The new South-news., 1908-02-29


York." said he. "thc Stock Exchange
Is regarded with a certain amount Of
yeneration and that many who We
hemently denounce gambling In a
backroom whore winnings and losses
are small, remain strangely silent I'm
the presence OF the enormous games
that are played upon the stock mar
ket. often with loaded dice. Gambling
Is one or the worst of vices, and
gambling In stocks and farm products
is the most destructive form In which
the vice appears. Measured by the
number of suicides caused by the
New York Stock Exchange. Monte
Carlo Is an innocent pleasure resort
! by comparison. Measured by the
amount OF money changing hands, the
contrast is still greater In favor of
Monte Carlo; and measured by the
influence upon those who do not gam
Bile. the evils of Monte Carlo are in
significant when compared with the
evils of New Yorks commercial
gambling houses. The New York
Stock Exchange has graduated more
, embezzlers than Fagin's school did
thieves
After a crusade which convulsei
a state aud at least imnEessed the
tssvunn, OF the Nation, we got rid Of
the Louisiana lottery aud then we
congratulated ourselves upon our vir-
tue. The men In charge of the lottery
never did 1.-THE of the harm that the
grain gamblers and the stock gam
hlers OF New York do every day, nor
/ did they ever exercise anything like
the corrupting influences over poll
tics. IL has been asserted without
denial that ninety-nine per cent. of
the New York purchases and sales of
stock and of produce are merely bets
upon the market value. with no in
tention upon the part of the vendor
10 deliver, or on the part OF the pur-
chaser TO receive. This Is not busi-
ness; IL is not commerce; It Is not
/ speculation, II is common, vulgar
gambling. and when 20 the ordinary
chances that the gambler takes are
added the extraordinary chances due
/ 10 the secret manipulation OF the mar
ket by those who are on the inside.
the stock market becomes worse than
an honestly conducted gambling re-
sort. II a man takes chance upon
a wheel of fortune, he knows lust
what his chance is, and he knows
tha, the owner of the wheel has n
percentage of chances In his favor.
but when stranger CANDLES upon
the stock or grain market h. IS at the
mercy OF those who. by obtaining con-
troll OF the visible supply. can destroy
every natural law or business rule
which the outsider knows. beg
the spiritual advisers of our great
cities TO consider whether they cannot
advance religion as we'll as morality
by pointing out that the command
ment. Thou shalt not steal, is openly
and notoriously violated In the stock
market ana in the grain pit by those
who profess TO believe in tho Bible
and to have respect tor its teachings.
The swollen fortunes against
which the President justly inveighs.
almos- without exception flrd their
source In special privileges and in
Governmental favoritism which legal
lie injustice. 1t is not strange that the
humble members of society complain.
but II ia strange that conscience does
not more often restrain the rich and
the potent from asking for such uu-
fair advantages.
The commandment, Thou shalt
not steal win not have the weight
that II ought to have among men un-
I'll II is so construed as to bring the
feeling OF guilt and shame to thos.
who draw from the common store
more than they add In service. tive
can but create sentiment which will
make men ashamed, not only of
wronedolng but OF idleness as we'll.
and MI them with an earnes, desire
TO make generous return to society
tor all the blessings that society con-
fers. II VIII be easier TO prevent those
varieties of larceny which are so d.fi-
cult to denne and which the officers
OF the law find 1t hard to detect and
punish