The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-30
WHAT PARDRTDGE WAS LIKE.
The Habits and some of the Deals OF
the Big Chicago Operator.

sides over has developed some marvellous
/ ''plungers' during the % years that il has
] been factor ia the speculative markets
I OF the country. There were Jack Stur-
I gis, who ran the famous corner OF 1873;
/ Phil Armour Who freauently carried 10
[ OlJ.000 bushels Of wheat and all the pork I'm
/ the country; Cudahy. who was equally
/ sweet on pork and wheat: "Old HutCn,'
| whose transactions were 50 enormous that
| rne crowd stood aghast and allowed him
10 take their money when he pleased.
/ suddenly out Of the pit came the man for
/ W'hCm the crowd was waiting. He was a
| small man, an un1zsuming man, q quiet
/ man, and his name was Ed Partridge"
| de went out against the crowd. and they
| trimmed him as they had trimmed Harper.
/ keene and 'Oid Hutch" Pardridge's first
| attempt 70 follow IN the footsteps OF odd
! Hutch cost him $4,000. He said nothing,
| D9J laid IN some more wood and sharpen
| ed his saw. This was in August 1881. wheat
! was then bear. Very few remember
/ when he was rot a bear. But In August,
/ 1871, wheat was run up 10 Sl15 on him. and
| ne settled at the loss stated. To make q
] settlement ne was forced TO mortgage his
/ m:llion-dOllar. State street property for
/ S51g10 which he turned over 10 the bulls.
! Inis punishment did not convince him
1 that wheat was going up. On the contrary
/ lowed his $4,000.
/ When December wheat was 81 a bushel
! ana May went sl.06. and the great mass of
/ professional and outside traders were talk
! ing OF Sl.00 for May. Partridge said, well
! boys, l believe it viii go to 50 cents before
4 II goes 10 $3.50" II was the case of one
! man against the markets of the world for
/ the opinion that higher prices must rule
/ was shared in every market where wheat
/ Mas Traded IN as speculative commo-
/ atty. II was an uphill fight. He was call
/ ca crank. a man who was flying in the
/ race of Providence. whose fortunes would
/ be recklessly disspated on the short side
! or a rising market. Friends volunteered
/ advice. Relatives importuned The little
! man listened-and sold more wheat He
never let up selling until II was generally
known that he carried 100000 bushels
! Other ''plungers" had carried that much
| wheat for day or week, but Partridge
/ carried It for months, and when the chosen
! time came he crawled out, having made, it
! was said about SZ,Ol0.00O.
Now to the man. What manner of man
! Is this who could play with hundreds of
| thousands as other men played with dol
! lars? The feeling was one of disappoint-
ment on seeing him for the first time He
/ was not good dresser, and he had not
! the manners of a high roller" on the
/ contrary, ne was a most commonplace
/ looking man. No one except a green goods
man would have looked at him twice in a
/ crowd. His face gave very little indication
! OF his character. He was small in stature
and slight in build.
He looked like a fairly prosperous coun-
| try storekeeper. His face had a guileless
! expression that completely masked his two
! great characteristics-nerve and logged
/ determination.
Mr. Partridge was born in the state of
! New York and for many years was iden-
! titled with the dry goods business, first in
/ Buffalo and after the fire in Chicago. AS
a dry goods merchant he was a big sue
cess. He cleaned up a big fortune out
Of his Chicago business, which was
| known as the Boston store" and was
a rich man long before he began dallying
! with the grain market. After selling out
/ his dry goods store he began observing
/ the market. This was about twenty years
ago.
Partridge always had from FIVE to ten
| brokers to execute his orders. His chief
broker, A. j. Cutler, was always near him.
motion of his arm brought them all to
| his side. Frequently by signs he would
| start buying, as the situation warranted.
His brokers made comfortable fortunes
! on his commissions Partridge never act
ed like man to whom the fluctuations
| of quarter OF cent in the market
| meant a gain or a loss of thousands of
! dollars Whether II was against him or
with him he never increased his pace, he
never lost his temper, he never WINGED.
One day, when the market was dropping
| like mad and his profits were piling up
| at the rate of $1,000 a minute, he went
! downstairs and spent half an hour con-
! suming milk and pie.
when l first began speculation" said
| Mr.. Partridge to a newspaper man one
! time, II was, like most beginners, a chron-
| ic bull. My experience on the bull side
was an expensive one, and during the four
| or five years | traded on that side lost
| great deal of money. l became convinced
| that the average Spectator is apt to be
too enthusiastic. and that under ordinary
| circumstances the trade is much more
| willing to receive and act on Information
| that would tend to produce higher prices
| than il is to submit to depressing infiu-
| ences For this reason prices are apt to
! go higher than circumstances actually
| warrant and a careful man, who is able
| to grasp the situation and recognizes
! when this condition of affairs exists, IS
| in position to make any amount OF
money on the short side of the market"
He was asked if the rumor was true that
such tremendous gambling was affecting
| his health.
II don't call it gambling" he replied,
because 1t is not gambling. Ny definition
of gambling is q game of pure luck or
chance. When one can exercise Judgment
and skill it is not gambling. Matching
pennies is pure gambling, but selling a
| million wheat-well, that is entirely Diff
ferent. No man can have confidence in
a gamble. He may have nerve and ali
the outward evidence of confidence, but
inwardly there is struggle. In the mar
ket it is different"
DO you think every man can become
| successful speCulator?" he was asked.
Certainly not. 1t isn't every man who
has the right kind of a nervous constitu-
| ton to stand the strain-for it is a strain
and a big one, on man who is extenively
| in the market"
The newspaper man pursued the subject
| and asked Partridge how much money
| he had made on the decline in 1892. when
he first came prominently into public no
tice.
20 Lord, don't know" he replied. Il
wouldn't like to try to figure it up. I've
got a few dollars over in the bank,
enough to buy me new house if had to,
and I don't have to worry about my
meals
The nerve of such man commanded
approve of his methods. Mr.. Partridge
had few intimate friends on the board of
trade, but these who knew him best. said
that he did not get credit for half the
goods things he did. Many and many
hrokeu-down Spectator can tell how Ed
| Partridge "staked' him, and the days
were few when he hadn't anywhere from
a half dozen to a dozen small trades on
the side Of his friends. In his business,
like many other men, he made enemies
and the people who did not like him had a
good many unpleasant things to say about
him. Mr. Cutler, his chief broker, who
knew him better possibly than anybody
else, SAYS that he could not ask to have
a better PRINCIPAL to work for.
| When B. p. Hutchinson was on the floor
he and Partridge were always apparently
al odds, buckng against each other in the
market, but those who were familiar with
Pardridges business said that ii was not
uncommon for these two veteran specu-
lators TO be running joint account deals
at the very time when the crowd thought
they were pitted against each other in
some one of the markets. Mr. Partridge
was about "a years old. He has been