St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-07-08
It Brings Fortune to Some Spectators
and Financial Ruin to Those Who
Are Not Lucky.
Millions Made and Lost in Grain Gam
bling on the Chicago Board Of
Trade This Week.
of at Least $25, 200 Each
Day.
"A Steady Advance in the Price OF
Wheat Aggregat1ng Eight
Cents.
Fighting for Fortune.

Special to the Globe.
CHICAGO, July 7.-George Ellison,
Spectator in oats, failed to-day for about
$50, 600. He was short on oats and the four
cent advance of the last forty-eight hours
was too much for him. Ellison is one of
the very few men who have stuck to the
oat crowd. He has never wearied of his
devotion. In active times or dull he has
planted himself just at the verge of the
corn pit, at the spot where the oats traders
congregate. There has been no other one
trader who has stuck this way to oats. al
though there are half dozen specialists
III corn, and fifty of them i'll wheat. In
TINS way Ellison has had big business
whenever oats have become active. He
lost large fortune in an unsuccessful cor
ner that he tried to run few wears ago
John w. Rumsey was compelled again
to-day to order his trades closed because
OF his Inability to put up margins. He
was Whlpsawed, he explains, on wheat and
called SO much margin on his short stuff
that he was compelled to lay down. His
trades are virtually settled, however. There
mas been within week. straight away
advance Of cents a bushel in wheat.
With speculation as mild as it has been
the profits to some of the holders have been
large. The advance, however, has been pecul-
liar. 1t has been almost each day an adj
vance over night; the opening one day be-
ing at an advance over the close. This
has lessened greatly the profits OF that
class of Spectators who even I'D at thA
end of the day. John B. Lyonx is pre-
sumec to be.the largest speculative holder Of
wheat. A week ago he was described as
POISONED WITH WHEAT
That was when the market was against
him. 10 plunger like him with the mar
ket in his favor a load or 5000, 900 bushels.
and perhaps 5000, 900, would not seem too
large. Some OF his holdings are at high
prices, so that he may not be much ahead
yet. This week, however, has probably
put him $500. 900 better off than the week
before. Ira Holmes, who is said to be long
1900 900 bushels, began at low prices and
doubled up as the market gave him elbow
room. A tWo-cent advance is worth more
to Ira than ten-cent advance is to most
traders. If wheat should go cents higher
his profits will be as large as they were
in that handy deal when he made
$3.50, 600 OFF $3.50 check. Bill Young is
another trader to whom this last week has
been worth probably at the rate of S25. 600
per day, perhaps four times that. and every-
body feels happy, for Young is popular and
has, as everybody knows, been staggering
under a load Of wheat since it sold at 81.
He has had the backing of Alexander Mitch
ell, however, and thus been enabled to
stick to his wheat even after bulls like Ar
mour and Pillsbury and Cudahy and Ream
and Jones had gotten disguised and thrown
it. Every cent advance is presumed to be-
worth $25, 600 to The oungs, for their hold
ing is about 100000 bushels. The old
bulls,
1sTHE DEAF IJOpSrcD
as they have been contemptuously STYLED,
who have been unfortunate holders for
years, are all great winners. Lindbom,
Drives, MAR, Baker, Roche, Murry, Mel
son, and others of that class have all stuck
to more or less wheat, so that when the adj
vance for which they had been praying did
come they would not be caught without
any of it on hand. B. II. Hutchinson is
also said to be long great line of wheat;
several million bushels. AS he is regarded
as tumble-bug and throws his stuff with
out waiting long this fact that he
has so much grain which he is
likely to throw over at any min
ute is not regarded with much pleasure.
John Cudahy is supposed to be one of
the big Individual winners. After his dis
astrous attempt with Ream and Jones to
bull wheat in May, he alone, it is said, kept
long. The others unloaded. Little Charley
Wright of the provision crowd is
ANOTHER BIG WINNER,
having probably from $25. 600 to $50, 900 in
sight if he realized to-day. Ream and
Jones both caught on late and have made
only moderately. The Minneapolis crowd,
made up of the members of the old clique
which lost so heavily ON the bull side, are
certrinly short on wheat here now.
1t is believed, however, that they
are simply ''short'' against the
wheat they have bought, SO that they
really are not losers except on paper. They
have, however, failed to participate in the
profits of the advance. To the commission
man this advance has been mine of gold.
There are probably a dozen commission
firms which have traded every day for a
week not less than $500, 600 bushels Of
wheat There may be dozen whose trades
have aggregated 1000, 900 bushels. Com
missions on business like this makes for
tunes bigger than are made by the Gus
toners.
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, July u. r. Lewis 6
Co., commission merchants, were forced to
suspend business to-day on account of tbs
advance in wheat. The liabilities are not
known, but are supposed to be light.