104 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE
occasionally develop in the money market, for, as we have
already seen, its members usually go to the banks when they
need funds, just as any other customers of the banks do. The
banks, in turn, can only minimize, without being able to pre-
vent, these shortages of money, which are normally produced
by far-reaching and profound economic causes, not merely in
all parts of our own extensive country but all over the world.
The Stock Exchange, however, has for a long time endeavored
to prevent violent fluctuations in call loan interest rates which
result from a surplus or a shortage of funds in the money
market.
Efforts to Prevent “Corners.”—The Stock Exchange is
equally anxious to prevent any shortage of stock, since this
may result in a “corner.” Its Committee on Stock List, to
begin with, makes a thorough examination of the distribution
of the stock of every company that applies to list its securities
on the Exchange, in order to prevent trading in any stock
which is largely held by a single individual or interest.'? Its
Committee on Quotations, through the extensive ticker service
under its supervision, sees that almost instant and nation-wide
publicity is given to transactions in all securities listed on the
Exchange. Furthermore, once it is clear that a corner has
developed in any listed stock, the Governing Committee of the
Exchange promptly prevent$ further trading in it on the Ex-
change by striking it from the list. In every such case, the
interest of the Stock Exchange is identical with that of the
public in maintaining on its floor a market for securities which
shall at all times be free and open. In spite of occasional excep-
tions, it is rare that an acute shortage of either money or stock
really arises on the Stock Exchange.
Thus we see that, as operations, margin purchases and short
sales are identical with the purchases or sales on credit which
are of universal occurrence in every line of modern business,
which have on the economic side powerfully and profoundly
12 See Chapter IV. 0. 107. and Appendix VIId.
