The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-02
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
Thls Is No joke.

To the Editor Of Tho journal.
clip the following editorial paragraph
from T he Journal OF March &c:
The farmer speculates when he puts seed in
the ground In the spring, and takes the chance of
getting nothing or hundredfold back. Where
fore, let us abolish the farmer.
The man who coined this remarkable
syllogism ought to be called to the chair
Of logic in the Standard Oil university,
where he doubtless would have an oppor-
tunity to teach young men how to prove
that two and two make anything but
four.
Everybody knows that when the farmer
puts seed into the ground he expects to
get something for nothing; his seed and
his work being merely incidental to the
graft he works on nature. 1t is also
equally clear that what he gains some
other farmer must lose, and what he fails
to win some lucky dog rakes in. BY all
means let the federal courts be set in mo-
tion to enjoin the farmer from continuing
this demoralizing game of chance.
The above paragraph seems to be your
final word on the option business, having
explained very lucidly and fully in a
previous issue just why all deals in
futures are not gam bling, what proportion
of them are, and what disastrous results
would follow the passage Of a law pro-
hibiting them. ~
However, as I believe there are large
numbers of people outside the state 1egis-
lature who share the opinion expressed In
the house by one Of your Minneapolis
members that all trades in futures are
made with the sole purpose of acquiring,
if possible, some of the results of labor
without doing any, will you please state
whether or not the following is not
type Of such transactions:
I have a balance with a Chamber Of
Commerce firm. decide that May wheat
has touched bottom at 70 cents and wish
to risk s100 on my Judgment. wire the
firm to buy 5000 bushels and margin it
cents. The quotations prove my judg-
ment correct and the price creeps up to
72h cents, having doubled my stake. I
notify the firm to close out at that figure.
They credit my account $100 and keep the
other $6.25 as commission on the deal. II
the market goes against me the firm
antes for me as long as my balance holds
out and then calls for more, I suppose
because it would be difficult to collect
by law debt incurred in this way. If
more money is not forthcoming and the
market continues to slump my margins
are wiped out
There is one advantage that l see in
| this over other ways Of accomplishing the
money, but If I lose enough there is moth
| ing to prevent my blowing out my own
brains.
OF course, from the point of view of
| the socialist, all men who gain an exist
| ence entirely by speculation are parasites,
but it is probably capable Of proof that
some forms of legitimate speculation have
contributed to the progress of the world,
but I think it would be hard to demon
strate that this buying and selling OF
nothing in wholesale lots serves any use
| full purpose except to the man who wakes
richer and richer by it at the expense OF
the little trader who can't hold on long
enough for the market to come his way.
| &C. H. Bonney.
| Fairmont, Minn., March %.
| Mr.. Bonney should read the article
| "TWOuld Hit the Farmers" in Mondays