The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-22
SPECULATION IN QUININE.
The Causes for the Sudden Depreciation of
the Price Of the indispensable Drug.

1T will be many a long year." said an Indian
apoIis druggist yesterday, " before quinne gets
down to the figure of the early part of this week.
This low figure has put stop to the sale of all
substitutes and ,makeshifts for with quinne at
less than dollar an ounce NO one cares to buy
any of the cheaper alkaloids The market has
recovered very materially however, and higher
figures are now given The price was brought
down by recent sharp competition between
foreign and domestic manufacturers and the
result is, so manufacturers say, greater de-
mand for the article in this country than was
ever before known at this season of the year.
" How low has quinine been4"
Under the influence of the cutting process
introduced by Mr.. Boehringer, of the great man
ufacturing firm of Mannheim, Germany, who has
been in this country in New York some time,
the price of quinine was forced down to SO cents
an ounce, with cents off for cash. leaving the
minimum cost to wholesale dealers 78 cents.
He left for Germany on the 10th, and is under
stood has taken orders for 60, 900 ounces of Ger
man quinire. Most of it is for January and Feb
ruary delivery at 78 cents an ounce.
THE lowest price ever reached in quinine
prior to this year was il 1860. when for short
time it sold at 81. l2a an ounce"
The day after Boehringer sailed, according to
the New York Times of last Thursday, Powers
q Weightman, the largest manufacturers of the
drug in this country, advanced the price of their
article from ninety TO ninety five cents an ounce.
On Monday the price was again raised to ST. and
at that figure it was stationary yesterday, and
Powers & Weightman were by no means anX-
ious to secure orders at the price Speaking of
the rise, a gentleman who was for years ideuti-
fed with the manufacture of German qainine
said yesterday 1.-THE price of the raw material
has advanced in London 20 per cent. The own
ers of the bark have been complaining for
long time that they did not get high enough prices
to pay them for raising it. Now they are taking
advantage of the necessities of the Mannheim
firm, which has these large contracts on its
hands, and are putting up the price Of the raw
material The immediate result of the advance
in the price has been the creation of an extra
ordinary demand for the drug While it was at
its lowest point nobody wanted it; now every
body is running after it, SPECTATORS dealers and
consumers, but the demand is undoubtedly in
| the main speculative"
| Powers a. Weightman, who handle the quinire
| trade as they please-eXcept when interfered
with as by Mr.. BGhringer-are refusing to fill
over % per cent of the numerous orders flowing
in upon them from all over the country, and
! their advance in the price was for the purpose
| of checking the speculative demand which
| threatened to exceed all bounds When the
| price gets so low small dealers buy it as an in
! vestment 1t is as good as wheat and much
| better way to invest money than in some banks
! or in railway securities.
Tho advance in price was undoubtedly made
because Powers & Weightman could not pro
duce enough of the drug to meet the demand,
which they had been supplying at prices very
near to cost under the pressure of the foreign
! competition. 1t is not believed that the price
will go much higher, that it will sink again to
the low figures which recently prevailed. The
probability is that it will huctuate slightly. The
demand now is almost wholly for speculation,
and it could not possibly be for consumption at
this season of the year. There is fight, too,
between the producers of the bark and the man