The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1893-08-11
GREATPANIC In CHICAGO.
Pork Drops sS.25 per Bbl. In Three
Hours.
With II, John Cudahy, Worth $1S,-
600, 900 Goes to the Wall.


CHICAGO, ILL.-Tuesday was one OF
the most disastrous 10 the history Of the
board Of trade In this city. Wealthy
individuals and firms were bowled over
line nine pins and the prices of hogs
went tumbling like an avalanche. Bro
kers on the Chicago board are accus-
toned to witnessing scenes and ksleido.
scopic changes in prices, but the oldest
members of the board to-day actually
stood aghast at the rapidity with which
the price of uess pork went down. A
sheer drop of 1925 per barrel inside of
three quarters Of an hour is enough to
take away the breath of old Stentor
himself.
Therewas hush near the opening in the
morning when Secretary Stern appeared
on the balcony of the trading room and
notified all concerned that those having
trades with the we'll known provision
brokerage firms of Joseph E. Stevcr &
Co.; E.W. Baily & Co. and A. Heltho.z
s. Co. should proceed to close them out.
rhe silence lasted for second and then
a mighty roar went up from the pro.
vision pit. AS carly as last march it
became apparent to the trade that mess
pork was being 'bulled" through these
houses, and 1t soon became noised about
in the provision trade that A. NJ. Wright
was behind the deal year before he
started corner in ribs, and with the
hrlp of John Cudahy carried it through
to success, making large amount of
monsy. Appa' emily, according to the
general opinion of The board, he had
started to run similar deal in mesa
pork. The collapse has been looked for
some time, and as the monetary siiua.
tion became moro and more strained,
everybody not interested in meat drew
out, leaving the market 80 dull that
there was scarcely enough business to
establish quotations, and the bubble
burst.
Another aud heavier shock came in
announcements by the secretary in quick
succession OF the failure Of the North
American Provision Company, q pack
ing concern with capital ofa quarter 0!
q million dollars in which Jack Cudahy
was largely interested; es Wright s;
Haughey, q respectable firm, chiefly en-
gagged in receiving and shipping ol
wheat, but who arc understood to bs
interested with Cudahy in his deal in the
provision pit, and finally of Cudahy him.
self, the great packer and daring spccu-
later in provisions, whose wealth was
recently estimated at no l,ss than $ls,-
100000, Of which about q, 600, 900 was
made in deal in libs last fall.
The storm broke loose again after this
in the lard crowd. This commodity had
held extremely steady throughout the
slump in pork, but it in turn mounted
the teboggau and went down as if self.
fabricated. The price for Septembe,
was $0.55 per tierce in the carly buy ing
It was SO within six minutes after Cud-
ahy's failure was announced, and Sep
tember short ribs, which wero sold at 6
ST range broke to $5.s7b. Before The
close, however, both rallied, the forme
to SO. 825; the latter to $3.50.
It is said Mr.. Cudahy's private affair
are separate from his partners matters
and that the companies he controls with
his brothers, Mike and Pat, are not af-