Gambling.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13490, 11 January 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

Gambling.

THE WOUST FORM OF IT. SPECULATION IX STOCKS" AND GOODS. "Belting on horses and punting at Monte Carlo," said tlic Saturday Itsview.'"seem to us much less harmful than speculation. For whereas no one hay ever become a» millionaire by racing or roulette, the stately liomea of England are rapidly passing into the> hands 01 ..nose who have made "coups" in Wall Street or Capel Court. Besidts, racing and cards are known for what they are —traditionally disreputab!-'. But- the stock . . . Exchange gambler stalks about in grave disguise of a business man. The widespread ruin brought- about by .this svstem of international speculation is only covered up. The most potent cause of the misfortunes lias been the gambling by speculators of all countries in produce and metals, such as copper cotton and sugar, and in the stocks and shares of railway and mining companies. The so-called operations, which are solemnly enveloped in the coating of genuine business, aw .merely wagers that a. certain shale a particular commodity will >iise or fall in value." The evil is obvious; the remedy is not. The " SaLurday lieview *' declaivi, so far as Great Britain is concerned, that "it is only necessary for the judges of the High Court to meet and agree to rule that every case in which the evidence proves that tile purchase and -ale ivtre fictitious shall be deemed a wager within the existing act," which means that the amount of the debt would not- be recoverable in law.

The comment that occurs to us (Melbourne "Argus") is that this suggestion is too simple a remedy for -so serious a. trouble. Whatever may ultimately be done to prevent such gambling as has been described should be world wide in its application. While the United State* .slitters mc-it. there have been instances of the ruinous consequences of over-s]>eeu-iation in other countries. Twenty ye-i'"s ago a band of French speculators sought to corner copper. The price of that metal—£39 lEss for Chili bars—was then so low that consumption was rapiaiy increasing, though blocks in hand, both of raw material and the manufactured article, were exceptionally small. In ihese circumstances, the syndicate determined to acquire control of the market. Its tactics were wonderfully successful, and within twelve months Chili bars- rose to above £BO. This increase, however, carried with it certain penalties for the speculators. The high price caused' a considerably augmented output, and concurrently caused consumption to fall oil. Hither cor;-timers would not buy at all or they limited their purchanes to bare requirements. The result was that stocks accumulated. causing great linancial trouble, and the Society d<s Melaux--as the syndicate was called—collapsed, becat'iH it could not afford to pay interest on the immense amount of capital lock-id u)). The Comptoir d'Escompte, one of lb: largest Fieneh banks, was heavily involved in the failure. Xot only so. but copper fell from £Bl to £35. and for many years kept far below the value to which the French oparatois had succeeded in raiding it. A close parallel to the events in Fianc" in 1886-7 to be found in the operations of H. H. llogens and his associates connected with the Amalgamated Copper Company of the United fclatts, one of the most powerful metal organisations in that country. Last year they ■saw that the opportunity offered for a market coup. Industrial prceperity being widespread with a strong demand for metals, they set themselves to manipulate the' market, and forced up prices higher than they had ever reached. Every incident in 1887 crisis was repeated. To help on the .scheme the promoters indulged :n unexampled misrepresentation, declaring particularly, in order to cause an increase of price, that consumption was outpacing production, The operators scc :

retiy accumulated large slocks of coppt 1. Purchasci* at last- refused to buy at the lii.'h price, and disaster followeil. copper 1, ceding lrom £llO to nearU £oo pet Urn. I.lie 'shares of th-e company fell cor i'«liponllingly. Xot a small portion of the blame for precipitating the Xow Vork finaneinal crisis rests upon Bogus and his associated, because the disclosures w Inch followed their failure helped greatly to produce the 1 feeling of want, of contid'cnc-e which caused that eristts.

l.ead aud tin have been subjected to •.similar speculative treatment. Conseqiitntly to-day. instead of lead standing at- £22. as was the case six months a.go. it has touched £l3. and tin within t'lie year has fallen from over £2OO to £lls. The value of the-Australasian product for ISO 6 of copper, •silver-lead, and tin, was approximately £8,000.000. The drop lias brought the lead and tin mining industries down lo bedrock, and only companies with substantial reserves can at presentwork their mines profitably. The effect on the worker is demonstrated by the discharge of 1500 bandis from the lead mines at Broken Hill alone. 'The world is a. heavv loser by the gambling which has takcil place.y The ruin is widespread, and everyone (including probably the manipulator*! themselves) must desire that trade in all commodities should remain stead*.-. There are certainly sufficient causes of distress which are uncontrollable. without having to endure the aggravation .of them by wild, speculation, and it would be of inimeasureable benefit to mankind if some means were found which, while not hampering sound trade, would prevent the loss arising from the operations of gambling syndicates.