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Show Hj The Holier-Than-Thous And The Bucketers H According to T. S. Minot, the San Francisco at- H torney here some days ago and who represents H Moss and company, a San Francisco concern, a Hy bill in equity for conspiracy in restrain of trade BE and to effect a discovery of the methods of E. F. H Hutton and company, a New York house having a f branch in San Francisco in opposition to Moss V and company, and also to compel by injunction M the Western Union Telegraph company to furnish m quotations as a common carrier to all parties (,i alike, will bo filed in the Federal court here. Mr. 'j Minot also avers that the telegraph company, H E. F. Hutton & Company, the New Stock Ex- f change and the Cmcago Board of Trade will be M investigated concerning an alleged violation of M the Sherman anti-trust law in the allegation of H unjust discrimination in delivery of stock quota- M What Mr. Minot avers will be done and what m will actually transpire will probably be found to fl be two different things, for admitting that the in- vestigation should take place, In fact should have K taken place years ago, no one need fear that the ' government will Investigate the powerful inter- M csts associated in the 'New York Stock Exchange. H It may come some time near the millenium, but 1 in the meantime nothing is going to happen that M might cause either board in New York or Chi- m cago to change their methods in the least or those '' of the majority of their members. We have no B defense to make for bucket shops, and if men 6n- m gaged In conducting them are caught with the 1 goods in any kind of crooked work, they ought M to be vigorously prosecuted. But to have the fl richer representatives of New York, Boston and Wm Chicago brokerage houses assume a holier-than- m thou attitude for the benefit of the public in their 'j expressions regarding the little fellows is most amusing to those familiar with the inside workings work-ings of these different eleemosynary institutions scattered across the land. Any one talking to them on the subject and carefully noting their devout expressions while listening to the evils of bucketing, would think that they always bought every share of stock they reported bought, or, by the same token, always al-ways sold every share of stock reported Bold. Professional traders know that such a state of affairs would be an utter impossibility, and if they cannot instantly see the proof of this, let them take a .minute to imagine what would occur oc-cur if every man in the United States and Europe Eur-ope who is dealing on a margin should on the same day bring in enough money to call for the delivery of his stock. It would be a pretty party, wouldn't it? Of course, nothing of the kind could ever occur. The test could not be made and other people's money will continue to fill the coffers cof-fers of the biggest organization in restraint of trade in the world. For the main houses themselves and their rich representatives the game is the prettiest one for cinch money that was ever heard of, and in comparison com-parison to the methods of many of them, those of the blackleg behind the roulette wheel or the faro table are as white as snow. For instance, gentle reader, you may want to buy two or three hundred shares of some railroad, industrial or copper cop-per stock. You are told what amount of money will be required to make the purchase, just how much will protect you to a certain point, and you give your order. You are first informed that the cost to buy and sell a hundred shares of stock, no matter what the price, will be three-eighths, three-eighths, or $37.50 a hundred for the round trip from here to the east. With this outrageous alid unreasonable commission,' you are lcser ?37.50 a hundred shares before you start, and if you are on the "long" side of the market you must experience a rise of three-eighthb uefore you are even. On top of that, your marginal money is deposited by the brokerage firm in an ac i count which draws interest for them, and you "raft w are charged an exorbitant interest on the difference dif-ference between the imoney you have put up and the total cost of the stock that is supposedly being carried for you. It may have been purchased pur-chased and it may not, though the house is always ready to prove that the stock is being carried by giving you the assurance, (and the assurance is genuine) that you can have your certificate any time you give them a check for this difference. Of course if you told them you wanted to ! take up your stock, the certificate would come from New York or Boston or wherever the pur- jL chase might have been made, and you would receive re-ceive it in four or five days' time. But the percentage of those who ever call for certificates of stock in rails or industrials, particularly the highest priced ones, is so limited that the interests in-terests never have anything to fear from a call of this character. This is not news to a vast number of players. It is a system that has grown and waxed fat with the years and what is being written here is not intended as an expose, neither is it thought that if every newspaper in the United States went into the matter on the public side, that it would make any difference, for the in- terests behind it all are too rich and powerful to have such articles as this affect the dealers who are taking in the sucker money in any way except with a spirit of mirth. But to have them pose as so much better than the little fellows is a subject for "lawfter" among those who I realize that there is little difference in the two I games except in financial rating In fact, the comparison between little bucket shops and big private wire houses would be very like comparing compar-ing the cop dodging chippie who Is trying to eek out an existence, with her more prosperous sister sis-ter who has had her experience on the street and. is now ensconced where she can command more money, at the same time receiving ample protection. It is too bad that a test case cannot be made, a case such as the San Francisco attorney says will be tried, and by that is meant a case wherein every phase of the situation might be threshed out so that the gambler in stocks might have a fair chance for his money upon payment of a fair contribution for the handling of it. The highest commission paid on the New York Stock Exchange or the purchase and sale of a hundred shares of stock is $25, and it is a remarkable state of affairs that necessitates an additional $12.50 per hundred when the benighted heathen who does not deal direct has a desire to enter the lists. Most bucket shops are rotten, but the smell that eminates from many a private wire house is no less repellant, and it is not only confined 1o big transactions but often to small ones where the spirit with which they are imbued in handling big money extends to little deals. For instance, an order was telephoned to a former broker from a nearby mining camp by a man who had alwo-s dealt with him. He took the order lo a b overage house and the stock was sold on the Exchange. The former broker said to them, "What do I get for my trouble?" and the broker with whom he was dealing replied, "We can't allow you anything. The stock was all sold at the same price." The inference is very apparent appar-ent to th,e man who has dealt at all in stocks, particularly those who usually note that when they purchase anything it is at the high market I price of the day, and when they sell it, it is at the low figure on the scale. At regular intervals the big wire houses endeavor en-deavor to get a cow-county legislature, which knows as much about bucket ahops and the machinations ma-chinations of the wire houses as a cluster of angle worms about aeroplaning, to pass some stringent regulation, putting everybody in the state out of business except one or two favored ones so that their monopoly may be the more complete. Up to date, the greenhorns have not taken very kindly to the advice of the lobbyists and even if they did, it would be hard work for them to enforce the law unless a joker or two were put in by those chiefly interested in ha . ig the law passed. It is not always the easiest tlnug in the world to prove that a concern is a bucket shop any more than it would be easy to prove that a private wire house was guilty of shady transactions. You can get the same aBSUikance from a bucket shop that you can from a private wire house that your stock will be delivered to you if you call for the delivery, and by proving this time and again private wire houses have lost nearly- every one of their arguments, the one they still stand on being that in the event of a sensational advance in certain securities, as for instance that of Northern Pacific when it went up to a thousand dollars several years ago, it would be impossible for bucketers to meet their obligations if a number of their clients were on the "long" side of the market. As the years advance, there is little question that eventually bucket shops will disappear and that private wire houses will survive, but it will not be a survival of the fittest, but rather a survival sur-vival of the quickest, for the big boys on the inside track will always protect each other and tighten their cinch on their monopoly, and the millions will contribute their millions to them, and each time they are "cleaned" begin to save up enough to go again. "It is a good game. Send more money." |
