CORPORATE FACTORS IN AMERICAN PROGRESS 

 —WALL STREET AND THE GRAIN PIT. 



BY W. R. LAWSON. 



[W. R. Lawson, a London journalist, came to the United States several years ago and 

 in behalf of the London Daily News made an investigation of the industrial situation 

 in this country ; he had previously made similar investigations of Spain and Germany ; 

 Mr. Lawson's shrewd observations were quoted so widely that a demand arose for 

 their publication in book form and the resulting volume "American Industrial Prob- 

 lems" is regarded in England as a standard book on its subject.] 



If an English reader were asked what influence the stock 

 exchange and the Baltic have on the general business of the 

 country he might be hard put to it for an answer. If an 

 American reader were asked a similar question as to the in- 

 fluence of Wall street and the produce exchange he would 

 have no corresponding difficulty. Both these institutions 

 stand in very close relationship to the staple markets of the 

 United States. They are among the recognized price makers, 

 and sometimes they are more effective than all the other price 

 makers together. They furnish the speculative element which 

 sometimes intensifies, sometimes neutralizes the natural tend- 

 ency of a market. When, for instance, a short crop is antici- 

 pated, speculation discounts it beforehand. By buying in 

 advance it puts up the price sooner than it might have risen if 

 left to its own course. When there is promise of a heavy 

 crop speculation discounts that by selling in advance. Both 

 operations may be quite legitimate and have a beneficial 

 effect. The rise and the fall may be equally moderated by 

 the action of the speculator. They may be spread over 

 longer periods, and in that way their ultimate danger may 

 be lessened. 



The trader generally does not recognize the speculator 

 as a friend and ally. He more frequently treats him as a 

 mischievous interloper. He regards the speculator as a 

 creator of fresh risks rather than as a reinsurer of risks already 



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