Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-04-20

Special. to the Register.
Pittsburg, Pa, April 19.-BefOre the
hour for opening the oil market yes
terday the public and the spectators
thrOnged the Offices of the Standard
and the exchange was comparatively
deserted. At 10 a. m. an agent of the
Standard in this city announced that
its price for the day would be $40.
This was a drop of 20 cents a barrel
from yesterday. and was a surprise.
The crowd then poured out OF the
offices and crossed the street to the
Oil Exchange to see how the specula-
tors would take the new price. The
opening bids were $40 to S2.42, but
the first sale was at $2.40. Then there
was a slump of IS cents to 1922, while
at the same time cash oil sold at S2.25,
or ID cents below the Standard price.
The Standard certainly has the pub
lie and the most experienced specula-
! tors completely bewildered. They can
not understand why it should jump
the price one day until it was 43 cents
above the exchange quotation of the
previous day, and the very next day
| drop it . cents below the exchange fig
ure. What makes it all the more in
explicable is the fact that when the
Standard first announced that it would
| hereafter fix price for the commodity
! Independent of the speculative mar
/ 5et, its agent said values would be
| based on actual trade conditions.
The effect of the uncertainty was
very observable on Change. After the
opening furry the lobby was soon de-
serted of visitors, and brokers had
very little business. A number stated
that they had closed all their deals,
] and did not look for any new ones for
the present. If the Standards object
in making such d radical change in
| the Legitimate price" for oil is to
fTighten of reviving spectators, it is
undoubtedly succeeding at last. EX
treme fluctuations of from 40 to so
cents every 24 hours will demOraliZe
the most neryy habitue Of the bull
ring
1t was reported during the day that
the Fisher Bros had sold out all their
oil territory to the Standard. includ-
ing their interests in the Fisher Oil
Company. Mr. John Fisher told your
reporter that the report was not cor
rect He said they had closed no deal
since they disposed of interests in the
Oakdale Oil Company two or three
weeks ago. He would not say that
there We're no negotiations pending at
present for the remainder of their in
terests in the field.
The showing made by the daily pipe
line reports is now puzzling every
body. For the first ten days of this
month the runs from wells have aver
aged only 27270 barrels a day. For
the corresponding period Of last month
the average was S5,11j barrels. The
figures indicate a falling off Of pro-
duction of nearly 1900 barrels a day.
The figures also show the interest
ing fact that while the average runs
Of the Mellon, Independent, line dur
ing the first II days of March were
1925 barrels a day, they have now
dropped to an average u, only G,423
barrels. The shipments Of oil also
show an extraordinary falling off. So
far this month they have averaged
20, 500 barrels, while during the same
time last month they averaged $4,000
barrels.
The market during the day was
very duh and fell off steadily from the
opening, and when the market closed
at 3 o'clock it was down to 1925. The
opening quotation was $40, highest
$2.40, lowest S222, closed at $2.25 bid.