Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-02-20
CHILD'S PLAY.
Grain Market ManipulatiOns by
Multi-MilliOnaires.
The ArmOurs, John D. Rockefeller
and Colonel North
Said to Be Back of the Colossal
Corner in Wheat.

Within the Past Few Years-Secre
Manipulations on Gigantic Scale
How Their knowledge Was obtained
and How They Propose to Use 1t.
New YORK, Feb 20.-At irregular in
tervals during the last two or thre
years the wheat markets have been dis
turbed by secret manipulation on gi
gantic scale. In e\ch instance tn
manipulation stopped as quietly AM
mysteriously as it began, and in eacl
instance great sum was taken from
the speculative capital engaged in th
grain trade. AT least $l0,000,000 il
money has been taken out of the Chi
cago and New York wheat market
since 1888 and passed to the credit o
Again at Work.
The pool, according to The Times, il
again in the market. The finger of suspi
cion has been pointedly directed toward
P. d. Armour, of Chicago, and hi
brother, H. O. Armour, of New York
as the principals. 1t was a story with
out foundation. But it does not follow
that p. D. and H. o. Armour would nJt
run a deal for somebody else if there
was an assurance of $1,000,000 in com
missions in it, with unlimited capita
back of the enterprise.
Others in the Deal.
Jim Keene was also mentioned as one
of the men in the deal, and it is MOI
certain that John Mackay is not one OF
the partners in the clique. Through the
friendly Offices of mutual friend, JohI
d. Rockefeller, the director of the
Standard Oil millions, together with
Colonel James T. North, the $50 1000, ,00(
nitrate king, and the brightest of the
''big bonanza" millionaires who several
years ago sought to see how their sur
plus and otherwise idle funds might be
employed to advantage, the manipula.
tion of the grain markets Of New York
and Chicago would be to them the
merest child's play
A great wheat pool was formed, and
has been doing business for the last four
or five months. Up to the turn of the
new year the combine played for de-
cline, but since then it seems to have
been shaping its course in the other di-
rection.
They sent corps of agents to the
Russian famine districts and another set
of men to take observations in other
fields. The reports that were forwarded
represented the facts to be worse than
the most sensational word painter had
depicted. Over 40, 100000 people were
in need of assistance more or less urgent
and % per cent. of that number would
certainly starve unless helped,
Commercial Significance.
The commercial significance of the
disclosures became clear. A study of the
needs of the importing countries for the
next six months satisfied the manlpulat-
ors that every bushel America could
spare from her phenomenal surplus
would be wanted and that unless an
other monstrous crop should follow that
of 1892 the chances, based on natural
causes, favored high range of prices
for the months ahead. 1t was upon suCh
theories and conclusions that the pro
gram was changed about the middle of
last December and a bull campaign de-
termined upon.
There are at the present time twenty
or more houses on the Chicago board of
trade that are carrying heavy lines of
wheat which do not usually cut much
of figure in the grain trade. These
houses for weeks have been absorbing
the offerings of this market. In no case
were the brokers acting for these houses
permitted to bid for property-that is,
bid the market up in order to get at
wheat. The object has been clearly to
accumulate as large line as possible
without attracting notice.
Numberless little concerns are long
from 100000 to 1,500000 bushels, each
of whose books usually show open
trades in 80, 900 to 400, 900 bushels. On
the breaks they have been called vicious
ly for marg, MS, always responding cheer
fully, especially rarely calling back, -
the procedure commonly adopted when
it is desired to protest against demands
deemed unnecessarily severe.
The larger houses have also been ia
vored to a moderate extent with the
clique buying orders, but not enough to
attract after ton. 1t is given out in eX-
PLANTATION that when anyone asks "who
is buying tl.is wheat p that the foreign
ers represented the long interest and
that they were certain to be 'shaken
out"
This general belief has helped to keep
the market weak and made it easier to
accumulate contracts on the buying side.
DGuIlultIll was all Ollt MdNs anu ~ w dS
common expectation to see wheat o
down to seventy-fve or eighty cents.
Why it did not so break was a mystery.
The wheat that stands sold upon the
books of the commission houses on the
Chicago board of trade at present aggre-
gate 10000, 600 or $4,000, 600 bushels,
Now, what does an open interest of TO-
0O0. .0G0, or 50 200, 600 bushels represent? !?
Suppose thai 80 ,000,0 900 bushels repre-
sent wheat in western warehouses ''sold
against in Chicago as hedge to protect
holders of cash property against declines
in the market? 1t is claimed on pretty
good authority that there are less than
10000, 900 bushels in public and private
warehouses in the west
The actual open speculative short in
terest in the Chicago market is approx.
mately 50,000,000 bushels, whichemount
must be bought in upon the open
market, because it can not be delivered
in substance. In addition to the 5O,OOO,.
OG0 bushels purely speculative short in
terest in Chicago, there are similar open
interests for possibly an equal amount
in the combined markets of St. Louis,
Toledo, New York and Liverpool.
The big pool has the wheat contracts.
Its agents have been buying all the
wheat that the bears have dared to sell,
for future delivery in all the great pub
lie markets of the world. 1t has more
millions in money back of it than any
speculative combination of modern
times.
May Reach s1.25.
Should the crop prospects turn out