St. Paul daily globe., 1893-02-19
WHEAT IS NOT KING,
1t Loses It's Prestige In Con-
trolling the Prices OF the
Markets.
Provisions Loom Up as a Fac
tion and Prices Will
Advance.
The Banking Situation Grows
Stronger as the Year
Wears Away.
Spring Trade Begins to Show
It's Face With st. Paul
JObberS.

JODD6PS.
Wheat has lost its prestige as gov
ernOr of market prices among American
commodities. Generally speaking. the
prices Of merchandise, especially OF
dry goods and groceries, have advanced
and are firm to strong, while wheat.
formerly the leader in making quota
tions, has not shown. since harvest,
enough advance to cover the cost of
holding it. The exports of wheat are
extensive-more than the average of
| export figures. The visible supply is
large, so, $4,000 bushels, but it would
not be so formidable if traders felt en-
| trely free to deal in wheat. The army
of general traders are laying on their
oars"
A little over year ago wave of re
strictlve legislation of tinkering with
| trade-roled up against the wheat
growers of the United States, and some
| of them have not yet discovered the
fact. By looking through the quota
| tionS of the entire year, and comparing
| those quotations and conditions with
former years, the conclusion generally
dawns upon tlfose who investigate that
| competition in the handling of wheat
has been restricted with the result of a
low scale of prices. In the fall Of 1872
prices went lower than they had been
| for seventeen years.
1t is a good thing that large portion
of the Northwest has live stock, timber
and other industries in addition to
wheat-growing. Wheat crops at pres
ent prices are not the most profitable of
the industries.
Many people feel that wheat, which
has already incurred some carrying
| charges, ought to advance even if the
! anti-opton bill becomes law. A profit
| of that kind would 60 mostly to the ele-
Yator people and their friends. There
are few business men that do not look
for an advance i'll the prices of the king
of cereals in case the proposed legisla-
tion is defeated and establishment
of general trading sets in. Merchants
and bankers generally agree that wheat
is low enough.
Prices of Provisions.
Provision markets are strong at the
prices now established by the advances
in pork, lard and ribs. Prospects en-
courage a continuance of firm markets
on provisions even if the values of live
hogs should happen to decline. Live
hogs ruled so high during the week that
packers had little if any margin in their
work, and the feeling gains ground that
mess pork must go higher, or else, in
case that product remains about the $40
per barrel mark, live hogs would have a
slight decline, especially if the receipts
are a little more liberal. May pork
closed yesterday for $3.50 per barrel in
Chicago. Now that the extreme cold
weather has let up, the farmers may
market more freely temporarily. The
principal scarcity is in heavy hogs, only
a small proportion arriving here now
that are suitable to make mess pork.
The government report indicates a
shortage of SIX million head of hogs
this year, as compared with last year.
Previously, no hog report had ever
shown as many as four million less than
the year preceding. On the other hand
'S9 had an increase of 100000 oveI
'SS, and 'S2 had 1894, ,597 head more
than 1881. The largest decrease ever
shown in any year previous to 1888 was
in 1875, viz: 2,79S, 700 head. Mess porB
advanced to S23 so that year. In 1874
although the hog crop was only 1.771,
100 head less than In 1878 pork reached
S24 per barrel. In 1876, a year of 1855,
400 head shortage, pork got to S22.75.
This year the demand for conSump
tiOn has increased more than usual, anC
yet the market in the face of the pres
ent phenomenal shortage of live hog:
has thus far, only OH one day, in Janu
ary, advanced above the $50 mark, SIC. 81
per barrel has been the highest.
With the demands OccaSiOned by tht
worlds fair and the general extension
Of trade in view, hog products Woult
have been bought much more freely bu
for the restrictive measures that de
the markets. But, taking the product
on their merits, mess pork is we'll Wortl
the present prices. The receipts of liyt
hogs this year show shortage of 46 pc
cent, and here is notable TACT: tn
shortage in pork packing products i
about 90 per cent, as compared with tn
corresponding time last year. This lat
ter shortage arose from the lightneS
(thinness) Of the hogs, which, togethe
with the increased demands for fresl
pork, caused the heavy percentage 0
decrease in pork products. The figure
given above relate to Chicago as wei
as here and other Western pack
ing centers. In this connection
the following report is made b.
John Noonan, of j. }. O'Leary {
Sons, pork packers:
Talks With Packers.
There is prospect for much highe
figures on all cured meats when the de
mand increases. This increase usual
begins about May and continue
throughout the summer. Cured meat
have not yet advanced to the same eX
tent, or in the same proportion, as lar
and the salted meats. The demand TO
+hnSa jS
the Twin Cities andfrom all parts of th
Northwest. Our goods are easily mar
keted, not only here, but all through tn
Northwest and on the Pacific coast
This week we shipped to New York O.
special orders, and have constant de
! mandS from the South for all kinds O
salted meats. Our packing house a
South st. Paul is being operated tcloS
to full capacity. But for the short Gro
of hogs, the slaughtering at South 81
Paul would have been a great dea
larger. AS it is, the decrease at ou
yards has not been as large as it ha
been at the other principal packin
points.
Jobbers of the Twin cities show
greater disposition than ever to handl
} the goods of home production, and thi
l stimulates the packers to keep up tn
, excellence of their brands.
= Charles L. Haas. Cunningham & Haas
= live stock commission:
,, The receipts of hogs at South st
Paul compared with the previous yea
have not shown as large percentage Q
, decrease as that experienced at othe
! pork-packing centers. In other words
q q the proportion of the hog crop receive
: here is larger than at other places. Th
prices paid at South st. Paul are neare
to Chicago values than the genera
lbs of Chicago is not uncommon 6
South St. Paul, but considering the III
e desirable quality OF many of the hoe