The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-04-17
TO PUNISH WHEAT coRNERINe.

1T is quite natural that the wheat
corner manipulated by Mr.. Patten in
Chicago should call for the enactment
| OF law against gambling in wheat. IL
I is no surprise, therefore, but rather in
accord with the general expectation,
/ that thcrn should be a bin introduced
IN Congress to prohibit such gambling
in wheat futures Representative Scott
of Kansas, chairman Of the House Com
mittec on Agriculture. comes forward
with such bill Under tho provisions
OF that measure, those dealing in fu-
lures on wheat, corn. and other agri.
cultural products, will be under the ban
OF the law, and any one indulging in
that Nillainy will be subject to prosccu.
tlon and punishment.
1t is griovous thing to thus heart
lcSsiy and in the spirit of pure specu.
latlvc selfshness, put up the price of
the common necessities Of life to all
the people. Regardless of whether the
poor families will he grievously af-
fiIcted by the rise in bread, which is
the staff Of life, these spectators pro-
ceed IN the most cold blooded manner
to increase the price of these common
necessities, simply to line their own
pockets rapaciously with ill-gotten cash
at the expense of the heart S blood Of
the people.
And yet il is pretty hard to get at
the proposition in legal way so as to
punish people for engaging in this sort
OF rascality. Mr.. Patten made an en-
phatic declaration that he was not cor
nering wheat, even when everybody
knew that he was doing it, He de
clared that the wheat he was buying
was wheat he wanted for his own pur-
poses; that he was not indulging in any
speculation; was not gambling in wheat, |
but genuinely wanted to buy it. Tie !
denied that he was selling wheat or that |
he was putting up Jobs on anybody for
the purpose Of unwarrantably raising |
the price or squeezing those who were
" Short Of the commodity which they |
Lad undertaken to sell. All this sort |
OF denial, of course, was absolutely |
false, and yet when n man goes into
court and pleads that sort of iustifca-
tion for his speculative transactions, ii
Is pretty hard TO prove that he is a
liar. And it is especially hard 10 prove
it in criminal prosecution, where all
reasonable doubt must be resolved in
the interest of the accused. We arc
inclined TO think. on the whole, that
q good, stiff progressive tax imposed
upon stock deals of all kinds would be
4 greater deterrent to these spccula-
i've transactions than any penal statute
If the transactions of any one person
or firm were limited to a certain amount
rec from taxation on any one dav
Ind good, stiff tax imposed upon
very deal above that in any one day.
his tax reaching such proportions as
o be prohibitory of the immense deals
hat are necessary in forming and main
aiming a corner, it would be so un-
profitable TO undertake that sort Of a
,ame that no one could possibly engage
II it, And under such tax the public
would reap some advantage whenever
my scoundrel undertook the sort of
Of the price of the neces-
aries of life, such as Patten engaged
n, The proper place for such rapac-
Gus scoundrels is in the penitentiary.
s all will admit And vet under our
orm OF judicial procedure it is mighty
ard to put them there.