Show was text of address to business men new york feb 4 taking tho eighth commandment as his text william J bryan pointed out to the civic forum tonight the possibilities of larceny in violation of tho law and what he said was of still greater importance larceny through the operation of the law carnegie hall was filled by an audience representative of business and tho and in which was reflected the various shades of public opinion edward M introduced mr bryan who was received with spirited hand clapping the applause being renewed during tho course of his address much of mr bryans addreal was a repetition of his oft ex pressed views aa to detects in administration of the law ho was severe in his criticism of stock speculation saying will I 1 le entering upon forbidden ground if I 1 question the moral character of financial transactions which have resulted in the issuing of watered stock and fictitious capitalization I 1 hope I 1 shall not he thought guilty of impropriety in suggesting that tho commandments which are binding upon the rest of tha world ought not to bo suspended in the region of wall street if we were able to make an exact calculation of the amount of money taken from an unsuspecting public each year by the issues of stocks and bonds known to be worth less than the amount for which they are sold we would probably find that the total amount of money stolen in this way Is larger than the amount stolen in a single year by all of the criminals who have ban ent to tho penitentiary during the year for petit larceny or grand larceny even in the fixing of rates not to speak of and rebates railroads and holding corporations may be guilty of an extortion bordering on theft these quasi public corporations are under obligations to furnish an adequate service at a freaa anoble rato and anything in excess of a reasonable rate is simply taken with out right from those who are the victims of the extortion gambling Is one of the worst vices and gambling in stocks and in farm products Is the most destructive form in which tho vice appears measured by the number of suicides caused by tho new york stock exchange monte carlo Is an innocent pleasure resort by comparison measured by the amount of money changing hands the contrast is still greater in favor of monte carlo and measured by the influence upon those who do not gamble the evils of monte carlo are insignificant when compared with the evils of new york commercial gambling houses 1 he now york stock exchange has graduated more embezzlers than school did thieves tho natural laws of supply and demand ought to regulate prices but these laws are entirely suspended when a few men can by their bets add millions of dollars I 1 to the market value of one product or take millions of dollars from the of another product the men in charged of the louisiana lottery never did a tithe of the harm that tho grain gamblers and the stock gamblers 0 new york do every daynor did they ever exercise anything like tho corrupting influences over politics it has been asserted without denial that 99 per cent of tho new york purchases and sales of stock and of produce are merely bets upon the market value with no intention on the part of the vendor to deliver or the part of the purchaser to receive this is not business it is not commerce it Is not speculation it Is common vulgar gambling and when to the ordinary chances that the gambler takes are added tho extraordinary chances duo to the secret manipulation of the market by those who are on the inside the stock market becomes worse than an honestly conducted gambling resort |