St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-04-07
A Bull Movement Based on Reports
of that Crop Sends the Market
Higher.
Corn Stronger in Sympathy with
Wheat-The Cereal Becoming
FavOrite.
bats and Provisions Show Slight Advance,
Though Not Active and Trading
Very Light.
Rumors that Northern Pacific Reports are
Being Doctored---0ther Stock and
Financial Matters.
Chicago.


Special to the Globe.
CHICAGO, April 6.-Between the highest
md lowest prices of May wheat last week
there was distance of 21ac, wide enough
range certainly to admit of pretty active
speculation, and an indication that brokers
ind commission men made good week OF
It. But the truth is that all in all the trading
about the different pits was very, very duli,
indeed and despite the wide range OF quota
tons, the commission men were without
orders, and carried neither quarters MOI
Fights. The price of wheat depends still on
the outcome of the English and Russian
troubles If there is to be war wheat is like
ly to
SELL ABOVE DOLLAR,
and if there is to lie no war, very few people
expect to see it keep above zoe.
While the diplomatists are talking and
maneuvering over their Afghan frontier,
there is nothing that American grain gamb-
lers can do other than wait. To sell is peril
GUS while two such fierce European com ba-
tants are facing and defying each other and
to buy is Just as dangerous. Meanwhile the
trade is FRUSTRATED. The commission men
are becoming poorer and the pits are becom-
ing daily more and more unintcresting. In
the midst of so dreary state OF affairs little
incidents are seized upon by gossips to keep
themselves going On Saturday. after trad
ing had been going just long enough to get
very dull, the receipt of a cable announcing
a very sharp decline in consols caused
A YERITABLE PANIC
in the Jones' Ream coterie of wheat shorts.
In the precipitate scramble of these two
great traders to get the several million bush
els of short wheat they had out, the price of
May was advanced more than half a cent.
This little panic did not prove very serious.
1t was more laughable than serious. The
price did not advance at all proportionately
with the alarm of these two big "shorts, !"
nor with the vehemence with which they
started to buy. Fortunately for them there
were a few on the floor who were aware that
the drop in consos was because of sort OF
"cx-dividend'' fashion of figuring, and not
because of any new phase.
THE AFGHAN QUESTION.
For this reason there were a few who were
almost as anxious to sell at a little advance
rs Messrs. Jones q Ream were to buy. But
dignified Britishers who knew, or affected to
know, all about how Englishmen on April )
0egin to figure consols, ex-the-divdend-
ior-a-quarter, laughed that two great profess
rional operators should be fooled so easily,
and that they did not. instead of pocketing a
great loss on 9, 600, 900 or 100000 bushels
Of wheat, cable an inquiry and get at the
facts. 1t is said that this line, which Jones
d. Ream were frightened into covering Satur-
day, at a trille above 81 cents was
PUT OUT on PRIVILEGE
at under SOC. Grain operators who delight
IN figures call attention to the fact that the
Visible supply of wheat now is over As, 900, 00O
oushels-more than 16, 900, 900 bushels bigger
han the visible supply of one year ago. II
Is also pointed ont that at this time twelve
months ago the visible supply figures were
lbout 5000, 900 bushels under their maxi
mum and were decreasing at an extraordi-
iary rate of speed. Thes same gentlemen
are also authority for the statement that the
AMOUNT of grain and flour ahoat bound fol
ihe United Kingdom this year exceeds the
amount afoat and destined to the United
Kingdom last year by about 1000, 900 bush
els The very same crowd which has been
bearing wheat, led by Nat Jones and Norm
Ream, is believed to be ''short' great
LINE OF PROVISIONS.
''This year." said broker who has the
reputation OF keeping up with news, ''they
will be unmOlestcd and they know it. Their
Jhort lines are something enormous. There
are three reasons this year why these traders
are taking vast risks on decline in the hog
product The first aud most important is
that Mr. p. ID. Armour has very plainly in
dictated that he has Abandoned for good
simon pure produce speculation. He will
burden himself with no more great specula-
tive campaigns. He has determined to
lessen his labors and decrease his RESPONSE
bilities, and this means that there will be no
MORE ARMOUR CORNERS.
II would take great provocation now, IL is
believed, 10 induce him to take possession of
the market rs he has in times gone by, and
humble traders who rashly undertook to
attack him. There is, besides, this year the
possibility, to put it mildly, of appearance of
cholera in this country. Those who have
been through yellow fever panics know the
terribly disastrous effects of these calamities
upon the produce speculative market. The
biggest capital in Christendom would not
suffice to hold the market with a cholera
panic once started, and for this very reason
Il is pretty certain that none of our great
manufacturers or distributors will assume
very much of stock except at very low
las made the
sLAuGHTERING PHENOMENAL
Two hundred and eigty thousand hogs
were slaughtered here in March, against
120 900 in 1884. The stocks OF product are
70 per cent heavier than year ago.
This was great day for bulls on the
board The men who have all along held
that wheat was too low went about with salts
Al Hi
the burden of their song was 81 told you So -
In the absence of cables aud foreign Quota
lions Of any kind-Easter Monday being ob.
served over the big water-apd an almost
entire dearth of orders, there was slight
feeling of
WEAKNESS IN WHEAT
At opening, it being sc off from Saturdays
finish. The advance was due to reports OF
damage to crops, and it was st. Louis that
ruled the market. Advices received from
that point were that the winter wheat crop in
the South and Southwest, If not already
ruined, would be II rain did not come inside
Of ten days. Orders were received by all the
big operators from the larger st. Louis houses
10 buy all the wheat they could. Fralev.
Carter & Co. were the heaviest outside buy
ers, while Jones, Ream, Baxter Roche, aud
W. c, Comstock, who has just returned from
the South, were particularly active in the
wheat crowd. Ii was rumored that Armour
TOOK HAND TOO.
In consequence of this heavy buying the
June option, which opened at Ss1Sc, sold up
exc higher, aud closed strong aud bull
ish at-SS4 at the end of the morning session.
But the demand everywhere was entirely
speculative, tina; in this market being wholly
confined TO short sellers aud to those who on
Saturday had sold -ealls...st about S13Sc for
May delivery. Under heavy realizing sales
the market was easier on the afternoon
board, though still strong, closing 56jSc fov
April, SiAe for May, SS2ic for June and
sISsl. fnr .isflv OIriner In Nr-htnr r..,ni-ts