The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-04-10
rs THIS HONEST 7

! Two weeks ago the FREE TRADER contro
verting an article in the Chicago InduStFtd
Age, showed by the cable kilograms, that No
spring wheat was quoted on March 25th (ol
23d, it is Indifferent which, at Liverpool as
worth S.. 4d per bushel, which, with gold
at 1917 per cent. premium. or, more correctly
currency at 1919 per cent discount, was equa
to 81. 10 per bushel in currency. AT the same
time we showed by the Chicago quotations on
the same day that No. spring wheat in Chi
cago was worth % cts, and allowing SO cts
as cost of freight and handling between Chi.
cago and Liverpool, these figures left the
Chicago dealers the enormous margin of 70
cts per bushel for profits. TO this the Age
responds as follows:
s.. 4d. is exactly 1000. London exchange,
the same day, was quoted ia Chicago az 4ol
cents the pound; 240 English pence, there.
fore, was exactly equal to 49, cents, or almost
exactly $500 bushel, instead OF $2lS, as
given. There was only one sale OF NO. .
spring wheat reported in Chicago on the 25d,
and this was q lot Of 400 bushels, which brought
$102; a fair price, however, would be from
95 to 97--say 96-this would give the diner,
ence between Liverpool and Chicago OF $l.o3
to $105. Cost OF Transportation II navigation
was open, 537, leaving a balance OF 493 or
51.3 Now, 1t is well known that even this
large balance will not pay the high railroad
freights, high ocean freights and high insur-
ance of winter. But, If railroad freights go
down to 25 or 80 cents on hundred pounds,
wheat will begin to move lively. Wheat
must 90 up when navigation opens, unless
there IS a great fall in price in Liverpool
We put the gold premium at the time at
1917, as a concession to the Age, though in re-
atty II was about 1919. The Age makes no
note Of our lberalty, but proceeds very dis
honestly to ignore the gold premium entirely.
The paragraph is otherwise crammed with
msstatements. Sight exchange on London,
(which a cargo of wheat in Liverpool always
sells tori was at no time all winter quoted at
4Sl in Chicago, which, as the pound sterling
is worth exactly $4s6.6B in American coin,
would be over per cent discount; but the
quotations have ranged from 4sS to 400, gold,
or about q above par, at Chicago. Then the
Age, having conceded that No. 2 spring
wheat was worth 5000 in gold at Liverpool
on March 23d, if 1t had been honest, would
have added the gold premium, say 10 per
cent, which wo1lG have made it S232, and
allowing the Ay3's 53.7 for transportation,
handling, &c, about cents per hushel too
much even for railroad and winter rates.
and still the margin in favor of the
Chicago dealer, allowing wheat in Chicago to-
have been worth "say 9G," would have been
1913 cts, saying nothing about a per cent.
premium for exchange on London. But the
Age reaches the climax of dishonesty (or stu
pidity) when, having conceded that, after de-
Quoting freight, insurance and handling,
and after ignoring the gold premium en-
Iircly, there is still margin OF "493 or 51.3I
cts. per bushe in favor Of the Chicago deal
pr, 1t adds, but even this large balance
marginl will not pay the high railroad
freights and high insurance of winter"-ad.
ding the freights, &c, after having deducted
them! Upon The whole, we are obliged to-
answer the question at the head of this article
with very decided negative.