St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-08
Attractive Features for the scalpers Who
Did About all the Business That
Was Transacted.
Gables and Cold Weather Give Strength
to Wheat, the Close Being Firm
and Higher.
Corn and Oats Nominal, but the Pro-
vision Pit Was Well Stirred Up
by Scalpers.
An Active Day in Wall street Closed
With Big Break in Granger
Stocks.
Chicago.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe.
CHICAGO. Dec. 1.-THE scalpers in the
wheat pit are submitting now with better
grace than they did to the manipulations of
The Minneapolis millers. 1t was only last
month that Nat Jones and his followers
we're declaiming against the unholy efforts
Of the millers to lower prices from, as they
described them, selfish motives, as if the
efforS of the ChicagoanS to advance them
were philanthrophical and not selfish.
There really has been revolution in the
opinion in which these Northwesteners
are held. There is now more anxiety on
the part of the small traders at Chicago to
find out Just what the millerS are doing,
and planning how to inveigh against the
wickednesS of their methods. The packers
at the stock yards have for years dominated
the prices of the hog product. There IS on
record only one year in which an outsider
dictated to the packing-house owners, and
that was in 1879. when Peter McGeoch,
with
ALEX MITCHELL'S AID.
cornered the manufacturers themselves.
McGeoch's escape on the occasion was so
narrow that il ought to have taught him
lesson. but it didn't. The last attempt by
an outsider at dictatiOn was the lard corner,
which he ran until he busted. 1t has been
so seldom that there has been failure in
the winter wheat crop that the millers have
never been called heretofore to enter, on
large scale, the speculative pits to protect
themselves. The failure of winter wheat
last season has compelled the millers, how
ever, to compete with great many others
Tor the grain they need to grind. This
competition has made the farmer the bull
list and has compelled the dozen or SO Min
neapolis miIIerS who annually grind up
So, GOO, 900 worth of -four to come down to
Chicago to bear prices. They care, how
ever, not half so much about figures at Chi
cago as they do about
FRIGHTENING THE FARMER
into selling. Their campaign this year is
Just like the annual October and November
raid of the packers on the product for the
sole purpose of bringing out cheap hogs.
The tluctuatiOn in prices between this and
January is not likely to be important.
There will be holiday phase over every
thing, including the speculative pits. If
wheat or corn or pork advance few points
one day it will be quite certain that the adj
vance will be lost very soon after, and if a
drop should come first an advance is very
sure to come next. Commission men must
talk either an advance or decline to their
customers, as it is not profitable to have
quiet markets. But traders know very
well that, as a rule, for month about
Christmas the action in prices is too small
to make speculation profitable to anybody
except the bankers
WHEAT WAS NERVOUS
and unsettled to-day, with generally pre-
dominating strong tone. Fluctuations were
wide and the market was very limp, how
ever, whenever quotations were on the
down grade during the periods of depres-
sion. Early cables were weak, but
later private advices from abroad were
encouraging though not indicative of
over-weening confidence among English
grain merchants. Estimates of the probable
increase in the visible postings did not vary
materially from those present Saturday and
the figures were sufficiently large to alright
the timid. Reports that the winter wheat
fields in Northern Indiana and Ohio and
Southern Michigan were covered with ice
and Seet were numerOuSly received, and
the news that several of the smaller Min
neapolis mills had resumed operations OBJ
tanned wide currency. The above items
were the controlling influences that were at
work to-day, and they served to
MAKE THE MARKET
alternately strong and weak. Saturdays
last trades and to-day'S first trades were at
identical figures, viz, S75sc Tor January
and $3.50 for May. Trading i'll February
did not begin until later, and the opening
for that option should not count January
advanced to $3.50, declined to size, ad-
vanced to SS14c, and at 10 o'clock was
quoted at SSc, closing an hour afterwards at
8715@S73sc May rose from $3.50 to
9415c. fell back to 9314c. advanced again to
944c, receded to 94c at noon, and closed
at 935s(09334c at 1 o'clock. The mar
ket was weaker the last hour. and
the improvement noted was all
lost, prices leaving off where they
begun three and half hours before. On
the afternoon board, however, wheat was
stronger and advanced &c. There was
little for sale and the moderate buying was
induced by reports of large export pur-
chaseS of flour in New York, also that the
visible supply would show less increase than
expected. On the curb this afternoon puts
pm January wheat sold at S73sc, calls at
5S5sc.
CORN WAS QUIET
md prices were not shifted with much en-
srgy. The opening was &c lower, but a
lair demand sprung up and this small loss
was recovered. The closing was
At the same figures as on Satur-
day. The only feature of special
interest observable was export inquiry for
No. in the sample crowd, offerings of that
grade being taken without haggling at "a q
@35c. The close was sc better than Sat
nrday. Trading in oats was on the basis of
Saturdays prices, closing 2SAc January.
H94c May.
In the provision pit, however, there was
exceptional activity. George Baldwin for
while bought pork necessarily, until he had,
It was estimated by those in the crowd, at
east 20. 900 barrels on his card. 1t was first
imagined very generally that these pur-
,hases were for Armour, but it was after
wards denied when
BALDWIN TURNED ABOUT
and sold nearlyE all that he had bought, set
that Young, Baldwin and Singer had be-
tween them arranged little scalp. The
price during all these operations varied
scarcely loo barrel, and this was the most
remarkable feature of the transaction The
close showed an advance over Saturday of
sc for pork, 215c for lard and 255c decline
on March ribs, other futures remaining I'M
changed.
PETER BERKEY, Pres. f. w. ANDERSON, Cashier.
C. W. GRIGGS, V. Pres. A. c. ANDERSON, Asst. C.
THE ST. PAUL NATIONAL BANK,
CAPITAL, $500 600