Daily globe., 1883-06-17
PETER PETERS.
A Heavy Collapse in the Chicago Pro-
vision Trade.
M'GEOCH, ,EVERINGHAM & co.
The Liabilities Estimated at Nearl y
Three Million Dollars.
LARD SPECULATION THE CAUSE.
Great Excitement Caused on the Boar d
Of Trade.
A HEAVY DROP. IN ALL MARKETS.
What People in General Think Of the
Matter.
A DAILY REVIEW OF TRADE.
Considerable Life in Stock Speculation
on Wall Street.
DAILY REVIEW OF TRADE.
Considerable Life in Stock Speculation
on Wall Street.
CHICAGO.
Especial Telegram to the Globe.

lSpecldl Telegram 10 Un6 UlODe.
CHICAGO, June 16.-The day has been
wild one on change, and prices, especially
of provisions, broke fearfully. The veter-
ans on the board scarce remember another
like it. Buyers as well as sellers found it
degree of satisfaction, so rapid were the
fluctuations. When business hours began
this morning a number of messengers were
hurriedly uisiting the offices of commission
merchants and provision dealers to leave
the following notice:
CHICAGO, June 16.-Please close all
trades you have with US.
MCGEoCH, EvERINGHAM & CO..
The message was plain. McGeoch, the
lard king, and the whole structure of the
lard corner had failed. Members of the
firms hastened to the board to sell the stock
they had privately sold to McGeoch, and
which his note said he could not take.
The policy that prevailed was to sell as
quickly as possible in order to clear the
books and have funds to meet other trades.
All the firms holding McGeoch's paper en-
tered the deals, preferring to suffer from
the decline in the market rather than hold
over the stock that was the subject of con-
tracts. The excitement when the wild ru-
mors that had been flying about were
10 ha C.
SIMPLY TREMENDOUS.
Traders and operators rushed frantically
hither and thither, yelling at the top of
their voices, and the two pits
were crowded to overfowing with a iostling
struggling and frantic mass of bowling
humanity. Those on the right side of the
market were boisterously jubilant and
laughed ceaselessly in extravagant glee,
| while the beaten bulls were picture of
despair. The drop in prices was tremen-
dous, the lard which closed last night at
$1I1713 per 100 pounds for July selling
down to $9.05 this morning. It recovered
somewhat, however, during the forenoon,
running up again to 1915 and remaining
there. New York and other strong COM
mercial points were notified of the en-
barrassment, and sent orders to their Chi
cago representatives to close out on a
declining market all stock in which
McGeoch was interested, but to
hold other deals out of the
influence of the failure. After the de-
cline, Armour, Fairbank & Hutchinson,
the great packers, began to buy heavily.
They had taken up nearly all the stock on
the market before anybody knew what
was going on, and then they let prices ad =
vance at a slow rate.
THE LIABILITIES
of the collapsed firm are placed at mill
ion dollars. McGeoch was seen in his
Office. He stated that his firm held 14O,-
900 tierces of lard, on which the money
had been paid over, but declined to esti-
mate their option losses, which ne claimed
might yet right themselves. He appeared
to be the least excited man in the trade,
and Mr.. Everingham stated the firm
| consisted of Peter McGeoch, Summer Ever
ingham, Frank A. Crittenden and ]. Pea
cock. They had been
ON THE WRONG SIDE OF WHEAT
to some extent, but had cleared up their
cause of their break was the failure to OBJ
tain S50O,0OO which they expected to receive
this morning in margins and direct loans.
They had all the cash lard in Chicago, and
it had been poured in on them from st.
Louis and all parts of the country. 1t cost
them an average of $11.3O, and when prices
touched $1,000 they had to go. The loss
falls on nearly everybody. The failure was
entirely unexpected.
1t is yet impossible to tell the num-
Der of houses which are carried down
in the wreck. Many failures are
reported on the board. Tabor & Wilson
j. NJ. Ball & Co., Ellis & Lightner, M. B.
Crafts & Co., W. M. Martin & Co., and
Holly & Allen have suspended. Several
of these will undoubtedly continue bust
ness when they find where they stand and
how they can settle. They are losers for
from $4,000 to 100000 apiece. Others
are bound to follow. Gee. Baldwin is said
to have lost 100000, but is all right.
Margins were useless, the break being so
sudden aud great.
On the board it is claimed the main
failure is much greater than McGeoch's firm
admits in its statement. They can paw near
Iy dollar for dollar. ,McGeoch Individually
h ln..c.o ir,to of AIiIzr-nr1I-oo h.