Salt Lake Tribune | 1910-02-18 | Page 1 | Stock Gamblers Are Making Fight

STOCK GAMBLERS ABE III FIGHT Investigation of Transactions in Futures Now Shifts to Grain Markets. COTTON DEALERS CLAIM ALMOST PERFECTION Points Out ''White Slave'' Traffic Traf-fic as Case Where Law Has Overstepped Rounds. WASHINGTON", Feb. 17. The investigation in-vestigation of transactions in futures on exchanges before the house committee commit-tee on agriculture swung tonight from the cotton exchange to the grain markets. mar-kets. Both sides ou I ho question of proposed legislation to abolish speculative specu-lative operations iu the New York cot-tnu cot-tnu exchange closed today aud delegations delega-tions from tho grain forums, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dnlnth and Minneapolis, will voice their opposition lo the pending pend-ing bills, Doth lhe New York stock exchange aud "white slave traffic" wero drawn on Ivy L. andclbanm, a member of the New Vork cotton exchange as in-stances in-stances where the interference of the law could overstep its boundaries in corlain particulars. II portrayed the exchange as generally without blemish. Former President Hubbard traced the evolution of tho exchange. Worse Than Buckctshops. ?eprc3cntativo Burleson of Texas, a producer of cotlon, as representative of the cotton producing interests, declared buckctshops were infinitely preferable to the exchange with its manipulation of pi ices, and that, the exchange by comparison with buckctshops, was as Men to Carlo io a game of craps. Ho arraigned what he stamped as "coufessious of the exchange itself," said New York had ceased lo he a spot market and, whon Rcpreseutativo Cooks of New York asked "whero is thero a spot market, then." rplied Ihat they woro in the south. Producers and spinners, spin-ners, he insisted were united in tho demand de-mand Ihat the incubus of the exchange bo lemovcd; that its revisiou committee was vested with power Ihat no committee commit-tee should have., and that the fixed differences dif-ferences syHiem might easily become tho vehicle." of disaster. Ono Caustic Scoring. Ifc declared Ihat low grades wore sont to New York; thai tbe cull tin exchange ex-change had not performed its function of -bringing tho producers and the spin-uers spin-uers tocethcr. aud referred facetiously lo' members of the exchange as "merchants, "mer-chants, will not say gamblers. The consumption of cotlon would continue' con-tinue' nvnii if the Now York aud Now Orleans exchanges were abolished, and, ho declared, that bread riots would bo-rin bo-rin in Manchester if the spindles there-wore there-wore stopped. Asked it ho would hold the New York cotton oxebangn responsible respon-sible for Much possible rmta hn parens-iirillv parens-iirillv snggotdod ihat. he did not hold it responsible for anything.. . " rt 's the only comniorcial body in the world save two," he claimed, "that, can irbitrarilv. by committee, m repeal tho 'law of supply J demand.' '