The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-08-09
BOTTOM DROPPED OUT.
Sudden Collapse Of the Pork Mar
ket at Chicago.
A Fall of Almost Fifty Per Cent. In Few
Minutes-"JaCk" Cudahy, the Well
Known Spectator, Goes to the
Wall-Many Other Prominent
Firms Follow Suit.

CHICAGO, Aug. 2.-September pork
dropped from $19.25 to $1O.6O per barrel
within forty-ive minutes on change
yesterday, and the crowds in the gal
leries were treated to scene OF excite.
ment that reminded one of old days.
As aresult of drop of $s.75 per barrel
in September pork, Secretary Stone re-
ceived notice from several brokers to
have trades on their outstanding orders
closed. The ruined firms are; John
Cudahy, j. G. Steever & Co., Z. w.
Bailey & Co, A. Helmholtz d Co.,
Wright & Haughey, and the Northwest
ern Packing Company.
Brokers were dazed. They had OK
pected failures from the direction OF
the cereal pits. but here was grist
from the pork holders. But one reason
could be assigned by any board Of trade
man, and that was that the great man
ipulator Of pork, Charles Wright, was
in dire distress. Pork has been SO dull
of late that scarcely enough transac-
tions have been recorded to furnish
quotations. Mr.. Wright has had the
market in a tight grip and bsause of
this spectators fought shy of Septem-
ber pork. Immediately the rumor be-
came bruited that Wright was carrying
weight that would break his back,
the brokers became excited and all
were intent on one line of selling.
Pandemonium seized the pit. The
entire crowd Of excited, shouting and
nervously shifting brokers became sell
lers, and the extraordinary spectacle
OF sales being made with decline Of
fifty cents per barrel each moment was
presented until with scarcely forty-five
minutes Of the session consumed the
packed slices of the porker could be had
ats1O.50. Here upon visible supply
of $4,000 barrels mess pork, was
shrinkage in value of something over
100000 in forty minutes, and all be-
cause of the rumor that the man who
has been manipulating pork for six
months had failed. During all the
excitement over pork, ribs and lard re-
mained comparatively steady.
The failure of John Cudahy is the d.
rect result of unfortunate speculation
on colossal scale. Cudahy made
1,5O0,000 in provisions last fall and
lost two or three times as much lin
wheat last spring. He is interested in
packing houses in Chicago,-Wisconsin,
Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, and had
to use vast sums Of money in the legit-
innate branches Of business, packing
and distribution. His great resources
were drained to support his specula-
tive ventures. Less than a month ago
j. @. Steever estimated Cudahys for
tune at s,00O,0 900.
The embarrassment Of A. w. Wright
was due to the exhaustion of John Cud-
ahy's means for raising cash and when
he went down he carried with him half
a dozen firms
The result of the Cudahy failure
seems to be almost as disastrous 10
board of trade interests as the collapse
of the Harper concern six years ago.
The North American Provision Com
pany was forced to suspend shortly be-
fore noon, carried down by the previ-
GUS failures on the board.
Within forty minutes of the closing
hour Secretary Stone stepped to the
gallery and raped for attention. "All
Of those who have trades with John
Cudahy will please close them out"
came in measured tones. Just hush
for second and then bedlam broke
loose. Brokers realized that II meant
the failure of one of the largest pack
ing houses in America and the world. |
The Cudahys are intimately con-
nected in all their business ventures.
The John Cudahy Company, the Omaha
packing houses and those in Milwaukee |
are the property of the trio. Provision
products were made to feel the loss in
no uncertain manner.
John Cudahy has ranked for ten
years as thegreatest speculative plung-
er on the board of trade. He has been
anjncessant speculator and has usually
been successful, though at times he has
lost as high as $500, 900 at clip.