St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-17
THESE BE DULL DAYS.
Business on Change Reduced to Min
imum, With all the Big Operators
Scalping.
In Spite of the Decrease in the Visible
Supply Prices of Corn Continue
Lower.
After n Very Quiet Day the Market
Closes ut Slight Advance and
Firmer.

After u Very Quiet Day the Market
Closes at a Slight Advance and
Firmer.
The Day in Wall Street--A Rumor
That st. Paul is Being Man
tpulated,
Chicago.
Special to the Globe.
CHICAGO, May 16.-The situation on
Change is as barren as possible of interest
at the present time, and during the week
nothing save an unusually large decrease in
the visible supply of corn has served to Gre
ate anything like uueasiness among either
bulls or bears. Even this Shrinkage in the
corn supply, of upward of l, 800, 600 bu,was
of very little moment, inasmuch as the
market is now weaker and price lower than
it was week ago. The bears account for
this change in the course of corn By bring
ing to the front the old argument OF
enormous stores in the farmers hands,
and the apparent lack OF demand,
while the bulls have all along
attempted to prove the fallacy OF the
first part of this theory, as was shown in the
GLOBES report of week ago, by pointing
to numerous evidences at hand that the
yield of 1884 was largely over-estimated
and that the amount fed to stock during
the long, cold winter was greatly in
EXCESS OF MANY YEARS
previous The steady advance from 43 to
40 cents, was, the bulls claim, proof of the
correctness of this reasoning. AS for as
the weakness and decline of the present
week, they find it perfectly easy
to explain The presence in the
pit of some VIGOROUSLY big
bears makes it as plain as daylight that for
the sake of possible scalp of generous dl-
mansions, these big men, followed by
smaller ones, are selling heavily wheat they
do not possess, in order to compel certain
parties who are known to own
corn to sell what they do
possess In other words, an attempt Is
being made, they say, to freeze Lester, MS
relatives, his friends and his customers out
of their holdings. The outcome OF this al
legged enterprise is looked forward to as a
possible ripple in the dull surface OF specu-
lation. twill be
AN INTERESTING EVENT
if the longs are forced to sell out, and more
interesting still when the bears find they
have bitten off more than they can chew,
and are accorded the privilege OF buying IN
their short corn at an advance OF several
points on the selling price. AS noted
above, the present condition of the specu-
lative trade has very little to redeem it,
and this prospective trial OF strength be-
tween the shorts and longs OF the corn
deal seems to be about the only exciting
event to be hoped for. People who are
wheat and whose friends have no
interests at stake in that vicinity,
note the fact that bullish operators
in the wheat pit define their position with
considerable effort, compared to that re-
ouired of the bears for a like purpose. Yes
terday there was little squirt in an upward
direction. induced by small installment OF
war news and false report of decline in
consols, amounting to 1 per cent. 1t was
soon discovered that
THE WAR NEWS
was far too wild to bet much money on,
and with the complete denial of any i'm
portant decline in British securities gain
of &c was quickly lost, and the market
became again weak and comparatively life,
less. If one were to believe the gossip,
or half of it, that floats about
the floor and in the commission
offices. he would derive considerable salts
faction from condition of things so adj
mirably adjusted as gossip has it. For in
stance, there is a great packer OF pork and
preserver of meats allied to well-known
manager of corners, both supported by
numerous following, the whole consisting
of crowd which owns the local supply OF
wheat. and wants to own every other sup
ply-the crowd which believes in higher
prices. Opposed to this crowd is another,
made up of all who are not embraced in the
aforementioned party. This last crowd rec
ognizes the existence Of
HEAVY SURPLUS
of last years crop of wheat, which will still
be heavy when the new crop commences to
fill the granaries. 1t notes the favorable
reports of growing crops abroad, and. the in
dications that those at home will not be far,
if at all, below the average. 1t believes in
lower prices and is backing up its belief
with its money. 1t is plain enough that
these two factions exist, but it is folly to
attempt to name the members or say who
has the largest interest on either side. On
it's surface the market during the week has
been wholly of hand-to-mOuth character,
with every operator scalper.
The last day of the week being generally
dull day on change, to-day, was no eXcep-
ton to the rule. There was remarkable
dearth of news of any character tending to
affect values. Wheat continued to bull
hard, but as one commission man put it at
the start this morning, 1.-The crop reports
are coming in terrible enough to make
ones hair curl" the situation continues
interesting.
THE BIG TRADERS
continue bearish and most of them sellers,
but the country sticks to the buying side
with courage and tenacity that, whenever
the scalperS think Of it, alarms them. Il
should not be surprised" said one trader,
eff this should turn out to be one OF those
exceptional years when the countrymen, so
almost invariably on the outside, should be
able to be on the inside. They know the
condition of the crops, and if the crops are
to decide the price of wheat, rather than
the visible supply figures, then the country
men are to come out winners sure" The
break of yesterday brought out considerable
wheat from small holders, and induced
quite a little desire to catch the market at
the upturn. No one house bought over
quarter of million bushels. Carr & Co.
are reported to have been
HEAVY BUYERS
on the breaks while Martin & Bennett OPP
Grated quite freely on both sides. June
opened at S95Sc, and sold irregularly at
coke, where it closed. The bottom point
was &c under the opening. July closed
921Sc, August, 9414c. Outside orders are
still so scarce as to cause almost hopeless
foo1;,cr o,onpr oO,opiccin,, man Many of