The morning call., 1891-09-23
LONG ON CORN.
Assignment of Heavy Operators
in Grain.
Announcement Of The Failure Of the Firm
Of S. Y. White & Co.
Effect Of the News on the New York and
Chicago Markets Immense Purchases
Of Wbedt-EmbaTTdSSad Brokers.
Special 10 THE MORNING CALI

ment to the Stock Exchange to-day. The
members of the firm say their assignment
is due to q corner in corn. Their interest in
the stock or bond market is very limited.
The liabilities of the firm are very large, but
only few hundred shares Of stock are out
standing on contract.
1t is claimed that the catastrophe has been
approaching a elimination for the last two
weeks, and the news, which has been care
fully guarded, leaked out yesterday after
noon after the closing of the Stock Ex-
change, and no excitement was caused there
by the announcement.
All the members of the firm we're at the
office when the announcement of suspension
was made. E. c. Steadman, as a friend,
was authorized TO make the following ex-
PLANTATION: 1.-The cause of the trouble is
due wholly to the decline in corn. The
house has been heavily long on September
and October corn and the immense receipts
were too much for it to stand"
The private fortune OF S. Y. White, so
long noted for the success and bOldness of
his speculative deals, is estimated at
S2,C00,O00. A number of firms who were
borrowing stock from White Il Co., received
notice from the firm before the opening of
business to-day to sell the shares, and the
market took the stock with scarcely a
tremor.
The failure caused but little excitement
on the Produce Exchange, for the reason
th at but few members are interested in the
deal. The failure, it is stated, will affect
Chicago principally. The price of corn
dropped Y cents at the news of the failure.
Before the formal announcement was
made here that the firm had gone under,
commission brokers advised their customers
to be prepared for it. This advice started
heavy liquidation and caused the first gen.
uine reaction that has occurred in the stock
market for six weeks. but Lackawanna,
which always has been considered under
Whites influence, declined only Ger cent.
The members of the New York house are S.
V. White and Franklin w. Hopkins.
There are various opinions as to the effect
of the White failure One of the most
prominent member of the exchange said
- am surprised that White could have been
so foolish as TO fool with the corn market
He must have been long on corn, in fact
was trying to corner the market. There Is
TOO much corn in this country for any one
firm to lie able 20 do that. The prospect of
an abundant corn crop, as we'll as an I'M
mense wheat crop, have driven down prices.
Everybody who had any corn has been
sending it to market TO get the present high
price. This has resulted in big drop, and
White " Co., who were carrying an ernOrm-
Gus line have been squeezed. What will be
the effect is not generally known. The
failure may unsettle prices for while. but
corn will eventually reach its true level as
far rs price is concerned"
The opinion seemed to be this afternoon
that S. V. White IL Co. will resume busi-
ness.
CHICAGO DEALS.
CHICAGO, Sept. 22.-The effect Of the fail
ure of S. V. White & Co. showed itself in
the lower figures which prevailed at the
opening of the Board of Trade this mOrn-
ing, and subsequent trading led to advances
in all the pits. Before the business began
the Secretary of the board gave notice that
White tS Co., finding themselves unable to
meet .heir obligations, desired those having
trades with them to close them out under
the rules. This announcement though not
unexpected in some quarters. created con-
steTnatiOn for the moment, especially In the
corn pit, where the firm had the heaviest
line open to the trades. The firm was
known to be the leading one of the band of
brokers who have been representing a
clique in the bull deal which has been run
ming in September and October corn for
several weeks. Several millions of bushels
of September corn and October futures had
been bought by this syndicate, whose iden-
tIty the traders have in vain tried to dis
close. but whose names may come out as the
result of to-day's failure.
OF course the corn pit was the center OF
attraction, aid wild scenes were enacted
The moment the bell was tapped traders
clambered over each other IN their efforts to
be heard, and all sorts Of prices were asked
and bid at the same moment. October, in
which most of the unsettled trades existed,
closed yesterday at 519s cents, and at the
start there were few trades at and around
As cents for that future, but sellers quickly
advanced their prices, and 1t was not until
40 to 49A cents was reached that trading
actually became active aud the market
strong between 49 cents and 1874 cents.
An immense amount of grain was being
bought in. The excitement began to quiet
down.
By11:3 80 October had dropped to 49A cents
September, the other bull future which
closed at 52A cents yesterday, opened at
90 cents and sold down to 40 cents. During
the same time the open trades in this month
were not so numerous as in October, be-
cause, as it is understood, about 80 per cent
of them had already been settled by the de-
livery of the cash article. Much of this still
remains in the market and is looked upon
as a menace to cash prices.
White & Co. had line OF trades In wheat,
but not nearly so large as that in corn, and
the movement of wheat was largely in
sympathy with that in corn. Their
closed out. December, which closed yes
terday at 81 CO.'S, opened at 90 to 1914
cents, sold up to 99A cents and down to
1914 cents at IL 80 o'clock. The firm also
had some deals in provisions, but they were
not numerous and were soon closed out
The impression on the board seems to be
the effect of the failure has spent its force,
unless further complications not now fore
seen follow. The amount Of grain which
the clique had bought for September and
October delivery must have been enormous,
for the actual arrivals Of corn here daily for
the past six weeks approxmated nearly
100000 bushels and nearly all this has
been delivered on September contracts,
while the forwarding has been nearly as
large. Much OF this grain was bought at
between 60 and 70 cents, against less than
so as the price to-day. One estimate OF the
corn involved in the deal puts ii at 100000
bushels and the average loss on 1t at 10
cents buShe.
Mr.. Day, OF the firm of Counselman &
Day, denies that his firm had had any deal
iDgs whatever with the broken firm.
On application of Arthur w. Allen,
United States Circuit Judge Gresham this
evening appointed the Illinois Trust and
Savings Bank receiver of the insolvent
firm, which is the Chicago branch of the
New York concern. The members of the
branch are Arthur White, son OF deacon"
White. and Arthur w. Allen, besides the
members of the New York concern. The
bill was very brief. Teciting the organization
CT the firm on April 10, 1889, and that by
reason of the assignment of the New York
firm the Chicago branch was unable to con-
tiDue business and had become insolvent.
Attorney Prussng said tonight that the
assets and liabilities cannot yet be ascer-
tanned, but the transactions in grain reached
into tile millions. The failure, he added. is
due to the continued 'bulling' of Septem-
Der and October corn. You see after ALL"
| said Mr.. Prussing, sit was not odd Hutch
| that was working the markets. Corn was
| purchased here for cash, and the enormous
sums required to buy it we're raised by the
firm among the banks, the security being
the corn itself. A receiver was appointed
in order to prevent some Of the creditors
| from attaching the assets and thus freezing
| out the others to whom the firm was in
| debted. We will know better Tomorrow
ha firm az fHha failura shn,us