12 TO PREVENT SALE OF COTTON AND GRAIN IN FUTURE MARKETS 
and to pay for such cotton or grain. It penalizes any person sending 
or causing to be sent any message offering to make or enter into a 
prohibited contract and any person owning or operating any tele- 
phone or telegraph line, wireless telegraph, cable or other means of 
communication, or any agent of such person, who knowingly uses 
or allows such property to be used for transmission of prohibited 
messages. It likewise prohibits the use of the mails for carrying 
any written or printed matter tending to promote the making of 
prohibited contracts and penalizes persons who use the mails for the 
transmission of such matter or any person who knowingly takes or 
causes such matter to be taken from the mail for the purpose of 
circulation. 
From time to time a great many bills have been introduced, to 
prohibit the purchase and sale of contracts for the future delivery 
of agricultural products not providing for actual delivery thereof. 
Congress, however, evidently concluded that such legislation would 
impair or destroy the hedging facilities which are furnished through 
trading on the exchanges, and thus far it has refused to deprive the 
producers, merchants, and manufacturers of these farm products 
of the benefit of such insurance against price fluctuations. 
Study of the subject matter, however, has led to the passage of 
laws providing for the regulation and supervision of future trading 
in cotton and grain for the purpose of eliminating undue speculation 
and other injurious practices which had crept into the business of 
future trading. 
You will recall that the cotton futures act, which was first passed 
in 1914, was reenacted in 1916 and amended in 1919. It is believed 
that the cotton futures markets now offer better opportunity for 
the making of hedges than was previously the case. The requirement 
which the act makes of settlement on ascertained commercial dif- 
ferences rather than on arbitrary differences which were fixed by 
the exchange rules has resulted in settlements of such contracts; 
which are much fairer to the buyer. Since ascertainment of com- 
mercial differences and the classification of cotton by the department, 
there has been much less opportunity for manipulation. Practically 
all interests concerned in future trading in cotton agree that the law 
has been of great benefit. 
The grain futures act regulates to some extent trading in grain 
futures. It prohibits such transactions unless (a) the seller actually 
owns or is the grower of the grain or either party to the transaction 
is the owner or renter of land on which the grain is to be grown or 
is an association of such owners, growers, or renters, or (b) the 
contract is made by or through a member of a board of trade which 
has been designated as “a contract market.” One of the conditions 
precedent to such designation is that the governing board shall make 
provision against manipulation of prices and the cornering of grain. 
The act requires the keeping of memoranda and the filing of reports 
with the Secretary of Agriculture showing the details and terms of 
all transactions entered into on the contract markets. It prohibits 
the dissemination by any person of false, misleading, or inaccurate 
reports concerning crops or market information or conditions that 
tend to affect the price of grain. While the law has not been in force