St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-18
OPENED WITH 4 HOWL
In Wild Jumps the Price Of
Wheat Went Up to $1.14
at Chicago.
Then the Toboggan Started
and the Close Was $1,03
and Under.
Scenes Of Frenzy Mark the
Opening in the New York
Produce Pit.
General Bankruptcy Averted
at st. Louis by an
Agreement.

CHICAGO, Aug. 17.-The fever which
was raging all day Saturday in the
wheat pit was as much as ordinary
human constitutions could stand, and
although the fluctuations to-day were
wild, the excitement was no greater
than on the closing day Of last week.
The usual news which influences the
momentary fluctuations was unheeded;
the crowd merely bought or sold ac-
cOrding to the impulse communicated
by disappearing margins. All the Gus
toners of commission houses who had
trades open were called heavily for
margins, and much OF the trade done in
the first half hour of the session was in
the way of closing up, as best it could
be done, such of their business as had
not been sufficiently protected by mar
gins. The wildness of the first hours
transactions can be judged by the range
of the price of December wheat during
that time. There was
One Simultaneous Jump
for it at the starting signal at from S1.09
TO Slip for December. and it went gal
Ioping upward in irregular leaps of 15c
and sometimes 1c at a time until it
struck S1.13, and some impetuOus spirits
even made trades at sl.14 before the ad-
vancing tendency was checked. In the
fUrOre one transaction for 10000 bushels
was even made at S1.15; but the legitI-
mate top of the market was $1.14. Aside
from the bull fever which was raging
hot in the veins of nearly all of the
traders, there was plenty of bulllsh
news at the opening. London cargOeS
for prompt shipping were Is Sd higher;
Liverpool was 115q3d up: PeTiS was
the equivalent of &c higher, and the
New York produce exchange not be-
ing open for half an hour after trading
began here, its members were lombard
ing their brokers here with buying Or
ders. Suddenly there was a change of
sentiments; New York and foreign
houses began selling heavily, and Ber
lin was quoted Sc lower. The decline
which followed was almost as rapid,
and accompanied by about as senSa-
tiOnal features as was the preceding ad-
vance.
The Price TumbIed
ike huge bowlder down the side of a
mountain until it struck S105, and after
q rebound to S1.07 the operators became
apparently equally exhausted. and a
long interval of quiet followed the fierce
struggle which took place during the
first hour. Nobody had defaulted at
the clearing house settlement, which re-
moved a load from the OveTstTained
commission men and gave them time to
look about them and see where they
stood. All of this occurred before II
o'clock, or within the first hour and a
half of the session. The comparative
quiet following the drop to Sl.05 and the
reaction to S1.07 gave the conservative
element in the pit time to get the mar
ket in hand and to regulate the course
of values more in accordance with
reason. Thereafter, while the tendency
was downward, it was at a more
deliberate pace. By 1890 the price of
December had got down to S1.03; it re-
acted to S1.O4, weakened again and
closed unsettled at S1.02%01.03, against
S1.0615 at the close Saturday. after hav-
ing covered the phenOmenally wide
range of 1101118 cents during the day.
On the curb, after the close of the SeS-
session, December sold up to S1.04; calls
sold at S1.1O15 and puts at 9S$4 cents.
During the excitement III the early
trading nothing less than 10 cents per
bushel wonld be accepted by brokers,
and this fact was a material element in
the excitement.
The Corn Market
was a good second to wheat in the
amount of excitement in the pit and the
violence Of its fluctuations. Like the
superior article, it had its exciting bulge
and IngloriOuS collapse, and the trading
in 1t was also largely governed at the
opening, as in wheat, by the question Of
margins. Gu the advance a lot of heavy
long lines were realized upon; among
others, B. =. Hutchinson, of New York
and Chicago, commenced feeding 69c
September corn to the shorts, and sent
dispatch saying that he thought both
wheat and corn great sales. w. II.
Warren, who was credited with being
another heavy holder, realized and took
In what must have been a very heavy
profit. The opening Of the market was
highly turbulent and frothy, with Sep.
tember bringing anywhere from 65c to
Csc. The highest prices OF the day Oc-
Cured shortly after trading commenced
September reached csc; October,
631Ic; year, 513lc; and May, 49c.
The tendency during the remainder
of the day was strongly downward, but
some reaction set in near the close cauS-
ing a recovery from the extremity of
the days decline. and leaving prices
showing about cent gain over Satur-
days close for August and September.
In the stronger ending it broke away
from the controlling influence of wheat.
Oats, like everything else, was higher
and greatly excited at the opening.
Shorts bought freely, the market sym.
pathiZed strongly with wheBt and corn
and prices went up rapidly, though the
advance was less marked than that in
the other cereals. They broke with
them. declining slowly and closing
slightly above bottom figures. Antic
ipated heavy receipts had something tC
DO with the reaction, but it was largely
due to the decline in the other markets
In the Rye Market
there was a &c iuc.uation IN price OF
September future, The first sale was a
sI.06. the next S1.IO. The price after
ward advanced to Sill, and then
drOpped to 81 .O5 without trade on the
way. The last trade made was at S1.04
which was the lowest price at which
there was any trading. 1t was offered
at S1.O2 on the close. August sold from
81 .O6 to S1.lO, and closed at S1.C4. Oc
tobeT started at SI0715, touched Sl0S
and declined to 81. No. 2 in store anC
t0 90 in sold from S1.07 at the start tt
H.1, thence downward to S1.04. Hog
products opened higher in sympathy
with corn. In spite of the liberal re-
ceipts Of hogs mess pork started 15C
higher. and under an active demand ad-
Vanced 20d25c more; but when wheat
and corn broke it followed, receding 81
ld9Oc. and amid considerable excitement
and heavy sales. Toward the Gloss
There WAS rally of 20(G211[c laaviDo