Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-03-26
AN IMPORTANT DECISION
Wherein tb Chicago Board of
Z Se Figures.
AGAIN. 3 BUCKET SHOPS
"The Q Never Stamps Private Property
I'm Public Interest for the Benefit
" of Law-Breaking.n

Chicago, Ill, March 25.--Judge Horton,
of -he circuit court, today over-ruled the
motions Of th'> boar of trade, the Western
Union Telegraph company, the Gold and
Stock Telegraph company and the Postal
Telegraph company, to dissolve the tenn
porary injunctions restraining these par
ties from "de taching telegraph wires from
the place of business of Harry Z. Wiley,
dhe w "A. Michael Commission company,
ct al, from removing tickers and from
cutting off or in any way interfering
with the supply of market information
as has been heretofore supplied
The court said: There Is no avermsnt
in the pleadings, no affidavit or eVidencs
charging and no statement or argument
upon the theory, that either of the com
piainants is conducting a bucket shop
or using the market lSpOrS in any il
legal manner or for any illegal purpose
'Sinca in the incorpora tion of the board
of trade, in 1859, ohe defendant Western
Union Telegraph company, has contin-
uously been upon the floor and hall of the
exchange of said board except possibly
for a short period. The Gold and Stock
Telegraph company is awned by and is
practically par, of the Western Union
Telegraph company. The defendant. the
Postal Telegra ph-Cable company has also
be'eni for some years on the floor Of said
hall of the exchange collecting and trans
mitting the news as to the market price
of produce there established. Said tele-
graph companies are common carriers of
news and as such are to be controlled by
ths same principles pertaining to the
rights of the public as other common car
riers are. The business transacted upon
the floor OF said hall or exchange is so
vast in its proportions 5hat it fixes the
market price of grain, breadstuffs and
meats for the extensive territory that Is
tributary to Chicag1 and seriously affects
and to considerable extent contrala the
values of the necessaties of life through
out the United Sta-es and the civilized
world.
1.-The board of trade is a private cor
poratIon it has the same rights as other
private corporations 1t has the right
to control and manage it's private prop
erty and affairs the same as any other
private corporation has. If, however,
the board of trade has so used or per-
mitted such use of its property, or any
part of 1t, that the same has become
charged with a public interest then said
board has no legal right to deprive the
public of the interest thus acquired when
1t is sought and used only for legitimate
purposes. That the price of commodi-
ties for this market is practically con-
trolled by the board of trade will hardly
be questioned and that the public has an
interest in the prices of such eommodi
ties, is certain. In other words the board
of trade has become sort of public
agent, controlling to a considerable ex-
tent public interests and the interests of
individual members of that public who
may be engaged in business affected by
the market news established by the board
of trade.
'The different telegraph companies
have been so long permitted to continue
to transmit to the public the market
news and said telegraph companies have
been so long employed by the public SO
to do that said companies may now be
considered as agents of the public for the
purpose, recognized as such by the board
bound to furnish or to permit to be col
lected or furnished, in any manner, quo
tations or market news to or for the use
of any bucket shop No corporation, as
sociation, co-partnership or person keep
ing bucket shop, and no person whether
acting individually or as member, officer,
agent, or employe of any corporation, as
sociation or co-partnership in keeping a
bucket shop, is entitled to receive any
such market news. These market quo
tations have become clothed with a pub
lie interest in behalf of such producers,
consumers, shippers, merchants, and
dealers engaged in legitimate business,
and such as use or furnish the same for
use in the legitimate transactions of the
country. The law never stamps private
property with public interest for the
benefit of aW-breaking."