St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-31
WILL ENGLAND FIGHT?
Is the Important Question Among
Spectators And the Ruling In
fiuence On Change.
Lack of War News And an Improve
ment in COnsOls Causes De-
cline To-day,
The Entire Speculative List Closing Lower
And Ruling Dull With But Little
Demand
ALazy Day on the Stock Exchange-Nortl
western Exciting Considerable
Comment.
Chicago.
Special to the Globe

Special to the Globe
CHICAGO, March 3O.-One of the most We
hement of the wheat bulls went home
Saturday night ''long" only 10000 bushels
of grain, but possessed of ''calls" on 500,
bushels, good on Monday at SAC. These
"priyileges'' cost this believer in high prices
$500. 81 guess the moneyis thrown away"
he said, as he was leaving his office, "but
nv line is 200, 900 bushels, quarter OF
cent decline on that is just $500, and just
now l would rather have the calls than the
vheat.n Three-quarters of the wheat crowd
went home Saturday night feeling as the
owner of the ''calls;' on the $780, 900 bushels
did,
TOO FEARFUL OF COLLAPSE
in prices to hold any property, but anxious,
on the other hand, to have an Insurance
against the coming of that long-hoped-for
bulge, with themselves not holding pound
of wheat. At a special meeting OF the oil
rectors of the board Saturday it was decided
to- post every thirty minutes the London
quotations on British consols. This action
was taken upon petition from 100 traders.
They knew just as well at the beginning OF
the week as at the close that there was moth
ing in the world in the market except pros
poets for war or peace, which are reflected
in the quotations on consols, but on last
Monday they believed war would be decided
in day or two at farthest. They
RUSHED FROM THE PITS
10 the tapes and from the tapes back to
the pits. They did this Monday and they re-
heated it Tuesday, they did the same thing
"Wednesday and Thursday and Friday, be-
coming all the while more excited, and
thinking all the while that there would be
decision within the next few hours. But on
Saturday they settled down to the conclusion
that while there was truly nothing in the
market save the possible Anglo-Russian
trouble. they also settled down to this other
conclusion that there would probably be
nothing except this imbroglio for perhaps a
long while to come. So then, philosophy
caIlv, it was decided to arrange for this state
of affairs They were tired of rushing from
the pit to the tape, and now they are to have
these much desired figures posted each thirty
minutes within sight, so that they can
LOOK AT THEM COMFORTABLY,
and vet attend to their trading The com
mission men, the brokers, the scalpers and
the larger operators are on the floor of the
exchange. They've got long wait, in all
likelihood. There is apparently nothing to
decide the prices now save the decision of
war or no war. All the pits are apparently
well evened up. Traders who are inclined to
be bearish are not inclined to take the risk
OF getting caught in the tumult and squeeze
which would most certainly follow declara-
ton of war. Operators who, little while
ago were inclined to be bullish in n natural
situation, admit, most of them, that decis-
i've announcement of peace would probably
GREATLY DEMoRALIZE THE MARKET,
and perhaps cause an extraordinary temper
airy collapse in prices. The situation is so
full of peril that spectators are not exposing
themselves. The scalpers who make little
incursions, but who get in and out all in a
day, are the only ones who nowadays keep
the pits going. There are wise men who an
nounce in loud tones that they know that
there will be war, but it is plain, all the same,
that they buy no lines of wheat. There are
others equally wise who pooh, pooh, the
thought of arms, but it is plain they. do no
selling. Spectators have thrown logic away
for the nonce.
FIGURES ARE D.. cARDRD.
Corn Is on the same basis as wheat, and
wheat precisely on the same as the hog pro-
duet. Nobody cares what receipts are and
shipments are not glanced at. Why! No
uuuN udh IuOuSuI W iudl lOE Il
wheat to-day actually shows a profit in ex-
porting from Chicago to Liverpool. Every
thing is forgotten in this one absorbing
question: ''Will England fight or back
downp' The crowd awaited cables with an
ill-coucealed anxiety, and when consols
showed a slight advance over Saturdays
close, the effect was at once apparent, prices
opening lGQl &c lower than the close of Sat
urday, and in less than ten minutes the
WHEAT PIT WAS FILLED
with sellers. Traders seemed to only want
TO get rid of long stuff and that as quickly as
possible. May was quoted at S0Hc at the
opening and sold at Sl1!@SO14c or differ
ence of 1c per bushel in different parts of the
pit at the same time, and declined to S04c;
here the selling fever somewhat abated and
consols coming in 2-l6 lower the market
rallied to 81 &c, but did not hold the advance
and closed quiet and easy at S05S@S0&c
For while crop reports were forgotten and
traders were demoralized. Later in the day,
however, the gloomy predictions
FROM THE SOUTH AND WEST
were given credence, but not 10 the extent
OF lettering prices. One prominent trader,
however, declines to take stock In the uumcr-
Gus crop bulletins that are so extensively
circulated. He said this morning: "Ten
wears ago II was very cold month later than
this, and the cold extended all through the
South, yet the wheat crop was fair one
Winter wheat, when drilled in as is nov
generally done, will stand very irving
weather and il was not designed bv nature
for dollhouse plant. Undoubtedly there
has been considerable injury done to the
winter wheat crop, as is frequently the
case, but in the present instance to what
extent
TIME ALONE WILL. DETERMINE"
There is considerable interest manifested as
to what the visible supply report viii show
10 morrow, but an increase Is generally ex-
pccted. Corn was weak and unsettled at the
opening under an increased desire of local
traders to sell.
There was also liberal number OF outside
oricrs Of the same kind aud with a scarcity
OF buyers. In the absence Of foreign news
and the iecline In wheat the market opened
quiet and shade easier, May selling at
4t%@ti2lc, declining to 4l%c, and ad-
yaueing again with the latter advance in
wheat to u e, easing of little and closing
al Asc, or just the opening price. Con
sideriug the large receipts and the decline of
nearly &c in wheat and that corn closes to-
night only &c lower than Saturday, it is ad-
mitted that il has
SOME MERIT IN ITSELF.
The cash demand continues good and car
lots brought fully Saturdays prices, so that
speculative tradiuCi is slow aud u UNSATISFACTORY
March closed 21t5c or /. c lower, April 81 &c,
June &c lower at 42kc. Oats were Quiet
and prices were easier and closed triie lower
ihsn on Saturday. Samples on track ranged
at SltGSSc for No. 3 to . white and sales for
NIsy al SlA@Si NC, closing at 81 y dSf &c.
April sold at 2SSS and June 1t Sl7Sl6Si !. c.
closing at inside figures. The provision
market Was quiet and weak and prices lower