Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1872-08-30
The Great Wheat "COrner In
Chicago.

WHEAT tumbles and the king of corners
quits. Lyon, who has been recognized
| as the chief operator in the corner fol
| August, wants no more wheat. IL cUm Os
in too rapidly, and the price don't suit.
Lyon has been the Napoleon of corners,
but now he meets his Waterloo, and in
his defeat, which is the triumph of fair
play over the worst of monopOlies, the
community at large will take a satisfac
tion which may well be theirs. A resume
of the scheme which seems to have ruined
the conspirators will not be without in,
terest.
About the middle of July last, No.
wheat, the speculative grade, was selling
at 81 .13 per bushel.
The stock in store was about $50, ,000
bushels. Harvest was at hand; but it
was not thought any large amount of
grain would reach the city during August,
and certain clique saw, or imagined
they saw, an excellent opportunity for
cornering the market for that month.
They commenced buying options for
August.
Under their manipulations the market
advanced by the first of August to 81 80.
Every circumstance was in their favor
during the early part of the month. Re-
ceipts were light, the weather was mn
favorable for the movement of the new
cereal, and under manipulations in their
interest, the Milwaukee and New York
markets were also advanced. Prices
were forced up, and on the 18th of August
options sold at 1914. This extraordina-
ry price induced everyone interested to
forward grain with all dispatch. The
farmers quit everything else to send their
wheat forward; large shipments were
brought by rail and water from Milwau.
kee, and, for time it was contemplated
to reverse the established order of things
by bringing wheat in large quantities from
Buffalo.
Banks and bankers seemed to favor the
operators in the corner and some ugly
rumors are afloat as to the manner and
extent of their aid. 1t is claimed that
one bank, in which from a million to one
million and half of margins were de-
posted, loaned this very money to the
long, or cornering interest in order to ex-
act further margins, thus making short
seller supply his own money to aid in his
own defeat. 1t is claimed further that
several of the National Banks, in viola
tion of law, have loaned more than ten
per cent. of their capital stock to single
Individual in order to further the interests
alleged action causes much indignation
and talk of introducing resolution on
Change inviting the Bank Examiner to
inquire into the truth or falsity of the
charge, is freely INDUCED in.
The warehouse men, it is said, practi-
cally aided the operation, by refusing to
store wheat arriving from Milwaukee,
alleging that the room at their command
was needed for other grains,
Yesterday 250000 bushels of No. ar
rived and the corner showed signs of
weakness.
The market in No. fell from 81 TO 80.
This morning, upon the open board, a
panic set in, and the grain which had
closed yesterday at so sold down to "a
and then to 1917 All other options sym.
pathized, September opening at IA and
selling down to 8.
The reason of the panic was the refusal
of j. B. Lyon to receive wheat which was
brought in, and as Lyon was the recog-
nized king of the corner, 1t became
known at once that the combination was
broken. The excitement among operators
was intense.
One remarkable feature of the move
ment was to create an unusual demand
for No. 8 wheat, which was purchased at
from $1.2s to $1.30, put through clean
er, mixed with little No. 1, and turned
in at 81 go as No. 2.
The scene on Change this morning
called for no alarm. There was nothing
perceptibie out of the common run except
the fact that the price had fallen so sig
nifcantly, and its influence upon the pros
poets of spectators. Last night wheat
had reached as low point as $127, after
a steady opening at $1.161S, and during
the evening those chiefly interested, no
doubt busted themselves to find out
what was going on behind the
scenes to cause SO startling fall, After
business hours this morning the truth
slowly oozed out, among other things il
becoming known that j. b. Lyon had
warned his friends, the preceding even.
ing, to protect themselves in respect OF
any dealings they might have had with
him. As this WAS Rhisnared about men