The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1898-06-08
High Price Of Wheat.
Representative Stokes on the Deal
Made by Letter.

The following communication ap-
pears in the Washington Post of
May 81:
Editor Post: You are usually so
accurate when you invoke facts that
1 read with surprise your attempted
defense of "Jo,' Letter, and incident
ally Of option gambling in yesterdays S
Post. You characterize as unspeak-
ably wicked certain expressions of
leading Knights Of Labor and others,
which recently appeared in a New
York paper. The unspeskably wick
edness of the labor men apparently
is only less in your estimation than
that of the unmentiouable paper in
publishing them.
In your defense Of the man and
the method you appeal to the facts,
and charge those who hold contrary
views with deliberately deceiving the
people as to the facts.
Can the editor of the Post be seri-
Gus when he says Letter has not
speculated or gambled in futures or
options? The merest tyro in the
exchange methods knows that his
transactions from start to finish were
speculative purely, and the very
essence of gambling. 1t is true, as
you say, be "bought the actual wheat
in the open market at the prevailing
prices" But be bought it solely be
cause it became necessary in arder to
win his outstanding bets.
The essence Of the transaction was
like this: Letter bet ten million dol
lars, say. that wheat would 60 above
10 cents by a certain date, and the
higher above the bigger would be
the stakes according to an agreed
scale. He put up Lis stakes, and
then with ell the power of unlimited
money, he went to work to force the
price above 10 cents, in order that
he might win his bets. The higher
above 10 cents be could force it, the
bigger would be his winnings. BY
th;mblerigging methods we'll known
on the exchanges, be forced the
price up to II cents. Then it oc-
Cured to him, if be could get control
Of the actual wheat, he could de-
mand delivery of actual wheat in
stead of the margins. In that event,
bis antagonists would hsve 10 come
to him for wheat to fulfill their gam
bling contracts, and SO he could force
the price up indefinitely. That is
precisely what be did. He bought
up all the wheat in The market-at
what price? At the price he him
self had fixed by manipulating the
figures on the exchange. Then
what? Having control of the actual
wheat and OF the gambling contracts
as well, be actually forced the price
up to Sl.S5 per bushed. And yet
the Post says Letter is not RESPONSE
BILE for the higher price of bread.
However we may disagree about
terms descriptive # those acts, there
can be no rubbing out the fact that
the price went up from II cents to
81 S5 after Litter bought actual
wheat. How, then, can the Post
say that ''if the cost of wheat has
been increased, it is the result OF
natural causes over which no opera
tor had or could have had the least
ccltrol?'
1t is begging the question to say
that the increased inurcst to the pro-
ducers of wheat. It is not OILY un-
true, but di>ipgenuous. This in
cresse in price has taken place in
the main since the prodccer parted
with his product. 1t is always So,
not only in respect to wheat, but in
respect to cotton and every other
subject of option gambling.
But suppose the producers did get
the benefit Of these gambling opera
tiors in this instance. How does
! that help the producers who bad to
sell last year and the year before,
and for ten years past, while the
market WIS under control Of the
"bears?"
: The Knights Of L,bor are right.
$40" Letter and his class, and the
exchanges which make ttem possible
should be abated by law. They per
form no useful functions commen'
surate with the evil they do.
! have bill pending before a com,
mittee of the House which will ac
complish that purpose, and if the
people who are forced to pay more
for bread, or go lacking, by reason Of
these gambling operations, will help
such abuses will not occur again