The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1892-06-10
CHICAGO CORN MANIPULATORS
FORCED TO THE WALL.
FABULOUS PRICE FOR TIE CEREAL.
The Price of May Corn Put to One Dollar
and Held There Two Hours and Then
Dropped Suddenly to Forty-Nine
Cents-How the Corner Was
Manlpulated-Cleve
Management.

CHICAGO, May 31.-The market
opened this morning with corn selling
at dollar a bushel Several small
lots of 5000 to $4,000 bushels of the
May future changed hands at that
price, and then the offerings were all
withdrawn and the market stood at a
dollar bid Despite many evidences of
successful manipulation which have
been apparent all through the month
the traders in corn have had half
doubts as to whether the deal could be
carried through to the end of the
month. The doubts rested on the be-
lief that the short interest was not
large and that it would all be settled
either by delivery or by compromise
before the month ended. But when
this morning came and the crowd saw
the manipulators bidding a dollar for
corn, with the prospects OF something
like 300, ZOO bushels being dumped on
them, all doubts as to the size of the
short interest vanished. Everybody
said it must be 1000, coo bushels or
more.
The corn pit was full of crazy bro
kers for the first two hours and many
were Offering to sell for $l,5O and SO
bushel. At the same time dozens OF
voices were shouting bids of$l. Toward
IL o'clock the rumor got spread around
that the banks had refused any longer
to certify the checks of Coster- Martin,
the people who are running the
deal. The Weare Commission
company first learned this and
they commenced selling corn. When
the rumor became public the price of
May corn dropped almost instantly to
fifty-five cents. 1t halted there for u
moment. Then came an announce
ment that Coster- Martin were making
an assignment and people who had
deals with the firm were requested to
close them out, That caused a fur
Their drop to forty-nine cents, the
price of June corn.
The collapse of the corner at the
very last moment, when it was on the
eve of success, showed very plainly
that the people who were short, who
ever they were, were too strong fol
the manipulators to fight
No one knows how much Coster.
Martin have failed for. Probably no
one else has suffered and several firms
have just escaped big losses, though
who these firms are no one knows now.
Rumor says that Weare and Armour
were the chief shorts.
Corn has not sold at dollar before
since September, 1884 the day wher
the McIlenry- Wear combination put
the price there for j. |. Blair and the
other bulls who were running a corner
There has this year been something tC
gossip over ever since May began to be
actively traded in. There were two
bull parties in it as far back as March
The Cudahy packing company was
even loading up as far back as January
by the time March had come arount
everybody knew that they were
long several millions and that the pros
pect was there would be u squeeze
There might have been if along il
April, before the price had gotten past
as cents, one of the unpleasant Incl
dents of the bull manipulation had moi
occurred, disinclining the Cudahys t.
go any further with deal that wa!
likely to create havoc with the trade
just when the Coster-Martin party
the present manipulatOrs got int
May corn, no one knows toa certainty
The belief is that they pushed up thei
line after the Cudahys went out ant
while the Quinlan crowd was liquidat
ing. This was between the 18th aDC
both of April 1t looked then as If thu
last prospect of any manip
ulation had disappeared. Tn,
May price actually got under a
cents on April 20 and pretty nearl,
everybody was willing to go short
Within fortnight, from about Apri
IS to April 30, the Cudahys and tn,
Quinlan party together sold out no
less than five million bushels for May
delivery. 1t was easy enough in the
interval for the new bull combination
of which the crowd at that momen
had no suspicion, to pick up line o
say two million.
Then came the help of the wettes
May on record, preventing shipments
affecting the grading; and, most i'm
portant of all, creating a scare as t
the prospects for the next crop. Clev
crness in the management of tht
manipulation is not TO be denied; clev
erness in keeping the plan secre
until well along toward delivery day
in keeping the cash stock down to {
very low aggregate and in absorbing
the car lots as they came along.