The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-07-26
A SPECULATION In CORN.
The Brief Romance of Two st. Louis Spec
ulatOrs-With a Moral for all "Out-
| SidarS.

From the st. Louis Republican,
''There's money IN corn now"
That was on the corner of Third and
Pine Streets about six weeks ago, more
or less, and the speaker was commits
sion merchant. The person he was
| talking with was man not In the same
business, but one generally ready for
speculation, though he had never touched
the grain business. That he had always
classed as game not so certain in its
results as poker, since prices in exciting
times fluctuate worse that cards. Still,
he was attracted by the remark. He
asked how there was money in corn.
It's been going up steadily with the
war news, but there has been break in
the war news, and corn has gone down.
In few days something will happen
over there, and we shall get exciting
kilograms again. Then corn will hop.
There's money in it for any fellow who
win buy and watt
"Why don't you buy then?"
"1'm a commission man, and can't
speculate. 1t would hurt my business.
But the point is good.n
The friend of the commission man
strolled off, but he couldn't help think
ing about that chance for money-mak-
ing. He had little loose money, not
quite enough to send his wife and chill
dren into the country for the summer,
mate friend, too, who possessed hun
dred or two of surplus cash. He called
upon him and
STATED THE CASE.
Corn had been up to 81 or 65- cents,
and had fallen again to nearly so. The
point to be considered was whether it
would continue to fall, or would remain
stationary, or rise again. The friend ex-
pressed a willingness to make a little
money. The two concluded to post
themselves on the war prospect and act
accordingly. They reviewed the his
tory of Turkish and Russian difficulties
for the last few centuries. They studied
England's interest in India and the Suez
Canal. They acquainted themselves
with the fighting capacity of the differ
ent European nations possibly to be in
volved in the struggle, and the chances
of long continuance of the war. They
familiarized themselves with all events
in the struggle already existing between
the Great Bear and the Turkey, and
could tell off-hand the position and fight
ing force of any Russian leader with an
unpronounceable name or Turkish
Pasha, of many tales by newspaper cor
respondents. Then accepting the theory
of the commission man, that as went
the war so would go corn, they reached
certain conclusions regarding the
progress of the campaign, and bought
corn. They decided that there would
be no immediate peace, and that corn
must go up again. They bought 10000
bushels of corn for July delivery, pay
ing 49a cents per bushel, and paying to
the commission man, as a margin, the
sum of $500, or four cents bushel
Then they waited for corn to rise, when
they would sell out and realize. 1t was
JUST AS EASY!
Corn rose about quarter of a cent
bushel the next day, and each of the
two men wondered that more fell
lows hadn't been as sharp as they and
invested in grain. Still they didn't pro-
pose to be greedy or run too much risk.
They decided to sell out on the day
that they had realized profit of eight
cents bushel and double their money.
That wasn't much, to be sure, but then
they could 60 in again.
On the next day corn fell little and
on the day following it fell little more
The two spectators were not altogether
happy but they were not hopeless.
They assured each other that it was
only furry caused by heavy receipts
locally, and that corn was bound to
jump up again. They visited the
gallery of the Exchange building to-
gether and felt like throwing bricks at
three OF four bear operators who were
prancing about on the walnut steps set
up near the center of the Exchange for
their convenience. and who were howl
ing out their desire to sell July corn
at an eighth of cent lower. As one of
the two men in the gallery remarked to
the other:
"Those fellows who are so anxious
to sell corn away down havn't got any
sense. They're spelling the market
and they're certain to get nipped.
Serve 'em right, confound 'em!"
Meanwhile the war news which came
was not of a blood-curdling nature.
There We're skirmishes around Kars,
! and En- gland clustered little at one
time and the Russians got all ready to
cross the Danube, and that was all.
Something immense was going to hap
pen all the time, but it didn't happen.
Corn fell gradually like the mercury
with the approach of autumn and
FORTY-SIx CENTS A BUsHEL
was finally reached. The two amateur
operators became anxious. One of them
called on the commission merchant and
asked him what he Thought of it The