Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-18
Another Day of Wild Excitement
in the Leading Grain Ex-
changes of the Country.
WHEATOPENS IN NEW YORK AT117
But the Bears Have an Inning, and During
the Widest Fluctuations Hold
Prices Down.
A REMARKABLE CRISIS AT ST. LOUIS.
Only an Arbitrary Agreement Among Brokers Pre-
vents Many Bad Failures

TelTueu III llC wheat pit at Ine opening OF
business in the Produce Exchange this
morning The excited brokers couldn't
restrain themselves until the gong an
nouncing the opening of the board sounded,
and for half an hour previous were climb
ing over each others shoulders
The bullish news was supplemented bv
similar reports from Chicago. December
wheat, the strong option in the Windy City,
closed at 81 06iE on Saturday. Curb
prices there to-day ranged from 81 IL to
81 Is. The Board of Trade opened at 1890,
New York time, and the opening figures
were 81 1113, Within five minutes they
had advanced to 81 u and had gone back
again TO 81 1Ozs, big advance, neverthe-
less, over Saturday. September corn, which
closed on Saturday at 621@c, opened to-day
at 6Sc.
THE BULLS STILL RAMPANT.
All this whetted the brokers here. 1t
was evident the bull craze was still on.
Old traders shook their heads. They con-
sidercd it dangerous market. The shorts
had all been scared into the woods and
covered their contracts, leaving only the
bulls to trade with each other.
New York brokers who received private
dispatches from Chicago were thrown into
state Of wild commotion when they learned
that curb prices in Chicago was ) and
cents above Saturday evenings close. As
Il o'clock came on tine excitement grew and
curb prices were many and confusing. The
pit was jammed and bowling mob -surged
around the outskirts of the crowd. The
gallery was packed, the fact being generally
known that something was up.
All sorts of conflicting figures were yelled
out until the constant reiteration of 81 II
drowned out the rest, and this was marked
down as the opening price for December
wheat, as against 81 147s Saturdays clos
ing price. 1t did not stay so long The
brokers hammered and hammered at it, and
down it went-S1 1615, 81 Is, 81 AK,
81 l4-and all in ten minutes Around
This figure the tide ebbed and flowed during
the first half hour.
THE CROWD IN THE PIT.
Flour brokers, shippers. corn and malt
men, ali deserted their quarters and con-
grcCated in the northeast corner of the big
board room. There was not an inch Of |
standing room on the steps of the pit, which |
was packed all the way down TO the center |
with a struggling and seething mass of hu-
Eanity. Everyone seemed to have orders 1
uority.
Then came a reaction, and large offerings
We're made, the first of which were greedilv
gobhled up bv the disconnected shorts who
were unable 10 cover their sales last Satur-
day. The excitement lasted only a few
minutes, and then there was a lull, and
everyone waited TO see what Chicago was
going to do. That market remained about
steady at the advance quoted. BY l o'clock
7,rl Ill i
ccmber wheat was down TO 81 IA, and Sep
tember had sold down to 81 12I4. 1t fnctu-
ated around this point.
One broker by merely stretching out his
arms was able to make the double transac-
tion and clear handsome profit. Such
honanzas don't come every day and every
body made what they could out of it.
THE BIG DROP AT CHICAGO.
A dispatch from Chicago says: Within
three quarters of an hour after the opening
in the great furry there had been sales at
& l212, a great food of them at 81 13, and
some excited traders bid 81 II, while hun
dreds were selling at a cent lower. In the
height of the excitement one trade of 10, 900
bushels was made at 81 10. Suddenly it be-
came known that several houses with for
eign connections and foreign orders were
selling heavily. This was enough If
there had been wildness in the previous
buying there was little short of insanity in
The selling craze which followed. The To-
cal bears whe had been too frightened to
sell for several days past, plucked up cour-
age and made a combined onslaught, in
which they were aided by the timid ones
who had been following the bull lead.
How December did drop! The most de-
1ermined efforts of the bulls could only re-
suit in holding it now and then for
IN II aefa, |
two, only TO have it start down again.
Within very few minutes it had reached
81 o.
BEARS HIT 'EM AGAIN.
Then more bull news came in, and with a I
hard fight il was brought back TO 81 OF, but |
after an hour of see-sawing back and forth
between that and 81 O6I4 the bears hit it II
with a club. Down it went to 81 04JS, but
soon recovered TO 81 O5l5. Along toward
noon a telegram was received from B. p
Hutchinson by one of his friends, saying
that foreigners were selling frantically. and
hat wheat will be lower The dissemina-
iion of this prophecy did much to encour-
age the bears The excitement quieted |
down a little, and traders stopped to take |
long breath and get their bearings.
A. things stood to-day at the close, it |
said not a Chicago man has made cent on |
the market, and there are few who haven't |
lost more or less by the excitement Many
now have their entire fortunes at stake. and
were buying and selling in the same minute
to protect themselves New Workers are !
reported to have made the most of the
money. One promienent broker held that it
is farmers market" The advance to the
farmer, he said, has been over cents a
DusheL.
LOOKING BANKRUPTCY IN THE FACE. |
When the grain market at st. Louis
closed yesterday bankruptcy stared over
lalf of the brokers and wheat traders in the |
face, and it was gloomy-loOking crowd !
hat left the halls of the exchange. Finally
dozen or thC leading brokers met near the
,levator, and it was decided that something
must be done to avert general ruin The
pears were out Of cash and the bulls, al
hough having large profits to their credit,
we're also out Of money and could not make |
heir profits available or meet their heavy
margins The shorts could not clese because
he longs would not sell them wheat.
4 call for a meeting was issued at $50
r. NJ. The meeting was so quietly con- |
!ucted that II was not generally known un-
ii TODAY. Various plans were discussed.
nd it was finally decided that the settling
'rice for December wheat should be 81 O6 a
,uShel, and the bulls could draw all mar
,ins deposited below 81 02, and the bears
ID above 81 10, and that no trading should
be done on the exchange Monday or Tues
lay except what was necessary to close
radeS.
THE MEETING SAVED THEM.
The agreement arrived at is all that saved
L least $50 traders from being forced TO as
ign this morning. The most intense ex-
itpment rpipned when tho hell raur for tho