The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-02-15
Ways OF JOHN CUDAHY
Prince of Speculators He Has
Been Wonderfully
Successful.
Iron Nerve and Keen Judgment
Are the Weapons Used on
the Board of Trade.
His Kind Heart Does Not Permit
His Unfortunate Comrades
to Go Down.

ing king of today may find himself in
such position tomorrow that none is sc
poor as to do him reverence there is just
at present no more conspicuous or inter
esting figure that John Cldahy. He is
a recognized power in PROVISIONS, wheat,
corn and oats. The eyes of the trade are
constantly trained on his movements
seeking to anticipate his plans and dis
count some future coup d'etat. The trade
has come to have almost superstitious
fear of the man who can read the market
in advance as John Cudahy appears to
have done for over a year. The old adage
that nothing succeeds like success is no.
Where better exeu1plifed than on 'change
and scalpers care more about how "Jack"
Everybody calls him "Jacl1''-Cudahy
is fixed than they do for the latest ad-
vices on the Argentine crop, or govern
ment estimates on wheat production, says
the Chicago Tribune.
His big winnings of the past year have
given him remarkable prestige, and no
single trader at present has greater
following. In time Of speculative storm,
when the market is stirred to it's depths,
the little ships tail in after this big craft
for safety, but they cannot always keep
track of it's quick changes in course
Cudahy is one Of those men who seem
to know beforehand, by a species of in
stinct what is coming into the atmos-
phere. but which, after all, may be moth
ing more ncr less than the ability to
watch quickly what the present temper
of the speculative crowd foreb1des.
"Jack'' Cudahy has nearly always pur
sued4sEe policy OF nlaying lone hand
He must be the whole thing himself, or
he will have nothing whatever to do with
the game. The business rule of his life
has been never 10 let other people run
his business with his money. He makes
no confidants in his deals, and conse-
quently has no one to betray his conf
dence or make mistakes for him, and
disaster has hefallen him in the past
only wien he has abrogated that rule
temporarily
He spends most of the hours of the
board of trade session On the floor, per-
scnally directing the1novements OF his
brokers, and keepi1ga all the tangled lines
so firmly in his own hands that not one
broker knows what another is doing. He
may have men working on opposite
sides OF the market in the pit a the same
instant and his movements are SO in
volved that the trade cannot keep any
sort of track Of them. But the lines are
all clear in Cudahys brain
No matter how the market is going,
his round. ruddy face wears the same
~
ls always al Irish twinkle in his eye,
as if he were somewhat amused at the
situation. His words are brief, terse and
to the point, but always kindly. His
nerves seem to be made Of iron. and new
Or betray any such thing as petulance
with the turn of fortune.
At is said that the only time he was
known to show any great excitement was
back in the sos, when his winnings be-
gan to be enormous One morning ne
visited over dozen commission houses
and took checks on balances due him
varying ali the way from $4,000 to
100000. One of the last houses he visit
ai was that of Schwartz, Dupee & Co.,
where he received check for $4,000. a
trit1e intoxicated with his enormous sue
cess, his hand trembled, his face
5lanched as he put the last check into
his pocketbook.
His recent successes are due to his old
plan of being a consistent operator, hav-
ing gained bitter experience in the only
corner of aote within his career. and
which resulted disasLrously in 1898. 1t
lisa striking commentary on the Sicissl-
tudes and possibiliti IS of the board Of
trade that a man admittedly bankrupt
less than three years ago, and seemingly
buried beyond recovery beneath noun
tains of debts and liabilities resulting
from an unsuccessful bull campaign,
should now be one OF the nndisputed
rulers again. No one knows even ap-
proximatelv how much he has made
since his failure in 1898, but it is known
that he had cancelled something like
100000 of his indebtedness, and stands
ready to cancel more, and his long
standing notes are not rated at the dis
counts which holders were willing to &C
ceDt a year or SO ago. Cudahy has made
virtue Of the very conditions that tenn
porartly conquered him in 1893. The
hard times and constantly declining
prices OF all speculative products have
heen favorable TO his campaigns, while
the same conditions have rendered it al
most Impossible for other men to make
ends meet. No one in touch with the
market would class John Cudahy as any
thing but bear. but the mania for short
selling has not become 50 firmly fixed
on him as it has on Partridge, who is
Kept. on nettles by the ownership Of a
Few thousand bushels of wheat, but who
thinks nothing Of having a line of short
wheat aggregating millions of bushels.
Cnd1ahy is shifty, and after being con-
slstent bear, and rs such the main fac
tor IN provisions on the decline to q
i record q, breaking point in December, was
giyen, the credit for being a leader on the.
4 recent sharp rally which carried May
.l rork 81 IN from a low point at sS.65 a bar.
y rel to $11. # .8: &. " 8s y-5ss
4 l3lr1ng al this time he has been an
element in wheat. and OH account Of
Il tllett more restricted dimensions an;
aiowing factor III corn and 1 oats.
y s ornols sprlo d,ic ctiorlss 81. |. coarse
the ds.ss