The morning call., 1894-06-23
MUCH DENOUNCED.
The Anti-Option Bill Is
Scored
AS AN UNJUST MEASURE
By the Members of the Produce
~ Exchange.
IS 1T CLASS LEGISLATION
One Broker Would Almost Say 1t Is
Part of Big Blackmailing
Scheme.

L
yesterday, when it was announced that
hereafter the United States would Droba-
bly, relieve them of the responsibility. In
Secretary, Friedlander's private Office a
committee Of call board stars were bella
boring their brains over how TO frame
rules and bylaws that would not persist
IN allowing two. four or half dozen diff
ferent constructions. That particular rule
which forbids corners" and deals" on
the floor had just been reached when a
CALL reporter entered with the dispatch
from Washington to the effect that the
House of Representatives had passed toe
Hatch Rnti-option bill by vote OF 150to IS.
That settles it," exclaimed one gentle
man. as the heads Of all the committee
bobbed up and gazed with undsgulsed
CONSERVATION at the reporter as II he were
bad angel or a winged Nemesis sprung
from some evil habitatiOn.
:. mo, il don't" promptly exclaimed an
other gentleman who stepped in from the
:: rear door at the moment. The Dill has
to pass the Senate yet."
=. ''And If it does" continued the first
speaker. lit means that produce call
boards close their doors and 'tickers' are
e. Telegaued TO lonesome lOnesomeness."
A shiveT passed over the assembly, and
:. then the men settled down to vent their in
dignation.
!. :*"Irs an absolute injustice" angrilv
=. spoke Mr.. GerbPrdiug. sit is class legIs-
:: lRtion again. II is contrary to all modern
financial methods. WHAT Hatch and his
:sOcialistic class are after is 10 kill call
: boards and boards OF trade and every
:. other useful commercial exchange"
"They say they want to benefit the
farmers" eXpostulated Secretary Fried
=. lander, with a half-conlemptuous. half
: ~despalring twist of his hand, "but who
: ever heard of any farmers Directing 10 any
lone buying and holding cereals for a bet
: ter market That is all we do on the ex-
-: change. The future is simply the modern
:sm plifed means of financing and moving
:: crops and all articles of commerce from
the producer to the consumer. The me-
chanism works simply and smoothly. 1t
would be pure folly TO Interfere with il.
:. 'tRere is what the Exchange of San
:. Francisco thinks about It, if you want to
see that" and Mr.. Friedlander handed
:, out copy of the protest which went to
Washington when the Hatch bill was
= originally brought up in the House. The
= words Of the protest were those OF Mr.
=: Gerb erding quoted above, but they lacked
his f0Tcefu gestures. and rather-to say
the leasi-resenful expression.
well" spoke up Mr.. Blank, who by
= this time had begun to catch the humor of
THE situation, IF the bill should pass the
Senate we won't have to worry about Nc
:.Glaufin any more nor rules to regulate
n i'm. "
:.:.::''No. nor about GerberdiDg. nor Sperry,
,@'nOF .AcNear, nor Eppinger, Hor any one
else" added the lugubrious fourth party.
''Ehe tax the bill proposes is simply pro-
. .bibitiye, and that is all there is about it,
1t will positively stop trading on options
+ or futures"
THE general conviction of the meeting
j.: seemed TO be with the miSanthrope. But
.>all'the heads drifted toward one another
again before the reporter left the room,
and with quiet ali-tO-ODe-selVes sort of a
smile the committee seemed to have
= ehufflad off anxiety and TO have taken up
the routine business again.
tAh, but il wont pass the Senate"
= were the last assuring words the reporter
heard spoken by the sabguine man as the
:. doors shut the committee from his view.
Considerable searching had TO be in
dCiged in before the grounds of that san
~guine mans assurance could be MAN.
:.IaIhed L. w. McGauflin, the broker,
wRo ia now so justly famous by the re-
cent loss OF a "cOld million" in an attempt
: TO bull the market, was not very much
disturbed at the little telegram shown to
Mt would kin the call business of
course" lie said as he lifted his gold
rintmed pince-neZ and took a half turn
and a cross in lis chair. Hatch thinks
It would benefit the farmer; but then take
>our recent deal on the exchange, the
- "Certalnly; you kept the price Of wheat
=, .'Aud made market" Mr. McGlauf1iu
added, which they otherwise would not
have had, at prices much abOye-as we
subsequently learned-what they could
expect to realize by holding. Oh, we'll.
after all. this bill is only part of the
!: natural course Of this craze that is run
. ming broad now 10 make the money ed
: man give up and share with the black
: guard and the vagabond, as well as the
poor and the men Of moderate incomes. /
would not say it exactly-no, not just that
way-but it looks somewhat like a piece
of blackmail to make the exchanges dis
gorge.
:. .'YVe will manage TO stop the thing some
; how. The bill may get through the SEN
ate, but friend of mine just Informed me
: to-day that q number OF Eastern brokers
and produce-dealers were preparing to
carry the measure TO the Supreme Court
and test It's constitutionality should 1t be-
come q law"
+" Mr.. McGlauf1n was so kind as to reveal
q: the whereabouts of the friend VINO had the
said telegram, but the reporter wanted
: first to get an expression of opinion from
the manufacturers Of produce, or the
: Legitimate" dealers in farm produces.
Accordingly, in the Sperry Flour Com
pany he found opinions from that side.
. They differed at first. General Manager
11ORG WAS iuCIlutO AZ bhlDh CdiI DO6IuS
and speculation on futures and options
needed a little bit of regulation.
.s"Otherwise," be said, Imitation OF
prices is apt 10 work harm to the farmers
and to the community. in general. For
instance. the recent McGlaufin deal sent
wheat up ten cents above the normal or
: Liverpool price We had to add that TO
the price of -four, and go the chickens
come home to roost.
''Bnt You must not forget" corrected
Mr.. Sperry, that the farmers got a cor
= res pendingIy larger price for their wheat
and were the better able 10 pay more for
q: the, -four. No; ! think it is a mistake
= from any point of view TO attempt TO pro-
O.: hibit dealing in options and futures. That
is one OF the legitimate elements of mod
6rn: trade. Restriction Of corners and
deals and 50 forth is necessary. but that
we accomplish locally in our individual
exchanges, and have TO do it for selI-pro-
lection"
Finding the anti-anti-op,ion sentiment
practically unanimous. the Reporter sought
out the dispatches from the East. which
proved TO be in q. w. Alexander's hands.
:; 'tOh, it has passed, has it?'' responded
that gen tlemsn when approached. by
:<Mhat majority? Well. here is my answer
to the proposition"
:Mr. Alexander handed out two tele-
grams, one of last week and one Of vester-
DAY, from one OF the largest brokerage
firms in Chicago. The first one read some
thing like this:
. We are nreparinp to contest the Hatch bill