Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/434

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�?8 OCTOBER TERM, 1907. Opin/on of the Court. 209 U. 8. upon executed by defendants by the purchase or sale, as di- rected, of a future cotton contract for such customer in the cotton exchange of the city to which such order was sent, and subject to the rules and reguls?tions of such cotton exchange, which rules and regulations may be introduced in evidence by defendants in this cause; that said contract would be held by defendants for such customer until he ordered the same clo?d out, when they would sell or buy another cotton contract against it as might be necessary to cover the same or clcee it out, or receive or deliver the cotton on said contract. If a profit was made on the transaction defendants remitted the same to its agent in Mobile, who paid it over to the customer; if a loss was made, it was taken by the agent out of the cus- tomers' margin, or, if that was insufflcicnt therefor, the cus- tomer was called on for the balance. Said business was done on a commission paid defendants by' the customers. "No actual delivery of cotton or grain was ever made on any such contracts, except in a few instances, when such liveries were made where the contracts were executed, to wit: in New York, New York, or in New Orleans, Louisiana, or Chicago, Illinois. When any such delivery of cotton was made to defendants for the customer on a purchase by him, it was held by the defendants for account of the customer at the place of delivery, either in New York, New York, or in New Orleans, I?)uisiana, until ordered sold by the customer, and was then sold by them there for the account of the customer, and the proceeds accounted for by them to such customer. When they made delivery of cotton on a sale of futures made by them for a customer, the cotton was shipped by the customer for whom such sale was made from Alabama to the place of sale and there delivered through defendants to the buyer. "A similar future grain business was done by defendants at their said office in Mobile, Alabama,. for cust(gners through their office in Chicago, in the State of Illinois--said orders being executed on the Chicago, Illinois, Board of Trade, and subject to its rules and regulations, which contemplated and