THE ETHICS OF “CORNERS.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 832, 28 April 1910, Page 4

THE ETHICS OF “CORNERS.”

A “wheat king’s” apology makes interesting reading. Mr James A. Patten, who recently announced his intention of retiring from the arena where he was adding million to million, expounded to a London pressman his views of the ethical aspect of a ” corner.” Mr Patten recalls with a sense of injustice and injury the time when he was the most lampooned, cartooned, and vilified man m the States, and he declares that his reply has always been that wheat and cotton are articles of commerce and governed by the inexorable laws of supply and demand. He declares further that he himself has never ” cornered',” or attempted to "corner,” corn, though he admits having put the prices up with an object. He claims to be a speculator in wheat, and his mode of operation, as explained, appears simple ; it lies, in fact, in correctly guessing what will be the price of wheat in three months. The successful speculator, after carefully studying reliable reports from wheat-growing countries, is able to guage pretty closely whether, under prevailing conditions of drought, rain, frost, and other climatic contingencies, the increasing demands of the world can be supplied. Looking into the future with the seer’s eye, the speculator observes a shortage ahead, and sets his plans accordingly. He goes on ’change and finds that the opinion there differs from his, and that the price in three mouths’ time is placed much lower than his estimate. Being a man of nerve and confident in his own judgment, he ” backs his fancy,” and buys. He continues to buy, others follow his judgment, and prices jump. The public then learns for the first lime that on such and such a date wheat will be dear. But the dearness that is imminent is not due to speculators running up prices ; it is hue to an approaching and inevilai _• shortage, *■ the speculator, with his experience, judgment, and ability to see into the future, is merely anticipating Nature. Mr Patten considers the man who ” corners,” or attempts to " corner,’’ wheat, is very often a benefactor to the race. As an illustration of a case where he himself had filled thac inevitable role, he referred to an occasion when India, owing to the crop "petering out” towards the end, found she had over-exported, and was left without enough for her own people. There w r as a panic, and wheat was bought in Australia at famine prices. At that time Mr Patten, from his study of the situation, knew America was exporting too much wheat, and would need it belore long. He set to work to buy, and put prices up. He*was howled at from one end of the country to the other, but was soon shown to be in the right, for towards the end wheat suddenly fell short, and when people asked where was the wheat for their own consumption, the far-seeing speculator was able to answer, " Here it is ; I have stopped it from going out of the country by buying it.” If it had gone abroad, there would have been a bread famine. Needless to add, Mr Patten entered on his little deal —ten million bushels — because he saw money in it. That he happened to save the situation for his countrymeu was a rather agreeable concomitant to a profitable speculation.