Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-08-03


cH.csco. Anx a-Yesterisy VAS one OF
HE most disastrous in the history OF the
board Of trade In this city Wealthy urins
and individuals were bowled over Ike
nirepins. and the prices Of hog products
went suuaeiing like an avalanche Dealers
on the Chiea1o board are accustomed TO
sr~nes aus: changes in value, for this
market ss~ms 10 he the storm center,
where boi tae upward and downward
push in the pri e OF the world food pro
ducts is most severely FELT But ela-timers
stood sghass ii the rspsdity with winch
the pre- Of mess pork went down
A sheer drop # - - per barrel inside OF
,hrse- quarters OF au hour Is enough 10
take away me breath OF old Stentor'
There WAS i ha>h. however, near tae open
ing in the morning, when Secretary stone
appeared on the balcony OF the trading
room and notifetl all concerned that these
having tra.is> with the well Known pro-
vision brokerage firms Ut J. Z. Stever y
Co, E W. Bailey Il Co. and Ahelinhoss
4 TO. should
Proceed 70 Close Them oot
The silence lasted for 4 second after the
close ~ the announcement aud then a
mighty roar went up from the provision
nit As early As last March it became ap-
parent to the trade that mess pork was
being buIled through these houses and II
s,on ts-carae n0isssi about in the provision
trade that A. NJ Wright WAS behind the
deal
A wear before he started Garner In ribs,
ami with the help OF John Cudahy carried
il through IL success, making a large
amount Of money Apparently according
70 the general opinion on the board. he
mad started 70 run similar deal III mess
pork. The collapse has been looked Tor
for some weeks, and, as the monetary
situation became more aud more stralhed,
and the borrowing Of money TO put up III
margins more and more difficult. every
hoiy nor interested in the deal drew out,
leaving the market 50 duh that there Was
scarcely enough business TO establish
quotations When the bubble finally
bursted the prices were so small that IT
WAS
Next to Impossible to Find Them.
Things we're moving along smoothly
when another and heavier shock came, Ia
the announcement by the secretary lii
uuck succession of the failures OF the
North American Provision company, with
/ a can,,al of $50. 900 in which Jack Cudahy
WAS largely interested; of Wright *
Hauebey. respectable firm, chiefly en-
gagged in the receiving and shipping OF
wheat, but who who were understood To
h. interested with Cudahy in his deals in
the proyision pits. and finally of Cndahy
himself, the great packer and daring
pnerator in provisions, man interested
in the packing trade in a half dozen states,
man whose wealth had recently been es-
timated at not less than SlS,D0,W1. lie
eouid not raise before he laid down"
Bnt the financial noose was drawn tighter
aud tighter: he had big deal on in lard
and was interested in ribs and the strain
Became Too Great to Bear.
The announcement of his failure had
scarcely died on the secretary's lips before
the storm broke ont again, this time III
the lard crowd. That commodity had
held extremely steady throughout the
slump in pork, but it in turn mounted the
toboggan and went down as If self-lubri-
Gated.
IL was said by one close to Mr.. Cudahy
that hi, private affairs were entirely sep
arate from his partnership matters, and
that the various companies which ne
controls aud in which he is interested
with his two brothers, Mike and Pat, are
not directly affected by the failure,
No one pretends to estimate Cudahy's
loss. and Charlie" Wright declares that
Cudahy and IL. II. Fairbank, the lard
king were Interested with him in his deal
and that the trouble came about because
they would not put up any more margins.
So far rs the trade is concerned, Mr. Fir
bank ia not known in connection with the
lleai at all