The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-08-26
BLOW AIMED AT FUTURES
 ISA BLOW AIMED AT SOUTH
Charles C. Abercrombie Declares That Specula- ton is Not Gambling, and That It is
 Helpful to Farmers.

through reckless spirit of specula- ton, has given an impetus to this movement aided by the ill-advised and nasty action on the part of the Birm- | ingham City Council, who took not the time to conshider their action, or It's erect upon the buying, selling or manufaeture of cotton.
 l No Defense of Gambling.
 "I do not propose to defend any sort of gambling, or to endorse that reck- less spirit of speculation which leads men of otherwise good business sense to embark in cotton or stock specula- ton without any Knowledge of the Ibusiness but solely with the idea of combating some successful man who has made a careful study of the mar kets and the laws that ultimately gov ern them Reason must be our guide In everything
 By adopting. a strict measure, the State of Georgia. through it's legisia,' I ton. will be deprived of all that | governs the course of the market in the way of information, whether it h" in relation to finance, politics or news l concerning grain, stocks or cotto, un- l der the modern system of doing busl- ness. By means of the private wire system, every important ~and interme- diary point in the country has the benefit of this service, and the mer- l chant. banker and planter of the i'm l terior has been placed on a footing l Wltn DrOkerS ana men1DeTS OD the uIl- ferent floors of the leading exchanges and boards of trade throughout the country, the service being instante- neous and reliable
 "If Georgia's example of prohibiting all firms from doing business in fu-- 1 lures, Is followed by other States ot l the Union, all this will be a thing ot l the past and the farmer will be left 1 to the mercy of the foreign markets. l the people. of whom are principally l consumers and not producers as are | the people of the United States of l America.
 ''The several interests connected with | the raising and marketing of cotton 1 feel that there is something |rong's and in searching for the cause of the ton as the most prominent factor In modern business life. That the con- 1 demnation of speculation is the re- 1 suit of misunderstanding and bitter
 feeling. rather than intelligent re- | search, may be seen from the fact that l 1t is quite frequently made on the conflicting grounds, according 10 tne date of August 12, 1906, page b42' quotes Professor Emory as follows; 1 Tt is net so many years ago since large and representatiye meeting S oa | resolution against options on the score that they tended to unfairly reduce the price of wheat, and 1t was just three vention of the National Association of members. mem was held in Minneapolis. and passed a resolution condemning options on the ground that they unfairly raised the price of wheat" .' l Speculation NOt Illegal.
 'Tt Is a mistake to presume that s gal or that speculation in them is Rambling. They are separate and dis tinct arts. For the beneft of those who desire a clearer understanding ot the distinctions, comparisons and def~ | initions can be secured from the Cen" i tury Dictionary, and Enclycopedia Die tionary.
 resent specuiation in futures as an organized attempt to depress prices to "First~Because every short seller must become a buyer before ne carrleS
 :Second. Because as far as spot | prices are concerned, the short seller | appears as buyer and not as seller, | and therefore, against his own VIII 1 Is instrumental in raising prices,
 Third Because neither the pear
 the 61ir gI1a b are are egnalv ' losers @
 and winners, thus proving that ons is
 about as important and influential
 factor in the market as the other; l Fourth. Because evidence believed
 to be conclusive has been presented
 showing that under speculation, prices prevailing at the time when producers
  | products are greater in comparison to | the rest of the year than they were
 before the advent of modern specula- | tion.
 we especially recommend to the at ltention to those who desire better un
 derstanding of the functions and bene-- | fits of future dealing, to carefully read 1 the Industrial Commissions final re- | port, Page 1855, entitled Speculation m | Agricultural Products It reads in part: The three great functions whIcn 1 speculation performs in free system 1 of trading are:
 First To localize the risks of dis trihution among a special class, of ex- perts presumably well-informed as to | the facts of supply, demand, credit. exchange and cost of distribution.
 Second. To relieve producers and | risk of being responsible for a years production, thus freeing the cash in come of both of these economic in-
 terests for other uses than those of protecting and providing a long term | supply of utilities.
 "'Thlrd. To reduce the profit of | trade by ready and active competition among the various speculative inter ests toward a minimum of cost per unit | of commodity handled by conducting distributive operations on large
 How it Helps Farmers.
 "The farmer this year has had chance, or rather the advantage of dis.
 posing of all or a part of his. crop of l cotton, in the neighborhood of 10 1-2c l per pound, even before the crop is l gathered. and before the decline set in. l on account of the excellent prospects of | the growing crop. Then again, the 1 spinner is so situated as to be able to | contract for the delivery of manufac- ] tured goods as far ahead as one year. l the system of futures, providing the | means whereby he can buy distant de- l liveries and on this basis make his 1 calculations between the cost of raw material and of mill production, re- l serving a slight margin of profit m ri l at the same time have the satisfaction 1 of knowing his interests and that of 1 the producer or seller is being pro- | tected by the rules of the commercial i exchanges of the world.
 "The system as It exists is essential 1 to the exporter of cotton. as if would | take the Bank of England to stand the l loss of a cargo of 30.000 bales of cot | ton, such as steamships carry to Flu | rope on a single voyage. unless the cotton was hedged by sales in the fu ture market, the rebuying of which | contracts take place on the arrival of the cotton at it's destiration.
 There is a movement on foot among the farmers of the South, and 1t is a good one. which has made good head way already, and that is the erecting of interior warehouses wherein farm CTS might store their cotton and not rush it to market as has been the GUS tom of old, and influenced the market to lower level by doing so. practi- cally marketing the crop in four months when they have twelve months | in which p n Tn fhpV will