Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press., 1924-12-18
Atlanta Exchange
Case To Be Tried
Early In January
Fifty or More Brokers Also Idicted
Charged With Law Violations

Atlanta Dec. 1.-THE Atlanta Com
mercial Exchange must after all face
the courts early after the holidays as
a violator of the law, despite the pro-
test that went up in business circles
when Solicitor Boykin raided it, in
vestigated it and mo bill' was first
returned.
Boykin, waging an unrelenting war
on gambling in Atlanta knew what
was about The second investigation
before the grand jury resulted in an
indictment, despite propaganda to
forestadll it.
Some folks, particularly the operat-
ors at the Commercial Exchange, said
Boykin was all wrong; that sits skirts
were clear" in fact, exchange officials
announced that they wanted to be in
vestigated." Men high in the cotton or
ganization of the East cae to town
and what they had to say-as we'll as
others-about Boykin was anything
but complimentary.
Many Brokers Indicted
There was a preliminary investiga-
ton by the grand jury, and altho a
half hundred or more brokers i'll the
Commercial Exchange building were
indicted, a "no bill" was returned in
the case of the Commercial Exchange
itself. Immediately came the loud ex-
carnations of the 'TTold-Y YouSo's",
and it looked for a time as if the solic
itor had missed fire.
But later developments, when the
probe was inserted little deeper told
different tale Like clap of thunder
out of clear sky came the Indictment
Of the Atlanta Commercial Exchange
''for keeping and maintaing a place
where trading on margins was permit
ted and carried on" which the solicitor
all along contended was clearly against
the Georgia law whatever exchange
officials might say to the contrary.
The question has been twice decided,
as shown in the cases of Anderson VS..
the State, 2 App page l and in Arthur
VS.. the State 146 Georgia Reports,
page 827.
Brokers, some of them members OF
exchanges and odd-1ot cotton broker
age organizations>that were run down
in New York's war on bucket shops,
wHe found, court authorities here
claim, to have memberships in the At
1anta Commercial Exchange and were
operating in the same devious and dol
lar taking ways that caused Gotham
to put them out busineoss after asses
h. ..,+ +1n,JcnY1hc n
dollars.
Georgians Are Heavy Losers
But. as court officials here point out,
the New York bucket shops fleeced
thousands of people before the law
pounced upon them. The claim also
is made tha Georgians in everyt part
of the state have lost thousands OF
dollars in a similar manner-by brok-
ers operating thru the Atlanta Com
mercial Exchange.
Talk of amending Georgia's law at
fecting the matter of trading in tu-
lures on margins-propaganda when
seems to have gained considerable cir
culation here-hasn't been received
with any gusto by the folks out in the
State who have been ''stung," court
officials state On the contrary, .ott1-
GERS say that reports received from
practically every nook and corner OF
the State show sentiment that the
law ought to be made stronger. The
next legislature may back up Atlanta's
prosecutor with additional legislation
that will put the kibosh once for all
on efforts to whip the devil around
the stump" on cotton trading.
Growers Endorse Fgiht
Leading growers over the State and
officials of organizations promoting
theinr welfare have begun to put
Boykin on the back" in his present
fight, declaring that his probe is the
best thing that has happened in years
in putting Atlanta on the right basis
as a cotton market.
The trial of the Atlanta Commercial
Exchange in aJnuary-copy OF its IN
dictment being served on officials
the usual method of procedure-wlll
be one of the hardest fought in the
Fulton courts in long while, officials
believe. :.
Twelve new indictments, nine OF
them against prominent New York
stock brokers, and three against At
1antians, have been returned by the
grand jury in the last few days, in
addition to the large number previ-
ously returned Other brokers are try
ing to shalt Boykin bf court injunc-