri-
culture Its title is A bill defining options
and futures imposing special taxes on deal
era therein. and requiring such deal
ers and persons engaged in selling such
products to obtain license and for other rur-
poses" Tho committee says that its first OBJ
ject is to raise revenue 1t then dehounces
such dealings as immoral. vicious. baneiul.
unnatural. unjust and injurious" and then
gravely proposes to license them.
The rules of the House define the powers OF
the Committee Oh Agriculture. Raising reve-
nue. is not among them This power has
always been held by the Ways and Means.
Yet the committee tried to bring this bill up
in the House. under cover Of "a motion to go
into Committee OF the Whole on the State OF
tho Union to consider bills raising revenue.
Failing in this. it threw of the mask. and
brought the bill up in open House. on Suspen-
sion Day The report of the committee shows
that its real object is to stop all dealings in
options and futures In the products named.
1t is thus upon its face Legislative
lie To use the words Of an oppon-
~ ha Iar fha mi
Of raising revenue. it undertakes to invade the
police power of the States. to cheat the Const-
tuition. to restrict the citizens power TO con-
tract. and suppress tn. transactions out Of
which the pretended revenue is to be raised"
To show how it might work. We will say that
farmland knows where he can buy barrel OF
pork for So He sailed it down for his en-
ployer. He meets o man who is willing to give
SO for it. and he sells it He then buys the
pork from his employer and delivers it. net
ting about two dollars for himself; For this
imprisoned for ten years and fined $4,000.
He has been unwittingly dealing in options.
aHd ths Is tSs lfn thas rushed
tho House with debate limited to fifteen min
utes. and PASSED by an overwhelming major.
shows the centralizing tendencies OF the Gov.
eminent. The Democracy has ALWAYS stood
major they have bill
violating them. Nor is this all. The Repuh-
Leans aided in the scheme. hasing heir action
upon the assertion that by so doing they were
CARRYING out their theories of protection.
Within an hour after the passage Of the
bill In the House the cotton market at New
Orleans ran down ~ point. and that at New
York 9 points. Thus the very shadow cast by
the bill depressed instead OF ruising prices.
There are two members Of the House who
remember similar action in 1864. IL June q
that year an act was passed prohibiting all
options and deal ings in futures in gold. and all
dealings gold at exchanges. 1t punlShe
such dealings with fine and Imprisonment.
Within fifteen days after the measure became
law It was repealed by the very Congress
that adopted it