COTTON 247) 
both unreasonable and illegal, and merits the same 
penalty that the usurer gets—or deserves. 
Marginal Amounts:—Trading in cotton futures 
is stimulated and abetted because of the small 
margin required to enter the ring. Of course, this 
admits an army of ignorant, unthinking people. 
It is a game of chance with them—a gambling 
game, no higher in ethics than shooting craps or 
playing poker, and the chances many times more 
against their ever coming out unburned. What 
chance is there for mere strength and awkward- 
ness in such an arena with mighty, well-trained 
gladiators (scientifically trained, if you please) to 
meet and combat? Of course, this struggle is 
short; and the pity is in the home where the say- 
ings of these weaker contestants are needed. 
Increase the margin—make it more difficult to 
enter and to follow—and the evil will be clipped 
at the wings—less able then to do harm here; less 
able to cause these violent fluctuations that have 
adversely affected both the cotton farmer offering 
his holdings and the cotton spinner seeking his 
takings. 
Grading:—Another evil is in the fact that in the 
Exchange sale any sort of cotton may be delivered. 
Suppose the farmer buys cattle and when the seller 
delivers them, they may be any sort or all sorts— 
suckling calves, weaned calves, scrubs, finished 
beeves, ete. It is withjust such a policy that cotton 
contracts are traded in, since the deliverable cotton 
may be all the way from fair to good ordinary. 
Right here is where (leaving the morals of the 
question out of consideration), the greatest griev- 
ance lies, and where it affects the pocket- -book of 
both producer and consumer. And then these 
know that neither one nor the other is responsible, 
