The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-06-21

New York World
 | Governor Hughes's Wall Street Com mission recommends little to the Legis- stock Exchange to purge itself and live decently hereafter
 None of the legislation that is sue- sested goes to the root of the Wall poration of the Stock Exchange is held m reserve, with the warning that If, however wrong-doing recurs, and it that thed tbs spRsar En,a to the public et large m exerting It's powers and authority 70 prevent 1t. we believe that the pub-
 lc VIII insist upon the incorporation | of the Exchange and it's subjectIon to state authority and supervision" ! The most important of all Wall street questions in its relation to the pn1hc stnck wetisrs.the eh,s alliance between -is dismissed without recommendation on the ground that it Is a subject of consideration by the Federal authori- ties and the National Monetary Com | mission, and could not be adequately controlled either by State legislation or Excnanse regulation. This is true only as to national banks but not as to state banks and trust companies. where the states power is exclusive. As to na- uonal banks no other civilized coun- try permits It's banking and treasury the machinery of stock gambling. Had the commission grappied with this is- sue its conclusions would necessarily have carried great weight not only With the public but with Congress. Notwithstanding these omissions, the commission has rendered a great pub He service for which it's members de- serve high commenjation in presenting with clearness and force the economic evils resulting from unrestrained stock gambling.
 Here Is the New York Stock Ex; change, voluntary association limited to LIDO members, of whom 700 are active. the price of seats being about sS0.00o. This makes the value of the transactions of this exchange for the last decade have averaged 196.000,000 shares year, an annual turnover of nearly s15,56o, 100000. with annual $500, ,0Oo This enormous business affects the financial and credit inter- ests of the country in so large a meas ure that its proper regniation Is mat
 The commission finds that the pat rons of the Exchange may be divided into five classes; D Bona ,fide in. buy; @ manipuiators whoA connection with corporations enables them in cer- tain circumstances to move the prices up and down; ts) floor traders whose to give them special advantage over other traders; (D outside operators with capital and experience, but "com-
  tute a factor always working against them.' gains only stimulate them to larger ventures. and they persist "till serious or ruinous. loss forces them out of the Street." (5) lambs--other- wise '1nexperienced persons who act on interested advice" Almost without exception they eventually lose"
 Tt Is unquestionabie that only small part of the transactions upon the Exchange are of an investment charac- ter; a substantial lpart may be charac- terized as virtual gambling"
 What this gambling means to the country Is set forth in the following language:
 "fts ramifications extend to all parts of the country. It involves prac- tical certainty of loss to those who engage In it. continuous stream of wealth taken from the actual capital of innumerable persons of relatively small means swells the income of brokers and operators dependent upon this class of business, and insofar as 1t is consumed, like most income, 1t represents a waste of capital.
 ''The total amount of this waste IS rudeiy indicated by the obvious cost of brokerage and by manipulators' gains. of both of which 1t IS large constituent element. But for