306 CORN 



Directly in line with the policy expressed, the Chicago Board of 

 Trade introduced in 1858 the system of grain inspection which, as 

 much as any other one thing, has contributed to the prestige of Chi- 

 cago. This inspection system is still in force substantially as it was 

 when devised by the administration of 1858, and it has been accepted 

 as the model for virtually all the grain markets of the country, if not 

 of the world. 



Prior to the enactment of the special charter of 1859, the Board 

 had been restricted in its powers and limited in its resources, despite 

 the financial assistance afforded by the city council ; but when the new 

 charter was granted, the membership quickly increased to 725 and the 

 treasury soon showed a comfortable surplus. Outgrowing rented 

 quarters, the Board determined to erect an exchange building at La 

 Salle and Washington streets. This first fixed abode of the Board 

 was occupied in 1865 and remained until the fire of 1871 laid it in 

 ashes. Within a year, the structure was rebuilt and was the center 

 of the country's grain trade until 1885, when the present Board of 

 Trade building was dedicated. 



*Today, with a membership of 1,625, the Chicago Board of Trade is 

 recognized as the dominant factor in the determination of the prices 

 of grain and provisions. More than that, it is universally recognized 

 as the most potent force extant for the maintenance of those principles 

 of business morality and justice which its founders embodied in the 

 preamble of sixty years ago. Its quotations are unquestioned, its sta- 

 tistics unimpugned ; its certificates of inspection, weights, and grading 

 unchallenged ; and the word of its members as good as gold anywhere 

 and at any time. 



^ORGANIZATION OF BOARD OF TRADE. The Board of 



Trade Organization consists of president, first vice-president, second 

 vice-president, secretary, treasurer, board of directors, and twenty- 

 four standing committees besides the special committees. 



We have been prone to consider the Board of Trade simply as an 

 organization for speculating in grain. As a matter of fact, the Board 

 deals in practically all marketable products and securities. A closer 

 acquaintance with such an organization should reveal some vital re- 

 lationships with the gigantic machinery of marketing, which not only 

 are interested in the buying and selling of products for profit, but 

 which are giving assistance toward solving the great problems of mar- 

 keting. 



•Annual Report of Chicago Board of Trade and "Board of Trade Book," 1910. 



