The morning call., 1893-10-19
WHEAT JUMPS UP.
A Pretty Flutter on the
Call Board.
Natural Causes Assigned, With Dark
Hints of Attempts to Manipu-
late the Market.

December wheat took fight yesterday
morning from 81 13 to 81 15B. In the af-
ternoon the market was slightly easier,
closing at 81 14% for December wheat.
May wheat opened at 81 PAS. closing in
the morning at 81 2612 and in the after
noon at 81 267s.
The rise caused considerable 1utter on
the Call Board, and there was'a rumor clr-
nation among dealers. Another theory
was that shorts had been caught and were
obliged to ill at an advance.
L. W. McGIauf1In & Co. have been the
heaviest buyers of December wheat Mr.
McGlauflin denied yesterday afternoon
that his firm was trying TO manipulate the
market.
1--WE think wheat will be higher and are
buying for rise. having twenty or thirty
very large customers. Wheat is cheap. and
we are buying TO hold. We buy December
because we can get 1t more quickly than we
could get spot.
when wheat begins to go up there Is o o
saying where it will stop. Every farmer
who has not been forced TO sell is holding
his crop, and if the market touched cents
he would hold it for g. 1t is in expectation
Of such rise that we are buying"
George w. McNear gave another ex-
planation. "There is no deal that know
of except on the Call Board. The shorts
are getting pinched bit, but ii is only
temporary. General prices remain steady.
The value of wheat for export is 81 %.
There is no tonnage here to speak OF.
The only iron ship n port is the Skomoaer,
the rest being wooden vessels and not in
demand for carrying. l should say there
were no prospects of increased facilities
for carrying for two or three months.
Still, wheat is moving freely in the coun-
try, from 1000 to 5000 tons selling every
day."
Edward B. Cutter of Cutter & Mosely
approved of the foregoing view. pooh
pooling any idea of com bination. He
thought the shorts had been caught ana IN
their necessity to fill were buying at an
advance. The movement originated with
two or three parties. 1t was 03ly tenn
poTary advance in view of the scarcity Of
tonnage.
H. A. Mayhew begged to differ. He ex-
planned the situation from the broad point
OF view that wheat was cheaper to-day
than 1t had been for thirty or forty years.
The advance, in his estimation, was a
natural movement toward a natural price.
There was plenty of tonnage and more
coming. Taken all around, wooden bot
toms were as good as iron vessels. Liver
pool buyers did not inquire about spot
price, freight and insurance. but merely
price delivered at Liverpool. There might
be good money yet in wheat at 81 20 and
upward with the tonnage al command
and in prospect. Would-be cornerers Of
the market were beginning to be nervous
aud the end was not yet.
Another iron vessel, the Breidablike,
was chartered yesterday, presumably by
McNear. at 31s cd. This leaves only one
iron vessel. the Skomoaer, dsengaged.
The chartered wheat fleet in port has a
registered tonnage of $1,000 tons, again st
65, 900 at the same date in 1892 The dis
engaged tonnage in port is 1880 tons
against 102, 700 tons at the same time last
year. The tonnage on the way to this
port is 22S,0OO, against 275,000 at this date
last year.
San Francisco was a low-freght port
some time ago, and that kept wheat-car-
riers away. Lately. however. she has
been high-freight port. and the change
must inevitably attract tonnage.