St. Paul daily globe., 1885-04-13
Exciting Times on Change and Wild
Scenes Enacted in the Wheat
Pit.
After Yesterdays Decline Wheat
Bounds Up Again and is Followed
by Other Cereals.
Provisions, Although Not so Strong as Other
Markets, Close Firmer and
Higher.
Strong Close of an Uneventful Week in Waii
Street-A Bull M0Ye-
ment.
Special to the Globe.

eueeial to the Globe.
Cu1cKGo. April 11.--Within week orrT
ators on 'change have enjoyed opportun'
offered by two speculative extremes.
FRIDAY .last,the board Of trade, having II
iected to adjourn out of respect to the {
(Good Friday), the members showed tA'
disapproyal by.transactiag the smallest pos
bic amount of business. The scene on :.
floor was that of an effective burlesque OF
legitimate character, and market quotatio'
were of the slightest possible importanc
On Thursday of the present week, at the til
the price of wheat was goiag up at the ra
of a cent a minute, the general excitemen
amounted almost TO insanity, and the vo
ume of transactions
WAS SIMPLY ENORMOUS.
The report ofthe conflict between Russia,
and Afghan troops loaded the speculaliy
norton of Chicsgo's population 70
bear long before the opening. At
O'Clock the wheat pit was crowded
70 the utmost, and when the bell struck for
opening the first bid on May wheat was . n
above the closing price Of the previous day.
The small army of shorts was almost beside
itself with apprehension, and would-be in
vestors were scarcely less voracious With
one faction it was q case Of necessity, and
with the other of cupidity. The combination
was sufficiently powerful to send prices out
of sight for few minutes. The excitement
was so bewidering that an operator appar-
emily had no means of telling how much
above or below the official quotation his
might be.
II LESS THAN TWO MINUTES
&c more were added to the price, and NJ
wheat was quoted at S74c. BY this tin
the prevailing war news had been 4
gested by the country contingent, al
orders from that source began pouring
several times as fast as they could be flcl
Commission men rushed eXciteGly about the
ball with their hands full Of telegrams aDd
their hearts full Of CONSERVATION. Had the
wheat pc been twice it's size orders would
still have remained untitled owing to the
density of the crowd of buyers, where wheat
was for sale. Sealpers, intent on making
money somehow on something, divided
theira ttention between various articles on
the speculative list, elbow room in the pit
being the main consideration. In this way
corn, oats and pork became remarkably pop
ular, and in each OF them
HEAVY TRDpING WAS DONE.
Prices, however, for corn and pork were
contained within mparatively mar
row limits, the former scoring
an advance of about 1c and the
latter of about,25c for the day. At the close
Of the regular board the price of May wheat
was SS$sc. The highest point Of the days
bulge Was $500, 5szc above the closing figure
Of theaday before. Old operators, who have
participated In the various exciting scenes
which have marked the career of the board
of trade from its early youth up TO the pres
cnt, sag thatithe events OF the first half hour
OF Thursdays session have had no equal.
Similar r-scenes at the opening OF hOstilties
beiSeen France and Germany lacked til,
intsnso excitement of those of Thursday
morning. A noteworthy feature of the stu
alton WAS the absence of failures, or even
umOEs Of
IMPENDING FINANCIAL CRASHES.
THIS is easily explained by the fact IT,
traders Of limited means were not the one
Who.wore short of wheat. War has so lon
beoD the principal feature Of the situation
that the small fry have either resolutely
maintained u strictly neutral position or in
dulged in modest deals on the long side. !
was heavy- weights who were short and who
have ''paid the lddler' since Thursday night
Yesterday tho bulls and bears paused Il
reflect. Suil the market was strong in tht
naip, though May wheat settled down t.
S6L,u Mt the close The country crowd, less
excited and more discreet was present with
stop orders, and here and there could be
seen 4 looaliinvestor who was willing TO take
his profit. The bursting OF little bubble in
oats was the advertisement OF the crowd
during the later hours. Mr.. Nat Jones hay
ug occasion to purchase some 200,00
bushels Of that commodity, the price ad-
yanced &c.
THE MARKETS TO-DAY.
Without Gdventitious aid afforded by war
rcws. the condition of the market is such
that 1t would have been strong with the close
~ the weok. The crop reports continue uni
forInly unfavorable, and no doubt longer
exists that the damage to winter wheat Is
lervy aad extends over u great stretch OF
territory. But while this, OF course, cutters
1ato and affords substantial uudercurrent
~ strength, the market continues to be
ruled entirely by consols. This morning
drop of &c from last nights close was
sufficient to jump May wheat TO S7Mc,
m advance OF &c over yesterdays finish,
aud during the first hour it remained
sRToNG AND ACTIVE
at quotations between that and S7Ic. Corn
opened AZ 45%c and was a great favorite with
outsiders ut that figure, aud May pork also
Kept It's percentage. The scenes Of yesterday
and Thursday were repeated at opening,
though a somewhat more conservative feel
10. was everywhere observable The wir
edge of'thehREe having worn of, very many.
however crave become quietly impressed witt
the idea that conflict is inevitable, and ar
buying futures heavily on that suppositiou
hieae. That this feeling is shared elsewhcr,
aud isyery general indeed, is evidenced b.
lyeayv pcrVehnSinu orders from New Ynrl
Philadelphia and Boston, as well q.
from the small cities Of the west
hardly one being so poor that
it,does notfurnish two or more margin spec
nlStors AS the day progressed the continued
pressure from,the outside proved too strong
for the limited number OF SEEKERS, aud again
everything went kiting. May wheat touched
even S9o aud. the buyers constituted almost
the entire crowd. Lester, Baldwin and Bliss
were heavy purchasers, and at top prices
"Bllly" McHeury sold n large amount
Reame entered the corn .pitand tried uusuc.
cossfully - buy 1000, 900 bushels May in
70, geo lets at 46c, &6hc aud 41c, whily
Lester also bought steadily every bushel b,
could get hold Of. John Dupee and Leopold
Bloom were
BULLIsH BUT SHY,
and John Dupee had lively dsy on sharp
turns Nat Jones was net observed TO take
hand personally, ou, it was not regarded as
possibility that be wss unreproSented in the
PIT, Altogether the days transactions were
TIE hosvisSt OF the year, and the war feeling
VAS so unanimous that many leng liRes were
le't te soak over Sunday. The purely SPEC
U.Ativo iatercst IS reGarded as heavier thSa
for uenths, and bit Of news Of a pacific
character between now and Mondays open