Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-06
GRAIN SPECULATION AND GAMBLING.

iuas speculation is "a menace to the orderly
marketing OF grain was maintained by one speaker
and DENIED by his opponent in a debate held at Lex
1flgton, Neb, the other night, and the Judges by =
.Wo-to-orse verdict, decided in favor Of the negative.
! nc affirmative speaker is the head Of a cooperative
marketing association in Oregon, and his opponent
IS a man of some note in the field of economics. The
Judges presumably performed their duties fairly
and rendered d just decision.
Doubtless the debate was interesting and use
l,f. lhe tact that the Judges decided one way or
tfe other mas, OF course, no bearing on the merits
OF the case. One man made a more conv;ncino
argument than the other. In another debate the
convincing argument might be made by the SUD-
porter OF the affirmative. The value Of such a. de-
oate IS not that 1t settles anything, but that it brings
70 the attention of intensely interested men ard
women facts with which they may not have beer,
familiar, a knowledge OF which is essential to tn,
formation Of intelligent opinion. =
One difficulty in the consideration of this sub
lect is that it is impossible to draw any hard and
last line between speculation and gambling. 1t will
scarcely be contended that betting on ANYTHING as q
business is useful to society or safe for the individ-
ual. Opinions may differ as. to how far betting
merely for purposes of entertainment is to be toIer.
ated, but gambling as a means OF: making a living
Is everywhere and always to be Condemned. Spec
ulation:Is useful and necessary, but it is not ALWAYS
easy to tell just where speculation ends and gam.
bling begins.
Anime who buy and sell goods speculate. The
manufacturer sizes up his market, observes the
business conditions, and concludes that a year hence
there will be a greatly increased demand for the
article which he produces. He crowds his facilities
and puts forth all his effort to accumulate a large
surplus stock with which to meet that prospective
demand. Or, anticipating a shortage in the supply
OF a certain raw material, and a consequently en-
HANGED price, he lays in a supply for months or
years ahead. In either case he is specializing, and
that speculation is, one Of the necessary and legiti-
mate methods of business. The farmer, not salts
ned with the ruling price for his wheat or his cat
tie, and expecting an advance, holds over. He is
speculating, and his speculation is legitimate,
Men buy grain to sell i again. They expect to
sell at s~proht. They sell today in the expectation
that 4 month hence they will be able to buy at a
gfions may lead to a revision Of opinion, and the pur-
chase or the sale that is made today NAV be re-
versed tomorrow in order to insure against loss. All
this may be done, and is done, in perfect good faith,
and unless rnen are to be denied the right to buy or
sell anything at a stated price for delivery at a GER
tain date, such transactions must be held TO be
legitimate.
II happens that because of the general interest
IN 1.-THE gram trade and the vast bulk Of the opera
tions which must be conducted in it, special facili-
ties haveSbeen provided for conducting transactions
in grain. Around these exchanges gather. not only
the spectators who have a Legitimate and sintellf-
gent interest IN grain and grain prices, bot persons
who know and care nothing about grain, and who
go through the form Of buying and selling merely
as ! means of betting on the price. Unauestioi-
ak1y these men are gamblers.
great deal Of effort has been devoted 70 the
suppression of gambling in grain without interior
I'M with legitimate speculation: Gambling prac-
ss66EeS may be checked. They cannot be prevented.
Ad ~ demand that the grain exchanges Dc cloSed