Show Hearlnes on the AntiOption Bill WASHINGTON Feb Opponents of the antioption bill bad the floor today in the hearing before tho House committee on agriculture Chicago and Minneapolis men told why the bill would not benefit the farmers and would hurt many engaged in the business of supplying the demand for grain Aldrich of the Chicago board of trade said the board was heartily in favor of the bill so far as it related to options as designated in the first section of the measure meas-ure relating to fictitious sales that kind of trading always had been illegal and was naver recognized The board spent a great deal of money trying to procure the enforcement en-forcement of the law prohibiting gambling i contracts The system in operation was the result of a great many operaton experi once It was not enre I something devised espe cially to give an opportunity for dealing in futures Boards of trade like bank clear ing houses were commercial conveniences for exchanges The declines which came as a rule were legitimate and due to tho supply exceeding the demand for the crop At times prices were tempororily advanced by speculative buying and in short fluctuations fluctu-ations greater on that side than on the other Continuing Aldrich said if the bill under consideration passed it would be the most disastrous thing for the farmers that could happen and would deprive them of their system of exchange Aldrich said it would not be an overestimate to say only 5000000 was up in Chicago margins atone time Aldrich said if the committee would report a bill simply doing away with ficticious sales he thought there was no doubt it would meet with the approbation of the Chicago board of trade A r Sawyer one of the largest elevator men in Minneapolis said ho would make no attack on the bill but before the present method handling grain was destroyed he would ask the committee to devise some substitute by which it could be better handled Sawyer appealed to the commit tee not to knock away the underpinning commit by which wheat merchants like himself lke himsel pro tected themselves from losses without giv ing them in its place something equally good equaly as |