Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-08-16
lOhicagO Times, Aug. III

tue OnlcagO Doaru OF trade was what was known |
as the Keene deal. Those who tonight it gen.
orally went broke" those who trie d to follow
1t usually '.ssught on" Mt the wrong time and
those who were in with it got beautifully left.
Dozens of men have abandoned contemplated |
trips to the seashore, other dozens wear their /
winter clothes with the mercury Ia the nineties.
and 1T Might Have Been" is the song whisrled |
by many man as he irudges down back |
alley TO a cheap restaurant, instead of going to
the club as of yore. As for Keene himself, there
is little danger of his ever selecting Chicago as
summer resort, as it was too hot for him here
even in May And, granting that he conld be
inducea to come here again, it is highly prob
able that he would not go iuto partnership
with jesse Hoyt in securing quarters. IL
rumors are good for anything as foundation
for belief,
KEENE DOESN'T LOVE HoYr
with that gushing tenderness born of limited
experience and unlimited confidence And
even il he does, there arc certain men in Chi
cago who feel about it exactly as he doesn't,
and charge Jesse with being the author of all
their woes.
The full history Of the famous Keene deal
will probably never be written, as only two or
three men know all about it, and they will
never tell. Tho public understands that James
Keene and Jesse Hoyt entered into partnership
to control the wheat market of Chicago and
Milwaukee,; and practically of the country;
and they bought millions OF bushels with mill
ions Of dollars ran the price up forty or fifty
cents a bushel, sold some to break the market,
bought again, and for an entire year kept back
ing and filing in this WY, until the prics went
down to about where il started, and it was un-
derstood that they are out of the deal. The
public also understands that several western
men had q hand in the deal, and that every one
of the principals. from Keene down, dropped
dollars like rain before he got out of it. But
the public does not. and never will, know just
how the ledgers stand, or precisely how the
game was played. Enough may be CLEANED,
however, to give an intelligent idea.
Jesse Hoyt and his partner, Haz!eton, las.
year took it into their speculative heads I'd go
"long" on wheat. Presently they found
that
KEENE WAS "sHoRT,'
and either dreading his dollars or desiring his
aid, they approached him with view to in
ducing him to come over to their side and in
ausurate u national movement. Keene at
| length consented, exchanged his claws for
horns by paying difference of a few cents and
biossomed out as a roaring bull. The plan was
| TO get control, by actual purchase, of all the
| wheat in the market.
! Meanwhile it was found that few men re-
siding in or near Chicago owned considerable
| wheat and money, and it was deemed advisable
| to identity them with the project. Accord
| ingly the venture was divided into quarters,
Keene taking two, Hoyt one and the Chicago
| quintet one. Tho quintet. by the way, was
composed of Perry b. Smith, George l.. DIM
| lep, Nathan Corwith, Of Chicago, and Judge
Howe and q. G. Simmons, of Kenosha. While
| they we're expected to furnish one fourth of the
funds. it was distinctly understood that they
| we're to have
| NO VOICE IN THE MANAGEMENT,
but were to leave the control absolutely in the
hands Of Keene and Hoyt. All this having
been arranged, the three-cornered combination
moved in force on the market. Early in the
deal, 81 SOC, 900 was sent to the First National
| bank a sort of retainer or earnest of the 9TH
er millions that were to come. In short time
il was announced that Keene had 5000, COO
bushels of cash wheat; then be was credited
| with four, six, ten millions; and eventually it
became evident that he had fifteen or sixteen
milliOns-that ia to say, his triumvirate had
that amount, half of which was his property.
Nor Was this enormous quantity all that was
under the control of the pool, syndicate, Coin-
bination, ring-call it by what name you will
| ANGUS SMITH, OF MILWAUKEE,,
possessed of keen perceptive faculties and
much money, readily OWNED the object of
Keene and his compatriots, and being satisfied
that it was possible for them to dictate the
price of wheat to the world, concluded to fall
into line, or to use Dundrearyism to flock
by himself." Accordingly ;he purchased mil
| lion bushels or more, and felt comfortable.
! When the Keene crowd learned of his posses
| sessions, fearing that he might be able at any
time, were he 80 inclined, to thwart their little
| schemes Of drop and catch, they made strenu-
Gus efforts to induce him to become
one of them. This he peremptoriy declined
to do, preferring to manage his own business:
but after repeated solicitations he Was in.
duced to form an alliance, offensive and defen-
sive. in accordance with which ne was to
go With the pool, ito sell when it sold and buy
when i. bought, and in proportion to the
respective investments. 1t is believed that
Angus Smith lived up to his agreement; it is
also believed that he is very cory that he
! entered into tin short, that he measures his
grief by hundreds of thousands of dollars
Thus, and in other ways Keene g. Co. got
control OF by far the greater portion of the
wheat in the Northwest. Their faith was
pinned TO reports of widespread disaster TO
the crop in the wheat growing portions of Eu-
rope. Europe must depend upon America
they reasoned. and must pay the price demand
/ ed. 1t is quite likely that their programme
might have been q rcmunerative one but for
the
QUESTIONABLE METHODS ADOPTED BIZ TIE s'BEARs''
to break it up. Finding themselves squeezed
nigh unto death, they flooded the grain marts
| Of Europe with circalars setting forth that
/! gigantic ring had been formed In this country
| to defraud the grain buyers of Europe; that
| the barns, elevators aud warehouses were
plethoric with wheat, but that it was controlled
by the ring; that vessels lay rotting in the
docks because the ring refused to allow sim
gle bushel of the cereal to be sent abroad.
| Europe frat became alarmed, then in
dignant, then contrary, and determined
| to live ON corn. cats, Potatoes anything but
wheat-untiI such time as the embargo should
have been removed. She would NOT buy wheat
| to arrive; or, if she did, she would not pay as
| much for it as for spot wheat. The owners o.
American wheat were put to great trouble and
| expense TO counterfeit the effect of these re-
ports, but it is asserted that they finally sue
| ceeded in fading foreign market which en-.
| sbled them to dispose OF their stock at better
| figures than obtained here at the sime of ship
| ment. Wharf.-The was not sent abroad was
sold to shippers and millers at home.
| But this Id anticipating. The deal ran along
| with varying success until IN May last ut which
| time
| KEgNg & co. PROPOSED TO UNLOAD.
| Early III the month it became apparent to close
observers that such move was on foot and
the bears made a final rally in self defense, de-
| termniug to break the market and settle at
their own prices. THIS being the case, some of
the confidential advisers of Keene urged him
| to extend his deal so to cover the month of
June; to buy literally of cash wheat and op-
tons, and leave wide margin of differences
| for the shorts. The suggestion was favorahly
| received by heene. Hoyt was somewhat averse
to it at first, but eventually yielded assent, and
| 1t was understood that Hszieton, Hoyt's part
ner IN Chicago, should proceed to carry out the
agreement. II should have been stated before
that. some time prior to this, keene had trans-
| ferred tho control of the deal to Royt, who was
| running it through Hasleton. And right here
| lies the ground for the intimation that Keene
doesn't love Hoyt as well as he did. 1t Is
broadly asserted that
HoYr VIOLATED HIS AGREEMENT.
AZ first, it is said, he made show Of buying
| for luua thus encouranirnr Tho nther rartnnr.