Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-04
TORONTO EXCHANGE
ON BETTER BAS|Si
Standard Stock and Mining
Agency Leads World as
Metal Mart.
BY j. F. SINCLAIR.
nisnatch to The Star,

Ten years ago one could have Dllr.
chased a seat on the Standard Ex-
change, Toronto, for less than $1,000.
The last sale was for $4,000, but that
was before some of it's leading members
were indicted last week
The Standard Stock and Mining Ex-
change of Toronto, as it is Officially
called, is the leading mining exchange
in the world. In the hectic davs tveo
years ago it was competing with the
New York Stock Exchange in the n,Ino :
Der of shares which were being handled
daily-oftentimes as many as 4. 600 O00.
In 1925 87,847,0 900 shares were traded
in. Last year the number reached
79,488,00O shares. Translated into
dollars, its sales increased from $43. :
100000 in 1925 to $707,OOO, 900 four
years later.
Many in Toronto believe it to be
a "close" corporation. 1t has but 81
memberships altogether, and the s
firms which were indicted last week
for conspiracy by the Ontario govern
ment own Is of the seats. It is also
thought that indirectly they control
another 10 or more.
THE big FIVE" who were indicted for
bucket shop methods, did very much
the largest percentage of the total b,lsi-
ness on the exchange.
The government atcion has de-
moralized business, and mining shares
at the moment are at StandStill.
w. H. Price, attorney general of On
tario, has stated that the worst is over
and that from now on conditions will
become more substantial.
-. 1t is reported that much of the
trouble has been due to the inability
of the public to sell stock short" Some
say that more than $lO0,00O,000 of
short sales will show up as the result
of the investigation of the big Ave"
now in trouble. If the public are al
lowed to buy stock, but have much diff
ficulty in selling it short, there is a
vast amount of bucketing possible.
Fred j. Crawford, president Of the
exchange, is giving the fullest Coop
Grafton to the government and work
ing with it in developing additional
safeguards, which will prevent such
an occurrence in the future.
Copper Situation.
Business leaders in Canada are watch
ing developments in the copper Situa-
ton with more than passing interest.
When it was announced last week that
the Anaconda Copper Co. had closed it's
Leonard mine in the Butte, Mont, dis
trict, such news received front page
mention in the larger cities. Why?
Because Canada is moving to the front
as great producer of copper.
Last year the country produced about
~, 40O. 600 pounds of copper valued at
SAB 1862, 900. This year, if conditions re-
main stable, it's total copper production
should exceed 100000 900 pounds.
Should copper prices remain as they
are at present, around Is cents per
pound, Canada will be able to make a
big showing. Her two largest producers
of experimentation Nickel and
such rich deposits that
both could earn very substantial profits
at II cents or even at Is cents per
pound. And they could earn their divi-
dends even with copper at Is cents per
pound. Canada is ready for any copper
emergency-even If it means drop in
price.
Canadian Wheat Pool.
The Canadian wheat pool is having
its own trying times these days. In the
field of national commodity marketing
1t is one of the greatest experiments
ever attempted.
Up to this time-unlike Brazil in its
coffee experimental has not had the
backing OF the government. 1t Is really
a cooperative and not a governmental
The wheat carry-over Of 1928 was
48, 100000 bushels. BY December, 1929.
this carry-over was still in the hands of
the pc i and it had incurred a carrying
charge of % cents per pound or roughly
about $13,500,000.
Now the 1929 wheat crop was short in
Also in Argentine and Aus
tralia. 1t looked like a good time to
hold wheat. The world needed it and
apparently there was not much of it 1t
was a clear case of specializing for the
rise"
But the wheat carry-over in Argen-
tina, United States and Canada was the
largest on record. This fact was really
underestimate.
Along with this condition Europe be-
gan to agitate for home-growtng wheat.
In scores of big shops in England APP
pears this sign: mo American wheat
used here" other European countries
are pushing their own substitutes If they
have no wheat to market.
On August / wheat closed on the
Winnipeg market at $1.73. On August
80 1t was down to $l.52. The last of
saw it close at SLAB. No
yember closed at $1.41.
Still Canada holds on. It has dimin-
ished her business; it has hurt her trade
and it has caused her money to be at a
discount in the United States Her
bankers, who have loaned about 81 a
bushel, are anxious to clear the debt.
A new crop is in the making. It costs
money to carry over wheat. Can they or
can they not. work it off at profitP
The Canadian pool handles a little
over so per cent of the wheat crop. No
one today can tell for a certainty just
what the result will be.
81 understand that the governments
Of the Western provinces are back of
the wheat pool, and this will add con-
siderable stability to the situation" said
Sir John Arid to me in discussing this
situation.
Secs Business Advance.