St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-29
No One is Short, Bull News is Scarce and
the Markets Suffer General
Decline
Stock Bulls Have MIXED Small Traders Dry
Lower Dividends on Northwest
ern Predicted.
Chicago.

inquire aG WHICH the market Openeu. NiSnI
before last June wheat closed at S43Sc. Yes
terday that option opened at S415c, and, in
spite of all the buling done on the strength
OF war rumors, the close was weak at 9415c.
The bulls have to acknowledge that the war
feature and their manipulation and manage
ment of it
HAS PROVED AN EMPHATIC FAILURE,
and there are some very good reasons why
it has done so. AS stated yesterday by an
operator who has large interests at stake,
s'There is too much wheat and too few
shorts" The long deferred and long antici-
pated clash of arms between two great Euro
pean powers has sapped the short side of the
market of all its strength. The staunchest
bears, while believing in their hearts that
they were right, could not wholly shut their
eyes and ears to a possibility of the great
risks attending their favorite method of
trading, and so gradually grew out of the
deal until now they are idle, their influence
is wanting, and heavy market has nothing
| to depend upon but slow and unsatisfactory
| consumptive demand. 1t is much COM
mented about 'change thaJ ordinarily the
kind OF backing bulls now have in the shape
OF war reports should put the prices OF wheat
EASILY TO 80 CENTS.
A popular broker, a day or two ago,
counted on his fingers the big bears whom
| he knew to be even on the market. He
counted them all. Nobody can be forced to
buy wheat unless they are short Nobody is
short. People don't invest IN an article I'M
| less they are pretty sure the price of that
article is going to advance. Out of hun
dred persons who dabbe in wheat futures
| perhaps half dozen have tolerably clear
ideas as to the effect ofwar in another country
upon the prices of produce in this. 1t is
| plainly observable at the present time that
out OF this possible 3 per cent of clear
| headed spectators the number who are pre-
pared to invest in wheat,
BECAUSE 1T is CHEAP,
because it looks like war, or for any other
reason, are too few to perceptfbly advance
| prices. The shipping trade has improved
| until there is occasionally day when exports
from New York are larger than receipts there.
This is having the effect of slowly diminish
ing the visible supply, but that decrease is so
slow as to make an unprecedented surplus
seem inevitable. Very little is now heard
about injury to crops, in fact the crop scare
is rather more of failure than the war ex-
element To sum up the situation from
| speculative standpoint those traders who
consider it ben cath their dignity to scalp the
market are doing little but look on.
| THE SCALPERs ARE RUNNING THE MACHINE,
| and all that varies the monotony of
| their purchases at the opening and
| sales at the close, or purchases at the close
and sales at the opening, is the periodical
| cleaning out of some trader from the rural
| districts who had pinned his faith too closely
to war and its results. To-day in an entire
| absence of news that was liable to break out
| in few minutes, the opening was weak and
| from the start it was simply traders day.
| In the now unsettled condition of affairs, no
| one appears inclined to carry much of bur
| den over Sunday, lest it might interfere with
| the proper observance of the day, and the
early fluctuations were solely in the interest
of the scalpers. A determined effort was
made by Nat Jones, Ream, the Eldridges
and other traders of large caliber
TO BREAK WHEAT DOWN TO-DAY,
but only with partial success. Early consols
came in lower, but the strength Impaired by
this cause was only slight. The closing in
May was SAGE and was a C above the open
| ing and at the highest point of the session.
| The recoveries all through the day were more
rapid and sharper than the declines. War
| talk was as general as eyer, but the idea
seems TO have settled over the local traders
that there is no war and but scant prospects
| of any. ''The country is coming in with
more liberal orders much to the encourage
ment Of long-neglected commission men.
! The close was as follows: March 771Ic,
April 773sc, May 82Ac, June S4Tc. The
week has developed no change of any mo-
ment in the condition Of the
CORN AND PROVISION TRADE.
Prices of these articles have followed
| pretty closely the lead of wheat, though corn,
! exports of which have on several DAYS
double discounted the receipts, has shown
more real frmness than any other article in
! the speculative list. Owing to a wider range
of fluctuations than obtained last week, the
pit has contained, on an average, better
representation of the speculative crowd, and
! the official reporter there has had con slider
! ably less time in which to dangle his legs in
! lille meditation, but some dearth Of large or
! protracted deals has been plainly noticeable.
| Cables were Quiet and steady, and prices I'M
| changed. The market opened quiet aud
shade easier, May corn selling at 4235c and
declined steadily to 414c. Here a rally
| was
MADE IL SYMPATHY
| with tie advance in wheat to 42c, bat
stumped back again to 4135c under heavy
| selling, recovering later, and closing at
/ 41Ic. Tic general opinion is
/ that the cause OF to-day's weakness was the
unloading Of large line Of long corn held
| by trader who got tired Of his load. How
ever that may be. the market closed but
little lower than Yesterday aud the impress
| sion prevails that corn has merits and can
get along without artificial support. Closing
prices were: 81 re, March and April: 4l1Ic,
Mas, and 42&lc, June. None Of the traders
OF prominence
EoucED OATS TO-DAY.
and the market was exceedingly quiet. The
market was quiet and a trife easier, With
/ sales Of Nc. . for May at 31$zm31Ic, closing
1 at 3l5Ic. Sales for April were at 27I103sr,
closing az CSC. After remaining a whole
week wheTe the coup Of Nat Jones and Jack
! Cudahy put them, prices Ut
PROVISIONS sTiFPENEp UP
{. little yesterday, MAJ pork touching z124O,
and May lard advancing within one point Of
81 This vas due principally To active bid
ding BIZ Councilman. Altogether. however,
Tie provision trade is 50 nearly lifeless that
fc7 spectators trouble themselves 10 in
quire into T.. To-day, however prices fell
off, and the market was dull with local spec
uIators the only traders Prices dropped
uBtii tic close wnen there vas a sligot rally
Closing prices, moreover, show decline on
! figures current % twenty-lour hours ago If
Zoe on mess pork, 25lc on lara and SC on
short ri5 sides. Hess po-1 for May delivery
opened It si2 %, and ranged from gI2. 20
! g12.35, closing a S1z.271l. Lard for May
s0ld at 81. 90aG.95, opening at 1886 and
closiug at *6921l. short ribs for Nav
/ opened at 80. ~, and transactions we're at
Es.17t[fg62 20, With SG.20 At the closing.
o. 4.....--- ILL. Ill III LII q