St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-11-18
A Shrewd Trader Gives His Reasons
at Length for Believing Nay Wheat
al 80c a Good Purchase.
The Probabilities Grow Less Day by Day That
an anAttempt to Squeeze Corn
VIII be Made.
The Trade Wind in Wall Street Blows Hot
and Cold During the Whole
Session.
CHICAGO.
[speeIal Telegran 70 the Gloh

6t~an uiAfhelss as INACTIVITY was IN the pro-
visions pit As compared with SATURDAYS
close wheat declined &c for December, corn
25<e for the same month, aud oats &c.
There was very little change in provisions.
Closing quotations on the afternoon board
were: December wheat 72l<c, November
corn. 404e, Msy cats 2s1Sc, January pork
slL35, January lard s6.s5, and January
ribs s5. .s71<.
|, In the wheat pit now traders are pretty
evenly divided over the question whether
wheat for May delivery is OF is not a good
purchase at soc. That the division is ex-
ceedlngly even is made clear by the narrow
ness Of fluctuations. The May option has
not been far from this figure for the last
thirty days. A trader was talking wheat TO
Mr.. Armour not long ago, aud along some
where In bear argument said that the grain
room in Europe was about all taken, and
that pretty soon, If America and others kept
on shipping, there would be no place abroad
10 store the receipts.
THAT. replied Mr. Armour uis a very oood
sign. remember, some years ago, when wheat
was not as cheap as Il is now, that. at about the
time commenced buying wheat IL was reported
that IL was being carried out Of Edinburgh in
carts into the country In order TO be stored The
report hltle ratified me, but kept on buying
and remember very distinctly now that made
SIC bushel on my wheat
ITO buy wheat for May at s0c.' says q trader
who has learned from 4 great number Of ups and
downs TO at least talk ph;iosophieally, s.is like
buying a short horse IN a race. Every logical Ar
gumentis against his winning, but almost all the
accidents are In his favor The fact that the Iast
crop OF wheat was an enormous one, that the crops
the world over were large, that stocks are every
where enormous. and that up 20 date nothing has
been heard against the success Of the growing
crops, ought ali to make May wheat good sale
AZ oOc Any calamity auywhere-war draughts
freezes, anything ought on the other hand TO
make Nay wheat at SOC good purchase. This
90 Tar has been remarkably open fall, and for
tnht reason remarkably bad one for winter
wheat-thatis, IL puts winter whezt in q remark
ably hazardous plight for the winter. Wheat in
Illinois, Missouri. Kansas. Ohio and Indiana IA
now several inches above the ground aud Is as
thick as grass pasture. This kind OF weather,
win lts unnatural warm rains. hot suns and fire.
duent fngs Is forcing the blades TO
an unnatural state Of forwardness
In fact, the fall has been q remarkable one, so
mild as 20 have few precedents and for this very
reason threatening 10 the very last degree to the
growing winter wheat crop. Suppose that this
mild weather lasts fortnight louger. That will
bring ihe winter wheat crop mp 10 December In
very forward condition. Suppose, then, that
cold weather sets in. aud pretty suddenly as il il
likely 70 IL IL Is delayed that long does ANYBODY
doubt that the winter wheat crop will be badly
damaged! Winter wheat requires TO be gotten
safely under snow and TO be pretty steadily COW
cred all through the freezing weather A crop
that enters December too well ma.
tured, that becomes frozen, becomes
drenched with rain and then frozen, that
goes through freezing and thawing
alternately, and that is denuded OF earth by
winds, cannot survive. All these accidents be-
come more and more likely the louger the pres
ent unreasonable weather continues, indeed.
they are very certain TO happen II the mild
weather lasts thirty days longer IL they did
happen, can anybody doubt that the fellows who
went short OF May wheat at soc would be a very
sorry iot' May wheat at soc under present cir
eumstances Is capital chance, better than
spectators generally get. II the mild weather
lasts fortnight longer the chance will have dis
appeared. The price will be good deal higher"
To-day wheat opened quiet and slightly
easier than it closed Saturday, ruled steady
for short time, and then, under free
offerings, induced by depressing eastern
news, dropped of &c, closing weak at the
inside figures Of the day. Receipts continue
large and short sellers, unchanged by this
fact, as well as by the interrupted depression
in sesboard and foreign markets. are free
sellers. Mnmine and Bryant were conspicu-
Gus sellers. George c. Walker & Co. were
the only buyers OF consequence. November
ranged at 71S[@72%, closing at the inside
figure. December ranged at 725SCa73sz, and
closed at the lowest iguie.
Corn was weak all day especially for No
yember delivery, for which the close WAS
nearly &c lower than on Saturday, and had
been lower stin during the day. The cause
Of this weakness was the free sales by bold
ers, who seemed 10 have abandoned all hope
OF any assistance from manipulation. Year
delivery, in sympathy with this weakness,
was also depressed, and We note decline of
about ifc. For May aud January there we're
free offerings and prices declined about the
same as tor year. The close was weak. No
vember ranged at S9;Ea4S5Sc, closing at
4OAc- Year ranged at S7ll93s1c, closing
at inside figure. January sold at 35 ISCa36 Ixc.
closing at 355Sc.
There is large shortage in November and a
tremendous one in year, says Dillinxham ..No.
corn is coming in here in so smal. q quantity as
TO amount really to nothing. There are not
5000 bushels = day. The stock l. all the while
being depicted, so that delivery day there will
not be 5OO.OO0 bushels OF contract corn left. The
weather could not be more unfavorable II In
warm and damp. Under just such circumstances
IN the fail OF an enormous crop about ten wears
ago rich clique. headed by 4 board OF Trade
president named Lincoln. shorted November and
December corn on greatscale. Everything was
smooth at the start. Short selling was not a
cifli' ult mstter 80 Lincoln and his associates
made good deal Of money On paper. but delivery
day finally came around, but no No corn came
forward The fall was thai year just as II is
this. warm and damp. Lincoln and his associates
hil their shorts In the open market The cl,oue e
busted along with Lincoln"
There are just 7s6. 600 bushels Of No. corn
here" said broker Thomas. THAT doseu',
take in the high mixed but there is little OF
that
-'what do yOu think viii be the course Of
corn!'
Ia will 90 down." was the gentleman's reply
in a very clipper and reliant tone There's no
trade here from outside, not one-tenth the trade
there was one year ago."
ayes. +" said another broker who was standing
near. ''corn will 90 down, bought In ny
shorts al 42c and got the cash stuff II was sold
at considerably above that ngure. II there was
any m nipulation the last stuf would not be de-
livered on these 10 " priced contracts. There.
no extraordinary demand for cash corn, no spec.
ulation and no manip ulatlon-"
Oats were dull and the market generally
depressed, November closing nc lower Al
25sl, and May 1Sc lower at 2s5Ee.
Provisions opened in rather quiet man.
ner, but with strong feeling prevailing In
the different branches Of the trade The
closing prices OF last week were fully main