New-York tribune., 1882-02-16
1OWFR PRICES FOR GRAIN.

The grain market at Chicago was in a state
closely bordering upon panic yesterday. Large
ouontitios we're sold, mt rapidly declining
prices. by men who have been predicting -
npr bushel for wheat ever since the foolish ad-
vance last tall. If they have sustained heavy
losses that is their own affair. The world has
small sympathy for those who try to make
bread dear Liverpool prices have dropped
swiftly in sympathy with prices here, ard the
nrice in New-York is still nonlinaly above the
price abroad. But there was some increase i'll
the export demand yesterday; enough, at least
TO show how easy it would have been to
market the surplus products of this country II
an ottan,pt had not been made to starve the
world into buying at famine prices. 1t seems
probable that the only people who have prohted
by the last advance in prices are the farmers,
who sent immense quantities of grain INTO Chi-
caro and Milwaukee as soon as market was
provided for them. The spectators who un-
dcItool, to buy all the wheat that could be de-
livcrcd have found the task beyond their
strength, even with the sO-callcd advance IN
rates on the railroads to help them. lnasmuch
as the railroads are once more freely accusing
each other of cheating, it must be admitted that
the operators for rise have not enjoyed quite
all the advantages that they expected.
The fatal error in this speculation has been
this that it ignored the enormous quantity of
wheat held over from 1850. Because the
croD of SS1 was comparatively short, many
imagined that there would be actual scarcity,
so that those who held near the end OF the
season would be able TO get almost any prices.
At the very opening of the season the tallacy
of this calculation was demonstrated, for the
vast supplies of old wheat which came ont,
| even from unexpected quarters, made it hard
to sustain the markets In spite of difficulties,
| however one or two cliques of operators held
and handled the markets with success, and
| were supposed to have realized large profits.
! Those who have been engaged i'll the same
operation since October, however, have found
it impossible to prevent decline. After
months of uncertainty and hope deferred, they
are unloading at last at heavy loss.
Unavoidably individuals suffer in drop OF
more than 10 cents bIshel on wheat. Many
suffer whose purchases or holdings were not at
all speculative IN character. Farmers who
neglected to get the top prices will also ac-
count themselves as sufferers, though they can
realize even now much more than they expected
| to get for their wheat when they planted and
harvested it. But the country has reason to
rejoice if this great speculation has at last
reached the stage of final liquidation There
will be cheaper food for the millions who labor,
larger supplies for foreign customers, more
satisfactory balances in foreign trade, and
! safer condition of the money markets hereafter
| The advantages will not be felt at once.
period of panic OF collapse, in any great branch
of trade, affects others unfavOrably for the
time, particularly while forced sales of all sorts
of property are in progress. But the country
will with reason rejoice before long, if its food
markets return to a normal state.