The San Francisco call., 1906-06-17

ciers speculating in the future prices
| of imaginary commodities. Judging
by the treatment his insistent urging
Of his hobby has met from some Brit
| ish statesmen ii might be inferred that
these statesmen regard Mr.. Smiths OBJ
! lection to option gambling as hys-
terical The King of Italy, though.
through his ministers. treats his views
and communications with more distin-
guished consideration, and evidently
agrees with them in the main. For
q glimpse of the opinion of the British
statesman, Lord Balfour. we may take
this quotation which he uses APPROX
ingly from Emery:
1T is the universal testimony OF
those who speak and write on the sub
ject that under the system prices are
steadied and are steadier than they
used to be. while the grower reaps ar
advantage by being able TO sell his
produce, and therefore to know his
position much earlier and with much
more certainty than would otherwise
be the case"
His Lordship adds: at must be OBJ
vious to every one who gives considera-
tion to the subject that neither deal
ings in futures nor any similar trans
\ action can overrule the law OF supply
and demand"
1t has been the lifetime desire ano
work of the author of this book to
combat this view of the harmlessness
of stock gambling. He claims to
speak with the authority of nearly
half century's experience in editing
the reports of the worlds markets, and
he says that the other principal ex-
perts on the subject coincide with his
views that the gamblers in stocks and
futures dominate the worlds markets
and are the cause of financial panics.
This form of speculation, he is of the
opinion. does a great injury TO all
honest capital and labor. 1t is. he
says, disgrace to Western civiliza-
tion that it is not condemned as are
the other forms of gambling. and such
restrictive legislation passed and en-
forced against it as will put stop
to the injury to agriculture and COM
merce of the world as is caused by IT,.
The three countries which he calls the
gambling countries-the great gam
bling countries-are England. France
and the United States. The chief CEN
ter of this stock gambling is in the
United States, and he blames England
for not having any laws against gam
bling in this form, although gambling
is recognized as a great evil in its
other modes of operation.
The author notes that their Males
ties the Emperors of Russia, Germany
and Austria have recognized the evils
of gambling in futures" and that
consequently laws against them are in
force in their respective countries.
and he urges upon President Roosevelt
and King Edward VII to use their in
fiuence to have similar laws passed in
Il Great Britain and the United States
He is anxious to have these two coun-
tries act in the matter, for he says
that they are most prominent as hot
beds of these international gambling
operations. Right here this English
author makes a critical comment on
our form of government. He is en-
efforts to reform the abuse in the
financial world, but he thinks that
owing to the mechanism of our gov
ernment Roosevelt is virtually in the
hands of the Senate. "A split, there
fore, between the Senate and the Pres
ident spells the paralysis of the Gov
ernment and American history has
had many such examples.
Speaking of the dishonesty of such
operations he says that there is no
question of their being considered by
the honest men of England as being
gambling, and he quotes the words of
a British Judge in summing up case
about them, when he pointed out. in
reference to the technical wording of
future" contract, which, though
for a certain reason. saved them from
being gambling in law. they were in
effect as much gambling as if they
were done on the Stock Exchange. at
Monte Carlo, or in the betting ring at
| a race-course." There are more than
three hundred pages of this market
experts contention against the curse
of this form of gambling which is in
dulged in by the great financiers of
J the world. but a summing up OF his
! opinion may perhaps be had in this:
They constitute a form of gambling g
1T the expense of a third and helpless
party, and thus Indirectly stab mill
lions of people behind their backs.
They are gradually causing ruin to
III leading national industries. They
ire affecting the prosperity as well as
he honor of governments. and indeed
Of the nations themselves"
(P. S. King & Son: Orchard House,
Westminster, London. shillings)