St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-12-29
A SLEET SCARE.
The UnfavOrable Weather
Causes a Bear Stampede
From the Wheat
Pit,
The Leading Cereal Taking a
Two-Cent Bound During
the Session,
The Generally-Expressed Fear Being
That the Sleet Will Produce
Serious Injury in Winter
Wheat Fields.
Corn Gains Quarter Of a Cent for the Day
and Provisions Swing Trihe
Higher.
Numerous Failures I'm Wall Street Ex-
pected synchronous With the New
Year-stocks Weak.
Corn Gains Quarter of Cent for the Day
and Provisions Swing a Trihe
Higher.
CHICAGO.
lsnecisl Telegram 10 the Globe

CHICAGO, Dec. 21,-OperatorS on 'change
to-day had quite surprise in store for them,
and all traditions of quiet holiday market
were Knocked in the head by a &c rise in
wheat and a marked revulsioD Of feeling on
the part Of the bears, with corresponding
hilarity among the bulls. The only new fea-
ture warranting an advance was the sleety
weather and the possible damage it might do
to the winter wheat crop, though this in
fuence was aided by general awakening of
the bull influence, which have been dormant
for some time. The January option closed &c
higher than on yesterday and the February
and May options 12<c higher. Corn was not
so active, but closed patheticaly
about a higher, and oats for same reason
advanced &c. Provisions we're generally
strong, pork closing 1Oc higher, lard 2Lc
higher, and ribs 2E@5c higher. Closing
quotations of the principal options were
January wheat, 74c; May, s05Sc; year corn,
35Ac; January, S45sc; January oats, 2595c;
May, 2SZc; February pork, S10.95; Febru-
airy lard, s6.65; February ribs, $500.
Wheat developed unexpected strength and
activity. Cables were about steady and re-
ceipts were moderate, but the weather was
bad for the winter wheat crop, and operators
seemed to suddenly awake to the fact that
stocks in the United Kingdom are much less
than at the close of 1888. Early
in the session sold Hutch''
started a boom by sending brokers
in to buy his line of shorts, which aggregated
it is presumed, something like 1000, 900
bushels. The old man with the tall, gaunt
and saw that New York and all the other
winter wheat markets were booming, and in
his usual rapid fashion made up his mind to
get out His purchases sent the market from
7S1sc TOR May to SO5Sc, ut which latter figure
Just one little flyer was sold. But ''old
Hutch'' was not the only one who suddenly
moved over from the bear side. Rous, the
Baltimorean. sent some big orders in here,
and they were executed through Milmine.
Bodman g. Co., Mccormick, Kennett g. Dav,
and Clifford. Lindblom was buying wheat
and talking bullish.
1.-The winter wheat markets." said he,
shave for long while been behind our mar
ket, and holders at Toledo, St. Louis and
New York have been selling here against
holdings there, Orders have been sent from
all those points to cover to-day, and the
weight of those markets have consequently
been removed. One hundred million bushels
OF wheat will he wanted in this marker in the
next thirty days.
One of the earliest heavy BUYERS was Kent.
He is said to have taken SOC. 900 busl.els of
May option at about rec "Billy'' Murray
was big bull, ana Boyton lost no time in
covering his shorts, at least it was supposed
to be short wheat he was buying in. Besides
Kent, other heavy buyers of long
wheat were Fleming and Bovntou. Fraley Of
st. Louis, Love Bros. and Baxter. The stuff
was mostly picked up among the small fry,
VINO concluded they wouldn't empt Provi-
dence by refusing a good, hon est cent Of
proht when 1t was offered them. The small
Try, when not realizing, were iA,lined to be
bullish, and gathered in many a 5000 aud
10000 lot A good deal Of the eavy buying
toward noon was due to pretty general i'm
preston that when the May option reached
sue 1t was bound TO keep up the advance for
time Many traders purcha sed at sOJxc
who were bears at 7Sc, and the bull crowd
generally looks upon the SOC point safely
passed as very encouraging circumstance.
Il see the crowd is coming back to its
Senses" commented an operator. rubbing
his hands gleefully. 'sWby, buying this
wheat Is like buying gold dollars for so
cents. You can't get too much Of it. If
you haven't got the mon ey sen your real es-
tate, your government bonds, your railroad
stocks-'en anything you've got. You
haven't got anything half so valuable as this
wheat. Depend upon it,"
There was story afo,at ID the effect that
an enormous foreign order for flour was ex
ecuted yesterday on the foon. The story was
without any basis, but, as tile fellows in the
wheat pit were too busy TO hunt around for
Its Verihcation, it counted Just the
same as if it had been true.
The truth is that flour is trihe more firmly
held just now than uen days ago, but the
difference is not abtve 2<dl5c.
''The only difference between the market
now" said -four trader, sand the market
ten days ago is that there are sales now
where there were no sales then. Quotations,
however, are only shade different
1t was also said in the pit that Dunn 81
Co., had an order this morning for 10, 600
or $4,000 bags of -four. Orders are not diff
hcuit 10 get at certain figures, bat at figures
which cav. be executed they are not living
around. w. F. Baker was very large buyer
oil whelt to-day, and of course it
was just as it has been said score of times
heretofore when Bill has been doing any big
trading, that be was buying for Pullman, but
the commission man ought to know more
about his principals than the gossips, and he
said to the writer:
noticed this morning, and re-
marked the fact, that our orders to-day
came in small quantities from great many
olnerent points. very encouraging feature.
think that wheat will sell al 81 25 before
the next crop is being ground.''
II just heard Old Hutch give an order to
one OF his brokers'" said provision man.
ut was like this: Git in thar and buy some
wheat, and pretty d-n quick, too.'
The Adamses sold very largely early in the
morning at almost the lowest point. Their
broker, Gaylord, was selling 100000 bushel
lots at 79@79Ac to Lester. 1t is very re-
markable that last night privileges were sell
ing at &c away from the market, calls going
at 79Bc. The sellers of these privileges felt
very comfortable when the market at the
opening hung around 7sXc, but became Sc
rious losers when the figures got up to s05Sc