The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1884-10-09
GAMBLING IN CORN.
Exciting Scenes on Change In
Chicago During the Past
Week.
4 Short Review of the Most Successful
Corner In Cereals In Over Seventeen
Years.

CHICAGO, Oct. ton 'change the feature Of
the past week has been thc close of the great
deal in September corn and an intensely excit-
ing close it proved. The majority of the
'shorts" had refused to settle and up to the last
moment hoped against the hope that The enor-
nous quantities of cash corn which were re-
ported started this way from all over the
United States would break the back OF the cor
ncr. Each morning, however, Billy McHcnry and
A. u. Low took their accustomed places and
quietly bid for all arriving cars. Ii receiver
hung back and thought he ought to get nc or
1c more per bushel than the first offer they
generally paid it without much argument, and
throughout conveyed the impression that the
cliques funds were inexhaustibe Receipts
We're quite heavy over Sunday, but by Tuesday
they failed to come up to predictions showing
pretty conclusivcly that the corn rot being in
the country no induccment in the way OF price
could bring it out.
Monday quotations bobbcd about within a
range OF 10 to 12c and nobody seemed to know
exactly what the market was for many minutes
at time There had been good deal of talk
about calling for margins from the clique and
trying to down it in that way. Monday after.
noon meeting of the dircc ors was held to fix
marginal price. Fifty-hve cents was named a.
about the proper figure and there the matter
ended. Rulnor has it, however, that to meet
this emergency the manipulators in addion to
their capital already here asked for and secured
an order on the First National bank for three
million dollars from 10 less parsonage than
Jay Gould.
Tuesday business was suspended in all other
articles during the greater portion Of the day.
An immense crowd Of outsiders filed the gal
lcrics and brokers occupied every possible inch
OF standing room from which view of the
chief actors i'll the days transactions could be
gained. The market started at about Soc, WAS
quickly bid up to S5c, rested there awhile with
some trading and then moved on to 90c, where
the morning session ended. At the afternoon
session 81 was the figure bid, bat very little
was done beyond bowling, pushing and turn
ing the exchange into a likeness OF pandeinon-
ium generally. The offer of 81 per bu>hcl by
McHenry was partly for effect and partly to
fix the closing price of the deal for future use
He might just as we'll have bid So for all the
corn he could have got. As it was,a large line
of shorts defaulted on their contracts though
the majority OF them have since made private
settlements at the Office of the Clique brokers,
on basis of 81 cents, that being the average
price on the last day OF September.
Everybody is still at sea as to the prominent
parties who ran the corner Nearly all the big
railroad men and cattle ranch men and heavy
moneycd men in the country have been men
toned in connection with the affair, but the
real fellows in the woed-plc have never shown
their heads, and if they can help it, probably
never will.
Since the end of the September deal the o.
tober and November options have sold up
steadily, and the general belief among con
scrvativc operators is that the pool now owning
all the spot prope.t ~ will continue their manip-
ulation, though no demonstration 10 likely ~
be made until the crowd, surprising everybody
has retired and the coast is clear, has had time
to sell itself into a hole again. And from
present appearances it will do that quick
enough, as some of the very traders who were
almost ruined by their sales Of September were
noticed this morning putting out October lines
as if their lives depended on it.
The wheat pit, although thrown somewhat
in the Shade 10y The excitement in
corn, has been pretty lively. Soon
after the opening Of the week prices
broke badly, owing to { two million and
a quarter Increase in the visible supply togetI,-
er with heavy sales by Adams, Kent, IIu,chin
son and Counselinan. Later. however. some
good buyers appeared, and the market has 1rIn-
ed up very rapidly, more confidence being shown
by the old time bulls than has been witnessed
in a long time. The crowd, too. seem to have
come to the conclusion that prices certainly
can't 90 much lower while Ill accidents are in
favor OF the long side.
Hog products have dragged along through
the week, the quotations show scarcely any
change,