MARKETS AND RURAL ORGANIZATION. 409 



ENFORCEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES COTTON FUTURES ACT. 



The enforcement of the United States cotton futures act has con- 

 tinued to be an important part of the work of the office. The chief 

 of the office exercises direct supervision over all of the enforcement, 

 but Mr. William R. Meadows has been the leader of the projects 

 which have been inaugurated for the effective execution of this work. 

 Five Service and Regulatory Announcements have been issued dur- 

 ing the year, two of them being of general interest. Information has 

 been furnished to Congress, on request, in connection with the law, 

 which was reenacted, with slight changes, since the close of the fiscal 

 year. 



At the request of those who promoted the recent organization of 

 the cotton exchange at Rotterdam, and in cooperation with the office 

 of the solicitor, a complete set of future and spot rules for trading in 

 cotton has been drawn for its consideration and possible use. The 

 cotton exchange at Rotterdam has adopted the official cotton stand- 

 ards of the United States for white cotton. 



INVESTIGATION OF FUTURE AND SPOT MARKETS FOR COTTON. 



The work relating to market quotations has continued along the 

 lines described in our previous report. Further work is as follows : 



INVESTIGATION OF FUTURE EXCHANGES. 



Careful investigations have been made of the future exchanges at 

 New York and New Orleans, both of which have adopted a form of 

 future contract which conforms to the specifications of section 5 of 

 the cotton futures act. All changes in the rules of future exchanges 

 are critically examined and compared with the terms of the act. 

 Suggestions as to changes have been made from time to time wherever 

 a conflict seemed apparent between any rule and the act. 



The policy of maintaining a representative of the office at New 

 Orleans in order to keep in touch with the application of commercial 

 differences on the cotton exchange in that city has been continued. 

 The quotations of the leading cotton future exchanges have been 

 studied carefully and charts have been compiled and published in 

 Service and Regulatory Announcements No. 9 which show the fluc- 

 tuation in prices on these exchanges. The charts show the efficiency 

 of the act in accomplishing the ends for which it was designed, 

 notably the fact that futures and spot prices have maintained a fair 

 parity since the act became effective. 



INVESTIGATION AND DESIGNATION OF SPOT MARKETS. 



Investigations of spot markets have been made during the last 

 fiscal year by frequent visits of members of this project to cities of 

 the United States where cotton customarily is bought and sold in 

 large quantities. To the cities that had already been designated as 

 bona fide spot markets under the cotton futures act, Fort Worth, 

 Tex., was added during this year. The cotton exchanges at Atlanta, 

 Ga., and San Antonio, Tex., have been cooperating with the office, 

 and Atlanta has been designated as a bona fide spot market since 

 the close of the fiscal year. 



