The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-02
"JACK" CUDAHY GOES UNDER.
Failure of the Great Packer and
Daring Spectator.
Pork Drops 81 25 Per Barrel Inside of
Three Quarters of an Hour-severai
Other Firms in the whirl-No One
Attempts to Estimate Cudahy's Loss.


individuals and firms were bowled over
like nine pins, and the prices Of hogs
went tumbling like an avalanche.
Dealers on the Chicago board were &C.
customed to witnessing scenes and
Kaleidoscope changes in prices, but this
market seems to be the storm centre
where both the upward and downward
push in the prices of the worlds food
products is most severely felt, but old
members of the board who had been
through the whirl and clatter of many
collapsing corners in both grain and
provisions actually stood aghast at the
rapidity with which the price OF mess
pork went down. A sheer drop of IS. 25
per barrel inside OF three quarters of an
hour is enough TO take away the breath
OF old Stentor himself, when Stentor,
in the slang of the sire cts is not in 1t.
With some Of the howlers on the board
OF trade his deepest tones would sound
like consumptive whine amidst the
noise that goes upon the board when
there is anything exciting on.
A hush, however, near the opening
this morning when Secretary Stone
appeared on the balcony of the trading
room and notified all concerned that
those having trades with the we'll
known provision brokerage firms of
| Joseph e. Stevens & Co E. W. Bailey
IL Co. and A. Holtcloz e Co. should pro.
coed to close them out. The silence
lasted for second after the close of the
announcement and then mighty roar
went up from the provision pit. AS
early as last March it became ap-
parent to the trade that mess pork
WAS being "bulled" through these
houses and it soon became noised about
in the provision trade that A. M. Wright
was behind the deal. A year before he
started corner in ribs and with the
help of John Cudahy carried it through
TO success, making large amount Of
money. Apparently, according to the
| general opinion of the board, he had
started to run a similar deal in mess
pork The collapse had been looked for
for some time and as the monetary sit
uation became more and more strained
and the borrowing Of money to put up
on margin more and more difficult,
+ everybody not interested in the deal
drew cut, leaving the market so dull
that there was scarcely enough business
TO establish quotations.
The offer appeared by quotation after
the announcement of the failure WAS
SlS.75 against $40 at the close yester.
day. The next bid was $751; then $3.50
Seeing that the Sis man was over
whelmed with offers to supply his
wants, it went fifty cents at time with
but little hesitation until the price
touched S10.50, loss of SIS 25 per barrel
in forty minutes. These are the official
| h2ures, but it is reliably vouched for
that sale was made as high as $40 and
as low as $40, drop OF 50 or nearly fly
| per cent or S450,O0O on a visible supply
| of fiftV Thousand harre1s
Then the market became quieter and
good buying at enormous figures carried
the price back to SI2 and subsequent
events had only temporary effect OH
IT, Things were moving along with
omlnous su oothness when another and
heavier shock came in the announce.
lnent by the secretary in quick success
sion Of the failure of the North Ameri.
can Provision Company, packing con
Germ with quarter of million dollars
in which Jack Cudahy was largely in
terested; Of Wright & Haughey re-
spectacle firm, chiefly engaged in the
receiving 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 re-
Gently estimated at no less than SIS, 0OO,-
000, of which about 81, 900, 900 was made
in deal in ribs last fall
1t was not doubted that he had used
every means of raising money before
Lying down or that ne had lent
helping hand to his friend. Charley
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.
The announcement of Cudahy's fail
ure had scarcely died on the secretarys
lips before the storm had broken loose
again, this time with the lard crowd.
That commodity had held extremely
steady throughout the slump in
pork, but in turn mounted the
toboggan and went down as if lubri
Gated. The price for Septen Der was
1855 per tierce in the early buying. 1t
was So within six minutes after Cudahy's
failure was announced and Sep.
tenn Der short ribs, which was sold at
$3.50, broke to S5.S7K. Before the
close, however, both rallied, the former
to $685. and the latter to $3.50. 1t
was said by one close to Mr.. Cudahy
that his private affairs were entirely
separate from his partnership matters
and that the various companies which
he contracts with ana which he is in.
terested in and his two brothers,
Mike" and Pat" are not affected by
the failure.
The estimated losses on the pork al
legged to have been bought for Wright
are between 500, 900 and $500, OOO No
one pretends to estimate Cudahys loss.
AMONG THE BANKS