Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-10-08
The Great Corner in Pork and the Man
Who Engineered It,

The Great Corner In Pork and the Man
Who Engineered 1t.
Or all the men who have cornered the
Chicago market, says correspondent
OF the New York Sun, Philip ID. Ar
mour, the manager of the present gi-
gantic pork deal, is the most thoroughly
disliked by the "boys.n He is one Of
the severest men on the Board. Hutch
inson, Lyon, Sturges, and other old OPP
orators who have in their day run cor
ners, always had little mercy on their
victims, but with Armour Il is different.
He demands the fulfllment of the bond,
even to the pound of flesh.
Mr.. Armour, who is of Scotch descent,
is about fifty years of age, well preserved
and quite portly in appearance. He
brought up on farm, but when ayoung
man entered into business in Milwaukee.
From there he removed to Chicago about
fifteen years ago. He lives in ailluence
in the southern part of the city, has a cul-
tivated musical taste, and supports the
choir in a leading south-side church.
The Armour house, of which he is the
head, is really quadruple one. Chica-
90, on account of its business import
ance, is the headquarters, but there are
extensive branches in Milwaukee, Kansas
| City, and New York, each being under
the personal direction of some member
of the firm. The capital of the firm ac-
| lively employed is variously estimated
at from SIS, 900, 900 to $4,000, 900. 1t is
| by all odds the most extensive packing
and provision house in the world. Its
ability to control means in its business
is plainly shown by past corners in pork
and corn, and the present onein pork and
meats. Armour has made most of his
money since 1870 in packing pork and
handling grain, and in extensive specu'
! lations in both of these articles. lie is
! largely interested in wheat now. Be-
sides his deals in pork and wheat, it is
believed that on the first of the present
month he got control of the lard mar
ket. Although he has as yet failed to
display his strength in that line, it is
known that he recently checked out over
81 100000 for lard delivered to him on
September contracts.
The present corner grov cut of the i'll
feeling engendered by ArmO1r's losses
in bulling property after the opening of
the regular packing season in 1879. At
that time Armour had made up his mind
from personal observation in Europe
and extensive correspondence that hog
products should rule high in sympathy
with breadstuffs, on account of the light
condition of stocks in England and on
the Continent. He labored to advance
prices, but was oversold by the trade,
who, being influenced in their opera
tions by the large packing in progress
during the winter, and the large stock
of hogs available for summer cutting,
were free sellers. His losses from the
steady depression in the market which
this state of affairs brought about are
said to have been very heavy. To re-
cover some part of the money dropped
by him, he, at the close of the packing
season, obtained control of all the winter
cut meats in this market, amounting to
several millions of pounds. His hold
ings at one time were not less than 4O,-
100000 pounds. After getting control
of the meat deal, which occurred in
March last, he gradually bought up
pork, and by the middle of May he had
complete control of that article also
Pork being the leading speculative arti'
Gle in the provision line, Mr.. Armour
found no trouble in obtaining all the
option contracts necessary to make hi;
pork transaction a profitable one. Since
May he has steadily squeezed the mar
ket, and has advanced prices from about
SO to $17.75 per barrel.
After Armour obtained control OF the
cash meat and portland it might
truthfully be said of the entire provision
market-he did not sit down and wal
to sell, but established agencies in every
place of importance between the Mis-
souri, River and the Gulf of Mexico, anC
in all the English and Continental mar
kets, and worked off the better part o
the product on hand at saving prices
He has opened these agencies to such al
extent as badly to cripple the provision
brokerage business in Chicago.
This great deal will probably wind NJ
by the opening of the regular packing
season on Nov. l, but its effects will b,
felt for some time longer. Since tn,
house of Armour went into the cor
ner it is estimated that it has handled
600, 900 barrels of cash and option pork
its net profit being not less than S3
barrel.