St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-09

man around whom the crowd raved.
Pardridge's operations of late have
been on an enormous scale, and, while
wheat has been nearly quarter of a
dollar lower for every bushef than at
the corresponding time last year, he
has been short seller with persist
enee wholly unparalleled.
During the decline of the cereal to so
cents one one of his mammoth deals, he
was reputed to have won from his nu-
merous opponents in the market con-
slderabIy over million dollars. In a
spirit of characteristic bravado he at
the time inserted an advertisement in
the daily papers Offering to buy that
amount of Chicago real estate in small
pieces. Next day he was reported as
having said in an interview that the
goal he was aiming at was the establish
ment of
75-Cent Price for Wheat.
From 80 cents Partridge, with gigan-
tic sales and aided by what seemed
remarkable chain of circumstances i'll
his favor throughout the United States,
and no less in Europe, forced the price
about halfway to Is cents. Be-
fore the coveted figures were reached
the tide turned. There are shrewd
suspicious that things were not
what they had seemed, and that few
of the stronger spectators, with their
allies i'll other American cities and
abroad, are quietly shaping matters for
Pardridge's destruction in retaliation
for the huge losses inflicted on them.
John Cudahy, the former partner of
p. ID. Armour, is rumOred as the leader
in this extraordinary anti-Pardrdge
campaign. William Linn is also said to
be prominent with Cudahy. Tonight
the astonishing statement was current
that they had Partridge in hole-short
at exceptionally low prices on possibly
Is, 600, 600 bushels OF wheat. The most
conservative estimate was 100000
bvshels.
For several days events have, with
strange coincidence, initiated against
Pardri dyes recent ambition. Today
furnished the climax. The wheat
market opened very strong at cent
per bushel advance OH yesterdays clos
ing prices. For straight hour and
half, one big wave of
Excited Buying
followed another until something over
% cents had been added to the price
current for May at the end of yester-
days session, and July in the same time
moved up from cent discount to an
equality with the May future. thus
making Scent up-turn in the latter
month. There was a Terrific business
done at the very top of this bulge, and
for quarter OF an hour hundreds of
thousands of bushels we're bought and
sold at from So to 831s.
With marvellous nerve Partridge kept
his brokers busy jabbing tens and
twenties of wheat into the crowd all
around the pit. He appeared to be in no
way worried over the big advance, but |
merely exasperated at the self-willed /
Obstiuacy of the market as it kept adj |
vancng. He and his brokers kept tug
ging at the lines, but each fresh effort |
of theirs in that direction appeared to |
goad fresh advance. Kaufman, of st.
Louis. started 10 cover about 100000 |
bushels of the wheat he was short here. |
1t was while the st. Louis man was |
swallowing his medicine that the price |
toed the S3i4c mark.
The Alarm Spread
like prairie fire, and bear panic was |
i'll full swing, with shorts climbing over |
each other to cover. Cables were high |
er, domestic markets on the rampage, |
and all the cable offers made last night |
were said to have met with acceptance; |
a cold wave was reported reaching up |
into Nebraska, ard threatening the !
more important winter wheat states. |
The Ohio state crop report was decided |
ly bad, showing a condition of 90 against |
so last December, and indicating crop !
of 100000 bushels less than last year,
while the condition in Indiana was not !
much better.
All this contributed to put the shorts |
on the run. st. Louis and New York |
covered vast amount of short wheat at
about 3l5<c. There was heavy realizing
ana short selling. which sent the price
ha~k 70 a2\c. Then it ruled jrxeS.tax