The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-08-27
THE CHICAGO. SMASH.
BLACK TUESDAY--COLLAPS OF THE
GREAT WHEAT CORNER.

GREAT WHEAT CORNER.
| Fearful Panic Among the Grain Men
Frantic scenes on 'ohange-Commis-
sion Merchants Losing More Than Ut
the Great Fire, &C., &c.
The wheat market OF Chicago has been In o
state of excitement almost ever since the fire.
| Early iu the year 1t was rumored among COM
| mereial men that the wheat crop Of Europe
must be very short, and that The crop of the
United States would also be much below the
average. In the fore part of May two or three
prominent operators conceived the idea of
| strainlng the market for June delivery.
They were Joined by George F. Hard
Ing, OF the firm OF Harding & Mccoy,
the we'll known lawyers OF that city,
and succeeded In running through a
corner, popularity known as "Hardlng's
| corner" which collapsed about the same
| time In the month as the present corner, and
was generally supposed to have netled
loss to Mr.. Harding of nearly FIVE hundred
thousand bushels. It was no nearer success
| than this one The market snbsided into
quIetness for some little time, and was then
taken hold OF by the combination that engin-
eered the making of the bubble which burst
last Tuesday. They operated through num-
Der of brokers, not less than dozen Of whom
were employed at different times, and It is
said that none of them knew the business Of
the other. Hence the combination were able
to buy In large amount of options before
their project was suspected. 1t Is probable
that they purchased morei Than 100000
bushels OF "shorts" Oh the opllon called "se-
Iers August" but nobody expected this,
though it was suspected that they were about
to corner The market. The Chicago Tribune
OF Wednesday says:
The burnlng OF the Iowa elevator showed
that Hugh Murer, q member OF The ring, had
shipped out some 900 bushels OF corn That
did not belong to hllD, but was simply stored
lu his house. by other parties, aud USED TIE
money realized for that corn to deposit as
margins on his wheat contracts. The Inquiry
was at once instituted. WAS the same thing
being done by other elevators; and II 80, what
security did the holders OF grain paper, popu-
lerly called grain recepLs,' have Tor their
money or for The delivery of graln when They
snould Call for It from The warehousemen =
Hence arose widespread want OF confidence
Parties who were short both IN The city and
country called upon The combination Tor large
deposits OF money as murgins TO secure Tue
fulhlment of their contracts. It is under
sto ID that O gentlemen irom Des molnes, Ia,
furnished the last straw which broke the
calnel's back. He called isr large deposits OF
money Oh Monday, which The combination
were unable 10 procure, and hence the mar
keel went down. They were unable To STEM
The tide, though they slrove hard 10 do 30.
TIE BEGINNING.
The market weakened on Saturday. The
general crowd OF operators knew nothing OF
| ihe circumstance that the comptroller OF the
currency had notified The banks oil this city
| that they must adhere to the terms OF the law
nndpr which they we're Chartered; that they
should not loan any more than 10 per cent OF
! their capital to any one man or 1rm. But the
BANKS had noLaed the combination oil thls
lact, and the knowledge that they could not
raise money on collateral as before rendered
them powerlsss 10 operate. They were unu-
| ole to buy up all the grain that was offered In
the market on Saturday, and the price fell
several cents IN consequences. The market
wcokcned also on Muuday for the same
! reason, the receipts OF grain being very lioe-
raj, wnlle the clique were only able To buy
sparjnrly, It was not TIL i've o'clock, how
ever. that the great break occurred. AT the
| .sraIln on Monday afternoon, which lasted
| from about halfpast thrre 10 ha!l-past 1our
| o'clock, wheat was rather ieverlsh, but eXhlo
| tied little change in price. Alter Inc Call was
over, when the crowd had gathered on The
| sidewalk IN front OF Centeal BLOCK, at abont
| Ave o'clock, one or two parties tried to
sell grain, and found thut nobody wanted
| TO buy; there was no one there that
represented The combination. Then arose lhe
suspicion Lhat the clique was powerless, and II
was whispered around by a lew OF the know
ing ones that no i,irther aid could be expected
from The banks. Confusion worse contunnd-
ed followed. There were one hundred sellers
to one buyer, and amid the most Intense ex'
element the price of wheat fell rapidly
through a range of about twenty-hree Cents
in thrse-quarI ers OF on hour, making total
decline OF thirty cents for the day. Still the
Time was one of the most Intense know. noth-
lnpism. No one seemed TO be aware of the
condition OF the market or ofthe consequences;
but ln the evening there was much figuring up
of accounts and preparation for call OF mar.
rins the next morning, which established
another break. Yesterday morning the mar
ket opened lower than at the close OF the pre-
ceding evening, but became frmer, aud ad-
vuncrd some four cenis within u few minutes,
ihe transactions being couhned. however, 10
outside operators. Then CAME The call fJr
marrIns. and as one after anolht upon whom
these calls were served, fallrd to respond,
there was another season Ut panic, during
which every person seemed to mlstrust his
FRANTIC SCENES on 'CHANGE.
The scene was one which Is not likely to be
repeated again in Chicago tor many years.
In Ihs intensity OF the excitement produced
bv the meeIing OF gentlemen III no numor TO
trust one another, but rather prepared 10
donb, the inspired record Itself, the most ex-
,raord.nury geslicuatluns were lndulSed in.
Jncksonviile, In the event OF the destruction
of the insane. asylum, would have presented q
scene of not more Than ordinary excitement
as compared with that produced by the explo-
sion of Mr. Lyou's torpedo. Young men, lat.
teninp on the remote prospect OF operating
larg.iy in the future, aud thus consoling Them
selves for their present very subordinate posi-
lions, we're running 10 every conceivable
direction, bearing mysterious slips Of paper
supposed to sgnily some obligations. They
sought checks, produced grain receipts, asked
questions hearleSsly, anu received nervous
rspies: communicated mysteriOusly with their
respective employers, VINO Were apparently
driven 10 occasional frenzy by the news lm-
parted. Men with the last drop oil persplra-
lion oczing from their iurtheads ran eXcitedIy
from one to another ot the members CT Tie
jIlnstrIons board, as though the mercury was
not aboye hundred degrees In that uncom-
fortnble hall Indifferent to heut, and only
conscious of some lncUmptenenslble calaslrO-
nne. trese amiable gentlemen spent the fore
ppoon most unpleasanly. They christened the
law of disaster "Black Tuesday, and quoted