, 1891-08-18
TOOK A BIG TUMBLE.
Wheat Opens Higher on the
Chicago Exchange,
Advances to $1.15 and Then
Declines to s1.O3 IL.
Great Excitement on the New
York Board.
Foreign Grain Markets Also
Show Advances.

CHICAGO, Aug. l7.-This was another
banner day IN wheat. Saturdays confu-
sion could hardly be exceeded, yet visitors
in the gallery today were well entertained
and the gentlemen on the floor were not
heard to complain OF lack of action. Be
fore the exchange opened the bears were
predicting a big drop, while enthusiastic
bulls were talking OF dollar and a quarter
wheat. When business began the famil-
lar howl went up and it was impossible
for a while to tell what was being done.
December wheat closed Saturday at
81 .O64. The opening this morning was
log bid, SI.l0 bud, Sill bid, and Sl.llt.
Some was had at all the prices namsd in
the first ten seconds. Within the first
three quarters OF an hour there had been
sales at 81. 124, $l.134, and some at 81. IA.
In the height of the excitement one trade
was made of 10000 bushels at S1.l5.
Suddenly it became known that several
houses with foreign connections had orders
to sci. heavily. This was enough. II there
had been wildness in previous buying,
there was little short OF insanity in the
selling craze which followed. The bears
who had been too frightened to sell for
several DAYS made a combined onslaught
in which they were aided by the timid
ones who had been following the bull lead.
December dropped. The most determined
efforts of the bulls could only result in
keeping it up for a moment or two
Within a very few moments it had reached
$I.05. Then favorable bull news coming
in it advanced to SLOT, but after an hour
of see-sawing back and forth near that
figure, it declined to $I.04l. Then it ad
yanced to Sl.054.
About noon e telegram was received
from b. p. Hutchinson by one of his
friends. saying: Foreigners are selling
frantically and wheat will Drop" The
dissemination OF this prophecy encour-
aged the bears. The excitement quoted
down. Then many longs figured out
that they were drawing out. and as a re-
suit they became panic stricken. Early
buyers turned sellers, the bears pushed
and December dropped with a rush to
SI.03, finally closing at 81 .033.
Old traders said the rapidity and wide
range of fluctuations today exceeded any
thing seen before on the board. Trades
were not taken bv brokers on less than 10
per cent margin. On the cuib this after
noon there was much wild trading. De-
cember sold at 81 O4; calls were to be
had TOR 81. I04, and puts for oslo. AS
the thing stood today at the close 1t is
said no Chicago man made a cent. and
while most of them lost more or less,
many now have their entire fortunes at
stake, and we're buying and selling in the
same moment to protect themselves. New
Workers are Reported to shave made the
most money. One prominent broker
said: 1T is a farmers market The
advance to the farmers" he SAID, has
been over twenty cents n bushel.'
The opinion among dealers and brok-
ers is unanimous that heavy foreign buy
ing Is at the bottom of the present furry.
The idea that the manIpulators were New
York spectators is now generally secuted.
The general notion is that the shortage Of
wheat abroad has drawn a heavy
foreign BUYERS into the market, and the
upward tendency has found Chicago
holdings short One well posted broker
lays all the uncertainty to Russia. III
Chicago people knew" said he, what
Russia's wheat amount to or what TO ex
pect from Europe, they would know what
to do. But as il is, they have no idea
where tbev stand and nothing to go by
The excitement on the board was not
confined to the wheat pit, but quickly
spreat to corn, rye and oats. August
corn jumped from 644c to Tic within half
an hour, then declined to 63}c. Rye
fiuctuated until it was difficult to keep
track OF it, between sl.O6 and $l.lO
throughout the session. This tends to
show the character of the market The
remarkable feature is that despite the
markets wild character there nave been
no suspensions. Margins have been
promptly forthcoming and the fears OF
Saturday that today would see many
traders 90 to the wall have been happily
upfouuded,