The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-08-22
A BIG DEAL in LARD.
A Speculation Recalling the Best Days of
Jim Keene and McGeoch.

A Speculation Recalling the Best Days of
Jim Keene and McGeoch.
Special to the Indianapolis JournaT.
New YORK, Aug. 21.-One of the largest lard
speculations which has been seen for some years
is now exciting considerable interest. It recalls
Jim Keenes and McGeoch's lard speculations
The deal has been run for about three months
and the Produce Exchange has been completely
nonplussed as to who was at the head OF it.
John Plankinton, of Milwaukee, has of late gen
orally been considered the leader. He is an old
partner of Philip d. Armour, and the two are
apparently not entirely ASSOCIATED in business
enterprises even now It is stated on excellent
authority that Mr. Armour has engaged some eight
hundred cars for the purpose of shipping about
fifty thousand tierces of lard from Chicago to
New York. This would seem to indicate that
he is in the speculation. Within week or ten
days the sales of lard for export. mainly of Chi
cago, have reached some forty-fve thousand
tiercss, and of this large quantity twenty thou
sand tierces have been taken for Hamburg
Germany. The broker and agent here for John
Plankinton is John Cinnamon, who made a
rather spicy record for himself in Cincinnati
some years ago in connection with drafts on
New York on the strength of bills of ladng
which were sufficiently defective to lead
to a suit on the part of Colgate
g Co., the soap manufacturers, against
Mr.. Cinnamon left Cincinnati and
established himself in New York. Mr.. Flankin-
ton made him his agent here. and Cinnamon
says there is no manipulation of the market,
nothing wrong. no cards under the table none
up his sleeve, in Short that the rise in the price
of this commodity is purely natural 1t unques
tionably is, under the circumstances 1t rises
at the nod of those who rule the market Mr..
Plankinton's broker has been selling" thousands
of tierces of lard to German house. who have
lighted on the deal like couple of able bodied
Hessian flies. This firm is Clodius & Toschen-
dorff. Some time ago Clodus left New York,
saying that he was going TO the White mount
aims to recruit his health It is stated on
Change, with broad smiles, that he really went to
Europe and the only mountains he has seen are
the Alps in his weary wanderings over the con-
tinent, trying to tighten the lead for Planki1ton
and his fellow dabblers in the hog product The
price on the continent is g. 90c pound. Here it
has latterly been about TIC. In England it is
7c These figures are enough to warn every
sane SPECTATOR failing on" after the clique that
he is on dangerous ground. This clique of specu-
lators are simply trying to keep up appearances,
squeeze few Chicago shorts" and get out of
the pit they have dug for themselves. The climb
ing is not go easy as could be desired.
AS to wheat, Cudahy, Ream, Jones and their
friends are out in the cold They went long
some months ago, and foolishly unloaded Just as
the foreigners who have made much money
selling short for four years past had become
frightened. The Chicago men lost because they
were too quick on the trigger. The foreigners
covered their shorts and went long, while the
Chicago men went short ana they are now try
ing TO prevent any advance. They may find
that they are trying to stop the wheels of COM
mercial Juggernaut. The Chicago people arc
short to the foreign houses who want the wheat
and are shipping it out of the country as fast as
it arrives. In two days this week the sales Of
wheat here for export reached nearly one hun
dred boat-loads. The current prices for wheat
are lower than they have been at the opening of
the season for several years.
OSCAR WiLLoUGHBY RIGGS.