The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-02
A CORNER IN PORK BROKEN.
The Price TumblGS From $40 TO So a
Barrel in an Hour.

Cudahy and His Brokers Go to Smash
In the ColIapse-The Days Scram-
BILE to Unload Put Under Way by
the Announcement Of Three Fail
ures.
Chicago, Aug. To-day was one of
the most disastrous in the history of the
board of trade in this city. Wealthy indi-
viduals and firms were bowled over like
nine pins, and the prices of hogs tumbled
like an avalanche. Dealers on the Chica-
go board are accustomed to wild scenes
and Kaleidoscope changes in prices, but
this market seems to be the storm center,
where both the upward and downward
rush in the price of the worlds food pro
ducts is most severely felt, but old mem
bers of the board who had been through
whirl and clatter of many collapsing cor
ners in both grain and provisions, actual
ly stood aghast at the rapidity with
which the price of mess pork went down.
A sheer drop of s.. .25 per barrel inside of
three quarters of an hour is enough
to take away the breath Of old Stentor
himself, but then old StentOr in the vul-
garism of the streets is not in it with
His deepest tones would sound like com
sumptive whine amidst the roar that
goes up on the board when there is any
thing exciting on. There was a hush,
however, when near the opening, when
Secretary Stone appeared on the balcony
of the trading roOm and notified all con-
cerned, that those having trades with
the well known provision brokerage firms
of James E. Stour g. Co, E. w. Bailey &
CO., and a. Helholz s. Co, should proceed
to close them out The silence lasted for
a second after the close of the announce
ment, and then a mighty roar went up
from the pit.
BIRTH OF THE CORNER
AS early as last March it became ap-
parent that mess pork was being 'bulled"
through these houses, and it soon became
noised about in the provision crowd that
A. NJ Wright was behind the deals. A
year before he started a corner in ribs,
and with the help of John Cudahy car
ried it through to success, making large
amount of money. Apparently accord
ing to the general opinion, he
had started to run a similar
deal in mess-pOrk. The collapse had been
looked for for some time, and the none
tary situation became more and more
strained and the borrowing of money to
put in margins more difficult. Everybody
not interested drew out, leaving the mar
ket, so that there was scarcely enough
business to establish quotations. When
the bubble burst, the prices were so small
that it is next to impossible to find them.
The offer which appeared by the quota
tion after the announcement Of the fail
ure was $3.50 against $1,000 at the close
yesterday. The next bid was SlS 90, then
S17.50, seeing that the $500 man was
overwhelmed with customers anxious to
supply his wants. and so il went
so cents at a time with but little
hesitation until the price touched S10,50,
a loss of SS.25 per barrel in forty minutes.
These are the official figures, but it is re-
iably vouched for that as sales were
made as high as $40 and as low as $40,
there was a drop of 80, or nearly so per
cent, or $4,000 on visible supply Of 50,
600 barrels.
AN oMINoUs LULL.
Then the market became quieter and
good buying at the enormous decline car
ried the price back to $l2 and subsequent
events had only temporary effect on it.
Things were moving along with ominous
smoOthness, when another and hea-
vier shock came in the announce
ment by the secretary in quick
succession of the failure of
North American Provision Company, a
packing concern, with a capital of $780,
900, in which Jack Cudahy was largely in
terested; of Wright s. Haughey, a re-
spectacle firm, chiefly engaged in the re-
ceiving and shipping of wheat, but who
were understood to be interested
with Cudahy, in his deal in the
provision pits, and, finally, of Cudahy
himself, the great packer and daring
speculator in provisions, man whose
wealth was recently estimated at no less
than $4,000, 900, of which about 50 000,-
900 was made in deal in ribs last fall.
1t was not doubted that he had used ev-
cry means TO raise money before laying
down, or that he had lent helping hand
TO his friend, Charles Wright, before the
final pinch came. But the financial moose
was drawn tighter and tighter. He had
a big deal on in lard and was interested
in ribs, and the strain became too great to
bear
LARD ON THE TOBOGGAN.
The announcement of Cudahy's failure
had scarcely died on the secretary's lips
before the storm mad broken loose again,
this time in the lard crowd. This commo-
dity had held extremely steady through
out the slump in pork, but it in turn
noun Jed the tobbogan and went down as
if self fabricated. The price for Septehl-
ber was S9.55 per tiece in the early buy
ing. 1t was So within six minutes after
CUdahay's failure was announced and
September short ribs, which were sold
at a 81. so range, broke to $5.S71%. Before
the close, however, both rallied, the
former to $685., the latter to $500. 1t
was said by one close to Mr.. Cudahy
that his private affairs are entirely sepa-
rate from his partnership matters, and
that various companies, which he controls,
and which he is interested in with his
two brothers, Michael and Patterson, are
not affected by the failure. The losses
on the pork, alleged to have been bought
for Wright are between 100000 and
$500 ,0O0 No one pretends to estimate
Cudahy's losses, so far as the trade is
concerned. Mr. Fairfank is not known
in connection with the deal at all.