The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1911-01-27
CHICAGO NEWS LETTER.

CHICAGO NEWS LETTER.
Chicago, Jan. "a Speculation by
small dealers on the board of trade
of Chicago, will be discouraged by
the new administration, also cor
ners." judging by the inaugural dec
laration of the new president, j. c..
f. Merrill. He came out boldly as
oppose TO practices which throw dis
credit upon the institution which fur
nishes ready market for grain and
provisions regardless of the size of
the crop. The practices which Pres
ident Merrill particularly inveighed
against were those of issuing alluring
market letters in the effort to in
crease speculation on the board of
trad, Of running private board of
trade wires into the smaller towns
and cities OF the country, and of So
Letting speculative business. 81 am
not an alarmist," he said, "but my
strong desire is to impress upon You
the Importance of seing danger sig
nails when so plainly placed before
US and of directing thereby our bust
ness conduct. l shall favor wider
censorship by the officials OF the
board of the literature emenating
from our members. The complaint
against speculation which wire Of
fees in small, obscure towns tend
10 promote, comes not alone from the
traders themselves. 1t comes from
the leading bankers and businessmen
In those small communities, who re-
allze the DISASTROUS effects upon their
own business of that sort of specu-
lation and observe around them the
PUBIC disgrace and ruin which often
attend the speculative Efforts of those
VINO trade. The chief support of the
antl-future legislation in congress
comes from those sections of the
country in which private wire Off
ces have been heretofore operated
1t is my position now and it has been
for years that it should be beneath
the dignity of any member here to
solicit or accept speculative business
from bankers and others in fidu-
ciary capacity and from employees of
or fellow members, except nnder
stringent regulation"
The sudden slump of wholesale
prices for butter and eggs in Chicago
which the retailers finally allowed
to cut out the consumers cost of
living, was laid to the cold storage
houses by some commission men.
But responsibility now for a reduc-
tlon OF the costs of living for an adj
vance year ago are not borne out
by government statistics. Only a year
ago commission houses. then point-
ing 10 cold storage houses as the
cause OF conditions quite the reverse.
were confronted by the government
figures which show that the annual
crop OF eggs is almost 6O,OOO,OOO
cases of which less than per cent is
stored, and that the balance. over 80
per cent, goes direct to the consumer.
In the city of Chicago, in 1909. there
We're stored approximately 1000 900
cases OF eggs, and careful canvass
of the leading houses showed that
these eggs were owned by 619 per-
sons or firms. Another South Wa
ter street merchant offered an anus
ing explanation of the present butter
and egg situation. ''It is all due to
the farmers eating oleomargerine.
he declares. "The farmers now-a-
days. ! mean IS per cent of them,
take their milk and butter to the
market and carry home oleomarger-
inc for their own tables. 1t is cheap
er. and by doing this the decrease
the consumption Of butter and throw
SO great an amount on to the city
market that the storage people have