The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-04-13
DOES SUPPLY AND DEMAND CON
troll?


! From the Journal OF Agriculture.
The grain gamblers and their apollo
gistS claim that the law OF supply and
demand regulates prices; that the system
of option gambling IS necessary to
handle the crops" and has nothing to do
with fixing prices. One day last week
| one set of gamblers changed wheat
prices seven cents on the bushel in a few
minutes. We let the Republics Chicago
market reporter describe the scene on
the Chicago board of trade March 80.
He says:
mot since the famous Kershaw deal,
this collapse Of which drove a score OF
firms into bankruptcy, has there been
such sensational scene on the Chicago
board of trade as took place today. The
price of wheat FOR May delivery broke
tic in about that many minutes, caus-
ing a craze of excitement in the trading
PIT. The taiiers, if not tie principals in
perhaps the biggest corner ever at
tempted in Chicago, We're cruelty
dumped. and tie outcome of the affair
apparently made a desperate uncertainty
perhaps affecting for some time to come
the course of the grain market the
world over.
IL the law of supply and demand were
ruling prices, why didn't wheat stay up:
What good did the high prices for z
minutes do the farmer? The market
reporter who was an enemy OF the anti
option blll) says these proceedings Will,
perhaps, ''affeCt for some time to come
the course of the grain market OF the
world. These admissions of an enemy
Of anti-option legislation should be pre-
served. The same market reporter goes
on to describe the diSg-aceful scene in
the transaction of business q in The
pit'-tilat business so essential to the
marketing of the farmers crop He
saws:
TIE confusion and panic was SO great
as TO make it almost impossible to trade.
Brokers tumble over one another in their
eageraess to execute orders, fought their
way into the crowded pit, as if eternal
salvation depended on their getting there,
and after pushing, pulling and almost
suifocacng in the crwd that filled it to its
utmost capacity, emerged five minutes
afterwards ply steal wrecks apparently,
their clothes disarranged, buttons off,
hats smashed, and bearing in every Inca
ment indications Of the terrible mental
strain they had been through.
THE suddeuness of the break was the
most alarming feature. lie wheat market
was very wild and exciting ut the opening,
and for half an hour thereafter it looked
as if il would never stop advancing, aud if
the clique had not had liberal selling
orders in the hands of numerous brokers
it is hard to tell how high it may have
gone before it took reactionary tumble
1t is here admitted that even when
the bulls run prices up suddenly to rake
in a few millions, the market will have
''reactionary tumble;' so that the pro
ducels of the grain get no benefit of
even the high prices. IL any farmer
can point out where such proceedings as
described above benefit anybody except
t.Ie set of gamblers who happen to be
OF top, we hope he will do So for the
benefit of our readers. The argument
that option gambling is necessary to
steady prices O., and TO make market
for the farmers produce, is on par
with the argument that pool-selling and
book-malliug are necessary to the de-
velopment of the live stock interests of
the country.