St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-21
MAY TAKES A TUMBLE


but Steady.
Featureless Day in Wall Street, the
Market Closing Dull and at
aDecHne.
Chicago.
Special to the Globe
CHICAGO, Dec. 19.-Twice during the
week ending yesterday has the heart OF the
bull been made happy by strong and
higher market for wheat, but in the long
run he has lost money, for May wheat
closed Friday night &c lower than week
ago. The depression has been of such long
standing, and the downward course OF
values so long continued, that the brief
strong spots were in every re-
spect red-letter days. They brought
in orders. induced local buying,
and made everybody-eXcept the bears
happy. But the latter have taken SO many
tricks in the game during the month or so
past that they do not begrudge cent or
two of profits 10 a set whose hearts are sick
from hope long deferred. There has been,
in a general way, very little to the deal
among the last week. 1t is noticeable that
she familiar line of big operators are prac-
tically out of the market They may
have lot of wheat stored
away like Hutchinson & Armour are
supposed to have, or may be short in the
market If the former, they are waiting
as quietly and as calmly as possible for
higher prices, and if the latter, they are so
confident that wheat will not advance that
they are making no very decided effort to
buy it in. 1t is believed. however, that, as
is usual toward the latter part OF the year,
all are as near ''eyen' as possible, with the
exception Of the two gentlemen named. As
TO HutchS holdings, they may safely be put
down at from l, 900, 900 to 1000, 900 bush
els.
LESS THAN A WEEK AGO.
Any change in his bank account by reason
thereof is u matter in which the public has
no possible interest. The bulges spoken Of
were based as much on war cables and de-
creased amounts of wheat on passage as on
any other grounds. Naturally there was a
reaction i'll the first instance when it was
found that war was pot yet an
actual fact, and in the second in
stance when an attempt was made
to unload lot of stuff on market already
bulged up with more or less difficulty, and
on hesitating between going higher or break
ing off. Credit, such as attaches to a bull
for bulIing the market, should go the Min
neapolis crowd of miller spectators for
their laudable attempt at bringing about an
era Of highest prices. To insiders it
is no secret that they are pretty
we'll looked up and naturally dislike
to see the market go against them,
however well they may be able to afford it.
But with the exceptions of Wednesday and
Thursday, the feeling was as weak as
water and prices declined steadily. In spite
of this advent of better prices the day gave
occasion for the sending out of any guam
tity of roSe-colored circulars, and not few
houses i'll the trade have put themselves on
record to the extent of saying that the tide
has at last turned and prices are
BOUND TO ADVANCE.
These statements they wiz have hard
work reconciling with the tone of the mar
kets at the close of the week. and we be-
lieve with the situation for week or so to
come. Corn has dropped off 114@1Mc,
notwithstanding the demand for year.
from shorts. Pork is 171z@20c lower and
in no very brisk demand. Hogs are COM
ing in so plentifully that prices for
manufactured product cannot very well be
maintained. The long break be-
low soc occurred in wheat to-day, May
selling down to S93sc, at which point a
broker addicted to the use of striking figures
of speech described wheat as being sick as
death" The opening was weak and lower,
and but little resistance was offered to the
big bears, who went in to press
the market down. AS the 90c
mark was passed great loads of
wheat came out Oh stop orders, the New
York and private wire houses being the
largest sellers. Spectators and investors
who were holding property on margins
were pinched out, frozen out, got tired out
or voluntarily limited their losses. The
country, through the commission houses,
was the best buyer on the break, though
two or three prominent brokers, supposed
acting for Cudahy and his immediate bear
following.
STOCK A GREAT DEAL,
presumably to cover previous sales, being
satisfied with 4@6c profit. The privilege
brokers also came to the rescue and as
sisted to steady the market at S915@S956c,
where it was held with comparative steadi-
ness after the first excitement of the slump
had in a measure exhausted itself. For
the last hour wheat was steady at
quotations shade above the
bottom, May closing at the put" price and
other months in their relative positions.
Trading was heavy up to II o'clock. but it
became tame later. The market does look
very weak, and even the sellers of puts"
last night are out of pocket, but there was
this bad feature about the bear side to-day:
There was not Scalper or an operator,
big OF little, apparently. who was
doing anything at all, who was not sell
ing wheat. The Minneapolis crowd"
said a trader, lis not a party of shoestring
operators. They are not like the st. Louis
people, who usually send their orders up
here, and not like the Cincinnati people,
who used to follow Handy. They are
solid, substantial lot of gamblers, who own
mills, wear watches and have bank &C
counts. Besides,
LIKE THE PACKERS IN PROVISIONS,
they have use for a very large quantity of
wheat. 1t is barely possible that they may
keep on taking this wheat as long as the
local crowd keeps selling it cheap, and
even then want some more. That would
be bad for the shorts" Early privilege
dealings were on basis of SS5sc for puts
in May wheat and 9O19c for calls. Later
the price changed to S91sc for puts.
to Bruce'S ticker. The last quotation on
the curb was SS5sc for May wheat The
call price moved up to 90Ac. Corn was
active and lower range of values was
established. Trading was scattered through
all the months, the largest selling being by
Mccormick, Kenneth & Co.. whose offer
ings of every thing excepting year were
heavy. The closing was at a loss of &c
from yesterday for year, &c for January
and February and &c for May. The latter
option strengthened before the close.
Oats were quiet and just shade easier,
though quotations were not alarmingly
lower. The surrounding markets seem to
be dragging this one down. Provisions
opened at a loss from Yesterday of about