St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-30
Wild Were the Scenes on Chi
cago Board Of Trade
Yesterday.
Wheat Declined 7 IA Cents in
About as Many Min
uteS.
About Half the Loss Recov-
cred Before the Trading
Closed.
The Clique Engineered the
Play to Shake Out the
TailerS.

CHICAGO, March 29.-Not since the
famous KerShaw deal, the collapse of
which drove score of firms into bank
ruptcy, has there been such sensation
al scene on the Chicago board of trade
as took place today. The price of wheat
for May delivery broke re in about
that many minutes, causing a Craze of
excitement in the trading pit. The
tailers, if not the principals, in perhaps
the biggest corner ever attempted in
Chicago were cruelty dumped and the
outcome of the affair apparently made a
desperate neutrality-suspicious. affect
ing for some time to come the course of
the grain markets the world over. The
confusion and panic were so great as to
make it almost Impossible to trade.
Brokers tumbled over one another in
their eagerneSS to execute orders, fought
their way into the crowded pit as if eter-
nal salvation depended on their getting
there, and, after pushing, pulling and
almost Sutfocating i'll the crowd that
filled it to its utmost capacity, emerged
five minutes afterward physical wrecks
apparently, their clothes awry, buttons
off, mats smashed and bearing in every
lineament indications of the terri fic
mental strain they had been through.
The
Suddenness of the Break
was the most alarming feature. Wheat
opened about 81 cents this morning.
when the market fell off, but reacted
and seemed as strong as Sampson be-
fore he yielded to the Establishments of
Delilah. 1t advanced steadily after the
opening to S23l cents, when some of the
big shorts like Arthur Orr, Capt. Phil
lips and Ed Partridge concluded
to cover a portion of their line.
At the high price of the
by many as the king of the bull clique,
doled out 100000 bushels to Orr, an
other 100000 to Phillips and about
100000 to Partridge, giving it to the
hungry shorts in lots of 100000 to 200,-
600 bushels. The offerings came so
rapidly and in such unusual quantities
that, with the big shorts out OF ths way,
the market appeared as if shot through
llO Icdl |, duUs Will COufuIoAfO oAlf-
er, falling dead in its tracks.
One theory is that the big break in
prices was due, in part at least, to the
fact that the board of trade directors
have decided that storage emergency
exists. Extra emergency houses will
now be created as applications are
made and as necessity presents itself.
The decision of the directors was
reached last night, but was not gem
orally known until
Shortly Before the Break
came today. The friends of the bull
clique, and many others who were not
posing as friends, scotfed at the idea
that the storage decision cut any par
ticular figure in the days operations.
Taking this view, there was dlSposl-
tiOn to picture the extraordinary upset
in prices as part of the NapOleonlc
strategy of the bull leaders. John and
Michael Cudahy, the rich polk packers,
were said to be at the head of the bull
clique, and many other wealthy Chicago
and New York capitalists were named
as associated with them. They acquired,
it is stated, control of the 1l.000,000
bushels of contract wheat i'll the ele-
YatOrS here, and were prepared to pay
for much more if the people who had
wheat in Minneapolis, Duluth, st. Louis
and other places could find storage room
for that amount here.
Armour GS Co. and other elevator own
ers have been emptying the bins of
corn, oats and barley in their houses
into the holds of the vessels in the river
to make room for more wheat. They
were also chartering vessels in Milwau-
kee and elsewhere to come down here
and receive some of the grain they are
ridding themselves of. Wheat can be
bought in Toledo II cents per buShel
lower than May wheat sold at in Chi
cagO this morning. 1t can be bought in
St. Louis for Is cents less per bushel. in
Minneapolis for II cents less and in Du-
! luth 1917 cents below the Chicago value
For May Delivery.
Even New York cash wheat Is s cents
| per bushel below the price May wheat
| sold at here today. Those were the in
ducements squirting up the elevator
| proprietorS to get rid of everything else
and make additional space for wheat.
| The storage capacity here ordinarily is
! equal to about 30,000000 bushels.
On the advance during the last few
days TO S2$4 cents. the top figure today,
a vast amount of short wheat was
pyramid builders bought like mad,
| piling up all their brokers would stand.
! This class risk profits with reckless en-
| thusiasm, and they often become
menace to the successful conduct of
corner. as was the case when Harper
went broke trying to lug along mount
! ainous load OF taller" and pyramid"
wheat. This is danger that expert
| enced "cornerers" guard against by
breaking the market and shaking out
| the ''taiierS." Today was an auSpiciouS
occasion for one of those performances.
| Tue May prices were marked up close
! to 50 cents, at which figure it is claimed
that Partridge made a final settlement
| direct with Cudahy'S brokers for 2000,.
| coo bushels, and private settlements
were also made for al equally large
| quantity for Northwestern account
| The
Enthusiastic -"Tailers',
of course, knew nothing about this. and
continued to buy like drunken sailors.
| Clique brokers supplied the demand,
| and the market began to break. Ken-
nett, Hopkins & Co. led the selling and
unloaded great blocks.
The market worked off to so cents,
! when it was discovered that Partridge
| and his followers were putting out
| fresh lines of short wheat. This
was something the clique did not
want to give the bears chance
to do until the price got lower. Five
minutes later the pit swarmed with
| clique brokers. Barrett, Lampson, Par
ker. SchwartZ-Dupee. Kennett, Hopkins
| & Co. and dozen others opened the