The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-01-26
1.-THE POISON OF THE sTREET.v

Selllng 1Or future QellNeTy Is
risky business at best; but when one
sells that which he has not got and
has not money enough to pay for if
the person he buys from possesses the
process and has ruined far more peo-
pie than it has enriched. This form
of dealing is gambling -nothing less.
Selling for future delivery or buying
for future delivery fictitious stocks or
grain on margins, is betting. 1t is
The Poison of the Street" as Fred
erick S. Dickson calls it in dn article
under that heading in Everybody S
magazine for February. The article
is well written and gives an interest
ing and timely expose of the methods
of Legitimate" stock brokers, as well
as bucket shop men. showing quite
conclusively that the people who play
the stock market on margins Lave no
chance to win if they keep at it-as
they always do.
In the course of his article Mr.. Dick
son makes plain the difference there
is between the two classes of opera
tors He says:
The bucket shop man makes mon
ey, much money out of the vanity
and folly OF his fellows. and herein
is the vital point of difference between
the two: for the stock exchange man
deems it quite irregular for any one to
do this save a member of an accred-
tied exchange. For every dollar lost
through a bucket shop. a thousand
stock exchange houses. Even this
does not satisfy. for the legitimate
one wants that other dollar.
Mr.. Dickson shows how the thou
sands of shares of stock are not actu-
ally bought and held BY the brokers.
although the form of buying is re
quired by the exchange. The stock is
purcha.ed for the account of one Gus
toner and Immediately resold for the
account of another, or for the ac-
count OF the broker himself. Under
the system prevalent in Wall street
the broker usually is playing against
his own customer. and the losses of
the latter go into the bank account of
! the firm. The remedy suggested for
this state of affairs is to forbid selling
short" on stocks or grain. The writ
er thus argues in support OF this prop
osition:
If YOU prevent or even restrict the
selling short of stocks or grain. you
will manifestly and in equal degree,
restrain gambling OH the long SIDE OF
the market Let the law then compel
him who would sell short TO describe
in writing and with particularly tbs
thing that he would sell If II is
stock let him give the number Of the
certificates. and state in whose names
they are registered and let him also
aver that he is the rightful owner
of the stock which he offers for sale
Punish him If he states that which /:
false, and punish also the broker who
accepts an order that does not comply
[ with these conditions. The same
? course can also be pursued in sale.
5 of wheat corn. oats, cotton. pork, anC
. the like commodities. and he wbc
. would sell them should be able L
state where the thing sold is stored
hAib " Ii'lh MAJ hllleo lllSIF may Dts VI
barrel bale bin or car lot. VIVA
$ hardship would this work on the MAJ
who simply wishes to sell for futur
delivery that which he owns An.
3 why should the law be tender to hin
a who strives to sell what ne does no
f. own, to the injury of the real owner
. Most of the legislation that ha
: ieen proposed for the regulation q
= stock gambling evils contains onl
general prohibitions against margi
n trading Buying more stock than on
r has the money to pay for is no NOR
g an evil than buying real estate sui
n iect TO mortgage, or borrowing none
for the extension CT manufacturin
plant or the development of raj
> road. If a man, therefore, wishes t
Z buy stock or commodities of any kin
y and pay but portion of the cost, til
d lsw should not interfere with hir
The evil of stock speculation, as no