The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-09-18
NO MORE CORNERS
IMPORTANT RULING BY A Gill
CA0O JUDGE.
If Upheld 1t Will Render Corners
in Commodities Impossible---Chi-
cago Board of Trade Has Usurpcd
Functions Which Are Those of
the Judiciary.

Chicago, Sept ia most import
ant decision against the Chicago board
of trade has been rendered by Judge
Chytraus, in the "July oats corner" in
junction cases. The directors for all
time to come have had their powers so
curtailed by the decision, if it stands
in the higher courts, that they cannot
longer adjudicate upon property rights
of members of the association. Judge
Chytraus goes even farther and says
that under the charter of the board of
trade there is no provision for success
sion of membership.
The case in question was brought by
the commission firm of Waite, Thor
burn & Co., against the Chicago Board
of Trade, the Bank of Montreal and sew
eral prominent members of the board of
trade, in which a temporary injunction
was granted to prevent the margins that
were put up by the compliments from
being handed down to the contracting
defendants. The claim was made that
the defendants had run corner in Ju-
ly standard oats. The complain
ants, who had sold "short' to the de-
PENDANTS, while not denying their con-
tracts, and while declaring their pur-
pose to make good these same contracts
made protest against having the case
adjudicated by the board of trade, as
provided in the laws of the association.
The standard" oats in question
were of a grade and fineness almost inn
possible to obtain in sufficient quanti-
ties to fill contracts during July, be-
cause of the delay to crops by rainy
weather. In the pit on change highly
fictitious prices had been put on this
commodity, and the complainants asked
the court to set a fair price between
which and the one at which they had
contracted the difference might be paid.
This was flied one day before the settle
ments we're required, July 80.
The court said in ruling that as far
as the merits of the case were con-
cerned, it did not matter whether there
was corner, for it was taken for grant
ed that an honest price was intended.
This part of the matter can be decided
at further hearing, which will be
had The decision makes the injunc-
tion in force until this hearing of facts
is had. The losing parties have APP
pealed, but this does not prevent fur
ther hearing.
The gist of the decision is that spe-
cial committee, which, according to the
board rules, should be appointed by
the president to adiudicate such differ
ences, has not authority to act in cases
where property rights are involved. The
rights of the board directors to preserve
the integrity of its rules, so far as dis
ciplining members is concerned, by
fine. suspension or expulsion, are up
held by the court as proper rights, but
he rules against the power of disposal
of that money which, in sense, has
been placed in trust or escrow, by Sc
lect committee of three disinterested
persons, members of the association, to
be appointed by the president. Re-
CARELESS of the fact that the complain
ants agreed to be bound by the rules
which provide for settlements of disa-
greements, the court ruled that they
were not bound; that the arrogating of
such power to such body was against
public policy, and that it would be in
PRODUCING "sovereignties within a SOW
ereignty for the function of constituting
the law"