The San Francisco call., 1896-10-25
ARMOUR AFTER
CUDAHY'S SCALP.
Drop in Wheat Prices Due
to an Old Elevator
Feud.
Some One Will Get Badly Pinched
Unless the Market Soon
ReviveS.
BEARS ARE KINGS OF THE PIT.
Fear on Change at Chicago That the
Coming Week Will Bring Forth
Failures.

SA 1NAOOJ 1IL., WV AO WhOoe
market was panic stricken on the Board
of Trade to-day. December Went to
pieces at disastrously rapid rate. The
worst break in the price occurred since
the 80-cent high mark was reached Mon
day, and traders were, left foundering In
a state of bewilderment and confusion. A
fall of cents made dark, hopeless pic
ture for the bulls to contemplate during
the day of rest. The weeks tumble in the
price of the speculative future has been
over 10 cents. The low point reached
to-day was 50 cents, and the closing price
was only 81 above. Yesterdays final
quotation was 1873 cents.
The bears were kings of the wheat pit.
They forced the price down 3 cents at the
opening.
The Liverpool market was fiat for
futures, declining 214d, and the Chicago
market followed in the footsteps of the
foreigner. There was brief rally of l
cent or more and then came the 4-cent
break at II o'clock to fill the holders of
long lines with fear that the market
might break them next week.
The big bulls are reported to be totter-
ing on the verge of losing price as the
maTkSL now SlauQS tO-ElSAl. SuQdAN
sold some of his wheat on the last break,
bat the trade could only conjecture as to
the quantity he got rid of. The general
belief is that he could not have sold big
lot in the face OF such demoralized
market, ready to drop the price at the
least provocation.
There was a story going the rounds on
Change to-day which revives the long
standing and bitter fight between the
Armour and other elevator interests and
the majority of the board. represented by
the directors. Mr.. Armour has not for
given the prosecution of his firm by the
directors on the charge that his elevators
were irregular, which ended in the sus-
pension of his elevator manager, Valen.
tine, for twenty years. 1t is said that
among the big bulls who are long on De-
cember wheat are several members who
are active in the fight against the elevator
interests and that the latter, OF which Mr..
Armour is the leader, are in a position TO
squeeze these particular balls to the break
ing point. There was an undercurrent of
fear on Change that next week will bring
failures of consequence if there should be
another big fall in the price Of wheat.
The material advance in the local mar
ket yesterday was expected to effect
similar turn in the Liverpool market, but
when the reverse was flashed across sea
and land to the Chicago wheat pit the
news struck the bulls like lightning from
a cloudless sky. They were speechless
with surprise. They were unable to make
show of resistance and prices were ham
mered down in the first transactions to
70 cents In the course of the next half
hours business there was a slow but
steady advance to 70T cents.
Attention was directed to the domestic
situation by the heavy movement of
spring wheat in the Northwest. There
was no encouragement for holders of high
priced wheat in the weeks reports from
the coasts and interior. Many we'll
informed traders think the Liverpool de-
cline was engineered from this end. and
there was free expression of opinion
that leader in the provision trade was at
the bottom of 1t. John Cudahy and his
long wheat are supposed to be the objective
point of the elevator men, or at least an
incident of their scheme.
1t is believed that their chief reason for
spending q little money to break prices
is that the 60000,000 bushels or so of
"hedged" wheat sold by the elevator men
of Chicago and the Northwest against
their cash holdings require big sum OF
money in the form of margins to conduct
their business and they want to shake
down those margins at all hazards.
| The outside trade has suffered seriously
| by the present break, although that trade
| is not as great as during former big wheat
1urries. Stop loss orders were the feature
| of the market on the decline to SO cents
Most of the country buying orders were
only at figures above 70 cents. The cash
wheat situation is still disturbing factor
in the market, and difficulty in obtaining
money to carry grain is given as one of
the chief reasons for the anxiety to un-
load. Small holders were obliged 10 let 90
| at a loss, and there was tumbI OF
pyramids. Altogether it was the m ost
demoralized trade of the year, BRINGING
more trouble than Joy to all who partici-
pated.