Gambling in Farm Produce. 
289 
are called “ bucket shops,” the existence of which has already 
been rendered illegal in some of the States. The origin of 
the term “ bucket shop,” used in America to designate a place 
in which gambling in grain and other options is carried on, has 
been explained by a prominent “ operator.” It originated, he 
says, in Chicago, where the Board of Trade would not allow a 
deal of less than five thousand bushels. In order to catch men 
of small means, what was called the “ Open Board of Trade ” 
was organised, and commenced business in an alley under the 
Board of Trade rooms. There was an elevator to carry members 
of the Board to the rooms above, and occasionally a member 
would call out, “ I’ll send down and get a bucketful pretty 
soon,” referring to the speculators in the “ Open Board of Trade ” 
room. Hence the term “ bucket shop ” came to be applied to 
the latter establishment, and soon spread till it was used to 
describe all similar price-gambling institutions. 
An explanation of some of the technicalities of these bucket 
shops, known as “ privileges,” “ calls,” “ puts,” “ straddles,” 
and “ spreads ” — terms in common use in America among all 
kinds of speculators, in the share market as well as in the grain, 
cotton, and pork trades — has been given, as follows, in a New 
York paper : — 
A “ privilege ” is a contract by which the maker of it agrees to sell to 
the holder of it, or to buy from him, say a certain number of quarters of 
gTain (which scarcely ever actually changes hands, differences in price only 
being paid), or shares in a specified stock, at a certain price, and at any time 
within a stated period. 
A “ call” is a privilege bought of the maker at a certain price, and the 
owner of it is privileged to call for a certain quantity of whatever is sold, at 
a given price, within a given period. For instance, if A be the maker of 
the privilege, B may buy of him, at a commission agreed upon, the privilege 
of calling 10,000 bushels of red winter wheat during a certain period at 
85 cents, though it may be only 80 cents when he enters into the agree- 
ment. If the price rises above 86 cents, B may call upon A to deliver the 
10,000 bushels at 85 cents, or pay him the difference between the value of 
the quantity at that price and its value at the enhanced price. If the rise 
does not take place, B loses the commission he has paid to A. 
A “ put ” is precisely the converse of a call, the holder of it being entitled 
to deliver a specified quantity of tbe stock or commodity speculated in 
within a given period at a certain price. If the price falls, he gets the 
difference. 
A “ straddle ” is a combined put and call, and the premium to the 
maker is high, as he stands to lose if the market goes up or down within 
the period oi the bargain, and oidy wins when it remains stationary, even 
then getting nothing beyond the premium. The holder may call upon him 
to sell at the price named if the market rises, or to purchase at the same 
price if the market falls. 
A “ spread ” is an extension ot a straddle to a certain range of prices, 
within which the maker is safe, though he loses if the market goes above 
the maximum or falls below the minimum. 
