The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-20
ARMOUR's SUCCESS MEANS A LOSS
OF AT LEAST 100000 TO
LETTER.
MILLIONS OF READY MONEY
Being Made Use of by Both Sides
Armour's Great Water Achieve
ment.


cago Tribune.
Day after day, two weeks after the
close Of navigation in the regular
course, Chicagoans have been perplex-
ed by the arrival Of steamer after
steamer laden to the waters edge with
choice wheat, the best that the wheat
fields Of Minnesota, Dakota and the
entire northern belt Of agricultural
states raise.
And this in spite Of the fact that
Chicago has always heretofore shipped
wheat and not imported 1t.
The public Is aware that one Of the
largest wheat deals within the history
of the board Of trade is being fought
out between the Letter clique on the
one hand and the elevator men, headed
by P. D. Armour, on the other. It is
aware that there Is vast amount Of
money involved in this deal, and that
somebody is likely to come to financial
harm through the ultimate turn Of the
market. The reading public is daily
scanning the papers to learn whether
Mr.. Armour has covered his rumored
short sales or whether the Letter con-
tingent has taken to the woods and
come from under the price Of Deem
Der wheat.
But the general public has been ed
ucated to believe that these wheat
deals are purely gambling for a mar
gin to the good In the settlement, and
is not prepared to believe that any Of
the great guns in the market can real
ly take the sale of six or seven mil
lions Of bushels Of wheat so seriously
as honestly to intend to deliver the
grain upon the day Of settlement.
This same confiding public, with It's
memory Of the deals Of "Old Hutch
Of long ago and of Partridge Of yes
terday, Is quite certain that which
ever set Of operators comes out sec
ond best in the deal will step around
to the captains Office, as represented
by the other fellows broker, and set
tie for all or part Of its fortunes.
Possibly that is the way that any
other man than Armour would settle
this wheat deal. But the bulls forgot
that 1.-THE Old Man" was a merchant
and an elevator man before he was
a Spectator, and they overlooked the
fact that he probably knows more
about the acreage Of the wheat belt
and more about the concentration of
vast quantities Of the staple than any
man living. They thought they had
cornered the market. and at the close
of navigation caught the elevator man
short for millions.
This article has nothing to do with
the financial side of this great wheat
deal. For the purpose Of this story it
matters not whether wheat sells at 81
or 81 before the LIST day of January.
It matters not whether the Armour
interest is short 100000 bushels sold
around 81 to 80 cents, or only 1000
bushels; whether the elevator man
adds the Letter millions to his pile
or gives up all of his yellow wagons
and all Of his elevators and the mil
lions behind them to satisfy the ra-
pacity Of the boomers; 1t Is with the
wonderful and unprecedented coup in
steamer freights that this has to do.
WHAT GAVE BIRTH TO THE PLAN.
Along about a month ago, when Ar
mour saw that the bull clique was
bound to buy in all the December
wheat that offered, and that, as a con-
sequence, wheat would be a mighty
scarce article in his huge elevators, he
called his generals about him and babe
them figure out where the visible and
the possible supply Of the staple was
located in this country and in Canada
Mr.. Armour was circumscribed in the
territory from which to draw grain to
make up the local deficit. for all deals
upon the floor Of the board of trade
must be in contract wheat, which
means No. 2 red or No. northern.
Thus the millions Of bushels of Cali
fornia's white wheat was barred, even
though 1t could pay the freight, as also
was the Southern wheat, the three
grades Of Colorado wheat, and other
grades. No. 1 northern spring wheat
is that grain raised in the Dakotas.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Manitoba,
and must be sound, reasonably clean,
Of good milling quality, and Of not
less than so per cent of hard varieties
Of spring wheat In the mixture. No.
2 red winter wheat is the second grade
Of the long berried varieties, sound,
plump, and reasonably clean, that Is
grown in our own state, and In Mich
igan, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri
Mr. Armour had great deal Of No.
and No. wheat, milling and brew
ing varieties, in his warehouses, but
that wheat could not be rendered in
settlement
Hence the council of war in the busy
La Sale street Office.
The problems to solve were: First,
was there enough wheat upon the mar
ket to fill shortage Of 5000, goo or 1000
600? If 80, where was it2 In what
quantities2 How could 1t be transport
ed, by rail or steamers? Could 1t be
transported in time to meet the en-
gagements of the house7 And If so,
could 1t be warehoused and inspected
before the first day Of january
It was determined that 5000, 900 bush
els Of wheat could be got in Mime
apolis. A couple Of millions lay In the
warehouses in Duluth, and two more
millions lay in the granarles throughout
the Northwest. Next it was figured
that by impressing every possible grain
steamer and barge that lay in Superior
or Michigan water, the Duluth and the
Fort William wheat might be got to
Chicago before the canals and straits
froze up. AS to the ability Of the house
to take care of the grain upon It's ar
rival, Mr. Armour smiled smile, and
quietly remarked that he would teach
those fellows thing or two about
warehousing.
POSSIBLE BY SUPERB ORGANIZA-
TON.
The superb business organization Of
the great house was Immediately
brought into requislhon. The wires
were kept hot for q couple Of days,
and the stenographers wrote out dicta-
lions that called for the expenditure Of
millions Of dollars, the knowledge Of
the contents of which would be worth
a small fortune to an operator on the
floor Of the exchange.
Agents were secretly dispatched to
Minneapolis and to Duluth with orders
to huy through resident brokers all the