308 
Gambling in Varm Produce. 
11. That the values of those imported products which are not affected 
by options, futures, or settlements have not been subjected to such depres- 
sion or suffered as much from panics as those affected by such systems, 
although, of course, the values of all such commodities have suffered from 
the effects of the depression in other articles with which they are more or 
less associated. The same remark applies to the various industries connected 
with such products. 
12. That supply and demand of late years have not been the means, as 
of old, of regulating the values, but that prices have been regulated by option 
and future contracts, which are only gambling contracts ; hence the values 
of the speculative paper contracts of the markets of America and England 
have absolutely been the regulating medium of the value of the produce 
grown by the farmer, and eventually have regulated the value of the land 
that produces the same. 
13. That the values of certain agricultural produce, such as oats, barley, 
&c., have not suffered to the extent of wheat and maize. Why ? Be- 
cause the crops of these articles are not moved to this country on the 
basis of the future, option, and settlement systems, there being no gambling 
institutions in this country for such articles. The same remark applies to 
other agricultui-al produce ; but of course the values of all have suffered in 
sympathy with the fall in wheat and maize. 
14. That the option, future, and settlement systems have invariably 
depressed the values of all commodities, independently of the size of the 
crop. 
15. That the option, future, and settlement systems have already been 
the means of forcing producers to take a counter artificial step, in order to 
try and raise values of their produce by curtailing the sizes of their crops 
and outputs. 
Headers wlio are desirous of becoming thoroughly acquainted 
with the details of the system under notice may be referred to 
the book from which these conclusions are taken, written by a 
man who “ knows every rope in the ship.” 
Conclusions. 
It is time now to examine the evidence for and against the 
option system. It appears to me that Mr. Davis in America 
and Mr. C. W. Smith in England have clearly disposed of all 
the arguments of the defenders, not to mention the numerous 
other witnesses who are on the attacking side. It must be 
borne in mind that all the attacks on Ike option system are 
directed against the purely speculative operations which take 
place under it, and in all cases in which 1 have spoken of men 
as attacking the option system this was meant. No one objects 
to a man who wants corn, pork, cotton, or sugar buying it for 
future delivery at a fixed price. It is often necessary for him 
to do so, in order that he may know at what price he can afford to 
resell. For example, a miller has to enter into contracts for 
the delivery of flour for two or three months to come, and before 
he c f qn safely fix the price he wants to know what he will have 
