The Van Buren press., 1894-05-12
The Antl.OptIon Bill.
Special to The Republic.

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WARRINGTON, D. c.. May L.
Mr.. Hatch of Missouri, from the
Committee On Agriculture, to
whom was referred the bill regu-
lating the sale of certain agricul-
tural products, defining options
and futures and imposing taxes
thereon and upon dealers therein,
made report to-day in support of
the measure. The objects sought
by the proposed legislation are:
1. To obtain revenue. At this
time additional revenue is desira-
BILE and imperative. Unlike former
bills reported by the House Gov
eling the subjects embraced in
this measure, it will more surely
and steadily provide a constant
revenue to the Government, and
that without an additional corps
of revenue officers and at a mini
mum cost for it's collection.
2. To relieve the producer OF
the destructive competition to
which he is now subjected by the
offering upon exchanges of illimit-
able quantities of fiat or fictitious
products by those who do not in
tend to, and can not, terminate the
contract by actual delivery OF the
articles which they pretend to
offer and sell.
3. To restore to the law of sup
ply and demand that free action
which has been destroyed by the
practice of 'short sellng," which
has become the one mode of de-
termining the price of such agri.
cultural staples as can be graded,
while the ordinary methods of
commerce are found to suffice for
those which can not. By "short
selling,n now so common upon the
exchanges, where not to exceed
one-tenth OF the grain grown is
marketed, prices are determined
for the entire product, and often
months, in advance of sowing the
seed, thus despoiling the farmer
and planter of that voice in fixing
the price to be received for the
product of his labor and capital
which Is accorded to other pro-
ducers.
a.. That market quotations now
made by the limitless offers of fiat
products by the Sshort seller"
regardless of the volume Of actual
product in existence, may again be
determined by the offerings of
real products by the owners there
of or by those who have acquired
from such owner the right to the
future possession of the articles
offered or can terminate their con-
tracts by actual delivery and
thereby limit to the amount act
ually existing the offerings of the
staple products Of the farm.
5. To prevent the overlooking of
domestic markets and the break
ing down of prices of farm pro-
ducts by "short' sales made by
foreign merchants for the purpose
of insuring them against the possl-
bic loss on purchases of Indian,
Egyptian, South American, Aus
tralian, and Russian products.
whereby the American farmer and
planter are made underwriters of
commercial risks of the European,
by whom no bonus or premium is
paid for assuming insurance risks
that destroy the value of our pro-
duets.
6. That by restoring the func-
tions of the law of supply and de-
mand now imperative by reason
of the limitless offers of the ''short
seller" a measure of relief will be
given and prosperity partially re-
stored to the great class consti
tuting more than 40 per cent Of
our population who inhabit the
farms and whose declining pros
perity Mr.. Hatch's committee be-
lieve is due in no incOnsiderable
degree to the practice Of "short
selling," whereby the prices of the
products of the farm have been
determined and fixed during re-
cent years at an unremunerative
level.
Z. To restore to the producer an
honest market and such prices as
will follow the unfettered opera
ton of the law of supply and de-
mand, which the committee believe
will be sufficiently remunerative
to restore in part the power of
the farmer and planter and thus
bring prosperity to the artisan,
manufacturer, distributor and
transporter