The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-03-27
SPECULATION IS
GIVEN HARD RAP
Congressman Scott Condemns
All Trading in Futures
CRYING EVILS MUST GO
Defense Is Made of Methods Used by
Speculative Exchanges BY Promi-
nent Men Connected With
the Exchanges
CRYING EVILS MUST GO


the Exchanges
New York March Especial Con
gresham Scott, chairman of the House
committee ON agriculture, which has been
investigating the speculative exchanges
of tho country, was the principal speak
err today at the Republican clubs Satur-
day afternoon discussion. To the bank
ers, brokers and business men present
the congressman compared the board of
trade in some cases with faro banks, and
said the Hooking Coal incident reminded
him of circus day with Its shells and
peas.
In speaking of the great expense at
taohed to the exchanges. the subject be-
ing. "How can the economic feature of
our speculative exchange be preserved
and ethical evils eiminated2" Mr.. Scott
said 1t cost the exchanges, or the public
that patronized them, $1S0,0O0,OOO year to
operate them. He asked if this vast sum
contributed anything to the wealth Of
the country.
of securities by brokers and said:
1.-THE old plan of business used to be
let the buyer beware That still is true
among some David Harum horse traders,
but the slogan now is let the seller be
honest
He referred to the fact that we spent
millions every year to protect the buyer
of foods and drugs, and that we pay
nothing to protect the buyer Of securi-
ties. He said a. child could go to a
grocery store or a big department store
and get an. article that was guaranteed
for the same price anyone else could.
DabbIing In Stocks
Let the child go into a stock ex-
change said Mr.. Scott, "and what would
happen to it? In the language of the
street, it would be a plenty A man
can sell a worthless railroad stock and
misrepresent it and it is merely morally
wrong, but If a man sells a pound of
butterine for butter it is felony
The Rock Island and Hooking pools
were referred to by the speaker, who said
that in % minutes one stock went up
and added $25, 600 900 to the value of the
road and then dropped back and took
away s25 100000.
THAT may be all right in little old
New York, but it is little too swift for
Kansas" he said II believe in the Hook
ing and Rock Island cases there were In
vestigations. In one nothing was done
ard the other, 1t was decided, an office
boy disregarded instructions and bought
or sold some stock. No doubt he has been
properly disciplined.
There is suspicion and distrust of
speculative exchanges. I have received
thousands of letters"
COndemnntory Letters
The speaker then read a lew, one Of
which said the bucket shop was more
honorable than the board of trade, be-
cause the bucket shop man didn't deal the
cards but took the hand that was dealt
TO him, and let the crowd play against It.
He said bucket shop or faro bank
was an honorable body alongside board
of trade. There was great applause at
that. The speaker said 1t was up to the
boards of trade and speculative exchanges
to eliminate the evils and that he thought
they could be eliminated with proper
rules and rigid enforcement.
ut is up to you to set your house in
order" said Mr.. Scott, and there was
loud applause. "A moral question APP
peals to the people of this country. 1t
can be settled only in one way. 1t may
take a long time to settle 1t, but 1t will
always be settled one way. Either the
ethical evils of the speculative ex-
changes will be eliminated or speculative
exchanges will 60"
w. B. Thompson, president of the New
Orleans cotton exchange, followed and
defended the buying and selling of futures
in cotton, He declared they were as neces-
sary for legitimate hedges to protect
the men In the trade as insurance. He de-
Tended the right of speculation and said
in itself It was not wrong. He said
there was no more reason to condemn the
exchanges whose quotations were stolen
by bucket shops, than there was to con-
denim the ocean liners because the men
on board gambled on the run Of the day.
He said the quotations were based on
the sales. He was for the elimination or
the evils of cotton speculation.
Speculation Defended
Professor Clark, member of the
Hughes committee, said speculation,
where there was commodity al
stake, was all right, but where the spec
ulation was multiplied all was wrong. He
illustrated this by saying 1t was right for
him to insure his home and right for the
other man to take the risk, but IL was mol
right for two men or many other men to
bet his home would or would not burn
down.
]. @, F. Merrell vice president of the
Chicago board of trade, defended legiti-
mate speculation and condemned corners
He said the cry against speculation was
due to the prosperity that had brought
about extravaganza and to the dealer who
should be eliminated because he had
neither the intelligence. the finance nor the
equipment to speculate properly. He de-
nouriced the bucket shop and said the
board Of trade this week would begin the
prosecution OF one bucket shop In Ne
braska that had 75 branch offices.
A. r. Marsh. vice president of the New
York cottn exchange, declared 80 per cent
of the cotton business of the country was
handled in New York and IS per cent OF
the business had to do with cotton and
rot mere speculation. He said the great
trouble was that every politician In the
country was trying to make a moral issue
Of every question that arose. He went
back to a corner In grain in Athens 3Sc
years before Christ and told OF the address
to the jury wherein 1t was advised to Kill
the merchants because the grain could
then be distributed and said that human
nature had not changed. Cotton and
grain, he declared, went up or down, ac-