St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-04
ABOUT ''OLD HUTCH. J"
characteristics and Anecdotes
Of Chicago's Great Spec
ulator.
The Leading Operator in the
Grain Markets Of the
World.
His Ability to Judge Values
Very Foreibly Illus
trated.
How He Lost the Mere Tpihe
Of 100000 for a
Friend.


inson, Familiarity known throughout the
country as 'Old Hutch" The Western
metropolis possesses among its million
and odd inhabitants other men Of nat
tional prominence and reputation, whose
wealth counts up into the tens OF mill
| ions. George M. Pullman and Philip
| ID. Armour are recognized as forces in
business, and in banking circles Lyman
| Guye ranks among the foremost finan-
cial authorities III the country. 1t is in
| deed unneces sary to multiply instances
| by citing the whole list of wealthy and
prominent ChicagoanS whose names are
known in every city in the land. But
when it comes to the test of asking who
| among the inhabitants of the great town
by the lake has impressed his personal
|. ity most prominently upon the great
American public, the answer almost III
eVitaLly is the name of "Old Hutch"
This fact is explained by the pre-
eminent position which Mr.. Hutchinson
occupies as an operator in the Chicago
grain market. Chicago is the mart in
which the agricultural productions of
the West are disposed of. 1t fixes the
prices of the wheat, corn, oats, pork and
lard produced throughout territory of
nearly 100000 square miles, inhabited
by 100000 people. To every one of
them the prices and conditions preva-
lent in the Chicago market are matter
of personal concern. because they affect
the pocket of every farmer and business
man throughout the West. The Chi
cago board of trade is sort of business
thermometer on which every fluctuation
in the prosperity of the great agricuit-
tural district is marked Mr.. Hutchin
son is the most influential of the men of
means and ability who speculate and
trade in
The Chicago Market.
He Is the recognized leader in the
board of trade, and his enormous opera
tions are one of the most potent in
fluences in recording and regulating the
values of the commodities dealt i'll
through its agency. He and his dOings
and opinions are of direct Importance
to the population of eight or ten states.
He is quoted and watched by about one
quarter of the people of the whole coun-
try as no other man would be. This
local prominence cannot be confined to
Chicago. nor, indeed, to the West. 1t
has made "Old Hutch" national char
acter. This, it may be said, is the more
remarkable because its object is es-
ufacturer of provisions, like Mr.. Ar
mour; he is not directly connected with
the operations of the railroads of the
country, like Mr.. Pullman, and he has
never cut any prominent figure in Wall
street operations. Portions of his vast
wealth are invested in real estate, in
manufacturing and banking enterprises
in Chicago and elsewhere. But such
interests are with him of the nature OF
side shows. His energy and talent are
always devoted to buying and selling
grain and provisions-th class of Oper-
atoms in which his twenty or thirty
millions were mainly accumulated.
~
Personally, Hutchinson is Yankee
of the YankeeS-a native of Gloucester,
Mass, and a descendant of family
that has been several times prominent
III the history of both the colony and
the commonwealth. His only early adj
vantage was common school educa-
ton, and his first business venture was
as a shoe dealer in his native place
away back in the forties. AS often hap
pens, man of large ideas cannot sue
coed in restricted business or cramping
environments. At any rate, the legend
is that the business failed and its pro-
prietor drifted out West. 1t further
stated that within few years, when he
had established himself as successful
man in The then thriving town OF Chi
cogo, he returned to Gloucester and,
though protected by the lapse OF time
and the legal settlements which fol-
lowed his mercantile disaster, loyalty
paid his early creditors the balances OF
their claims, with full interest. The
name of "Old Hutch" applies to him by
,,rrl,f no of n
Seventy Years Of Age.
Itsseems, however. to have originated
as popular distinction between him
self and his eldest son, Charles Hutch
inson, who has been president of the
board Of trade. of the Young Mems
Christian association. land is the head
of large bvnk, of which his father is
the principal owner, young Hutch"
as he is known, being one of the promi-
nent and cultivated gentlemen in Chit
cago The New England physique and
physiOgnomy are prominent in ''Old
Hutch" as we'll as the Yankee intellect.
He is tall and spare, with the sharp,
shreWd features OF the New England
type. Unconventional and democratic
| In his ways, abstemiouS but not illiberal
| in his mode of life, he is to-day, physic-
ally and mentally, the full equal Of men
loIGy years lid Junloi.
~
Space and time forbid discussion of
| the merits or evils of speculation. In
| spite of all that is said against the ex
istence of such transactions, and of the
constantly recurring social and leglSla-
tive efforts to suppress them, those best
qualified to judge assert that not only
| is speculation in commodities and secur-
tiles beneficial to the public. but that
it's countenance is absolutely necessary
to the practical workings of great
commercial and industrial civilization.
1t maintains constant and ready mar
ket for actual transactions, and it keeps
values conformed closely to the natural
factors which in the end will govern
them. Thousands who watch "Old
Hutch's" operations with interest re-
gard him and his fellow-OperatorS in the
grain markets as agents for evil. The
fact, however, is that speculation, to be
successful, must be based on the correct
Interpretation of natural causes and eff
fects, which would operate whether
speculation existed or not. When Hutch
inSon 'goeS short" of the market and
Sells Millions
of bushels of wheat, his information
and judgment combined tell him that
events and influences are bound to
cause fall in the value of the COM
modify. Similarly, If he buys it, he is
necessarily acting on his judgment that
wheat Is worth more than it is selling
for, and will naturally advance in value.
What is known as manipulation" may
temporarily OF to slight extent govern
a market, but cannot permanently
change its tendencies. A Spectator
who misjudges natural causes only i'm
poses fine upon himself. When Har-
per, the Cincinnati operator. ruined
himself by his celebrated corner" in
wheat he was trying to make artificial
causes supersede natural ones. "Old
Hutch" OH that occasion interpreted
the situation correctly, went short" OF
the market and profted when others
were heavy losers. The fact that in a
great majority of his operations he is
successful is due to a combination of
experience and information with an
eminently clear and sound judgment.
To put it in the words Of his Chicago