with the existing state of society than were those of
Fourier's time.

But, returning to our subject, it should be said that the "corner,"
generally speaking, does much less injury to the public than is commonly
supposed. As we have shown, the manipulators of the corner make their
chief profits from other speculators who operate on the opposing side of
the market; and it is but a small part of their gains which is taken
from the consumers. The effect on the consumer of the abnormal rise in
price caused by the corner is sometimes quite made up for by the
abnormal fall which occurs when the corner breaks. Generally, however,
the drop in prices will be slower to reach down to the final consumer,
past the middlemen, than will the higher prices. The corner makers also
are apt, if they are shrewd and successful, to make the total of their
sales for the current supply yield them a profit. Thus suppose that the
normal price of wheat is 70 cents per bushel, and that the syndicate
secures control of five million bushels at the normal price. If while it
keeps the price up it sells two million bushels at $1.20 per bushel, it
can afford to get rid of the rest of its stock at an average price as
low even as 50 cents per bushel, and still make four hundred thousand
dollars' profit.

The operations of corner makers are confined principally to goods which
are dealt in upon commercial exchanges. One evident reason for this is
that the vast purchases and sales, which are necessary in the formation
of a corner are impossible without the facilities afforded by an
exchange. It must be said, too, that the plain truth is that our
principal commercial exchanges, while they do serve certain useful
purposes, are yet practically devoted chiefly to speculation. This,
simmered down to its essence, means that the business of the speculators
is to bet on the future prices of the articles dealt in,--a game in
which the largest players are able to influence prices to accord with
their bets, and hence have their "lamb" opponents at an obvious
disadvantage. The evil of this sort of commercial gambling is recognized
by practical men of every class; but its cure is yet to be effected.

A sort of business allied both to trade and transportation is the
business of storage or warehousing, and this has recently shown some
interesting cases of monopoly.

The owners of warehouses along the Brooklyn waterfront combined their
business in January, 1888, and doub