THE PRICE OF WHEAT 259 



close of the decade. The London produce clearing house began 

 business in 1888, and wheat was one of the products dealt in. 

 Business in futures, however, seems to have appeared in London 

 as early as 1887. This first effort was a failure on account of 

 the prejudice against speculation, and because several stan- 

 dards of wheat were dealt in. The London clearing house made 

 another effort in 1897. Only Northern Spring No. 1 wheat was 

 dealt in, and to make certain of the grade, a Duluth elevator 

 certificate was always demanded. The grade in futures grew 

 slowly at first, but seems to have become permanently estab- 

 lished now. 



In Germany, a drastic law forbidding grain futures was 

 passed in 1896. On the whole its effect does not seem to have 

 been advantageous. As a result, Berlin, formerly one of the 

 most influential grain markets of Europe, has fallen to the rank 

 of a provincial market. Berlin merchants transferred some of 

 their speculations to Liverpool, New York and Chicago. Com- 

 mission merchants have disappeared, price fluctuations have 

 been greater, and the small dealer has been at a special disad- 

 vantage. 1 



Legislation against speculation seems to have been very gen- 

 eral by the time of the last decade of the nineteenth century. 

 One exception seems to have been France, where options and 

 futures were practically sanctioned by law. In Hungary, 

 Sweden and Norway there was no legislation on futures. The 

 courts of Belguim treated futures under the general betting law. 

 In Switzerland the law prohibited dealings in w^hich there was 

 no intention to deliver the goods. The deal was not legal in 

 Austria unless the amount concerned had actually been paid or 

 deposited. In Greece dealing by payment of differences was 

 held to be null and void under the old Roman law, which was 

 still in force. Sales entailing payment of differences only were 

 illegal in Argentina. 



General Results of Speculation. The speculative grower who 

 held his wheat until it seemed an opportune time to sell was the 

 far-sighted, conservative man of the first part of the nineteenth 

 century. Conditions have so changed that, unless there is lack 

 of transportation facilities, or lack of competition among buy- 

 ers, he is the greatest and most reckless of all speculators^ if the 

 1 U, S, Consular Reports, (54:438-444. 



