The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-04-20

Chicago. Ills. April la.-The war news
sent wheat skyward today. May wheat
sold as high as IS cents bushels at the
opeIing Of trading on change. an advance
ever the lowest orce touched that day.
Fluctuations were violent. trading at the
start being all the way from II 10 7sc al
the same time IN different parts OF the pit
Most ot the initial sales were at ~ 20 Hisc.
bit for nearly ten minutes purchases were
being recorded al the top figures named.
Then the market steadied for moment
or Two a. 77:zc. AT this point there was a
fearfully RAPID reaction. the market sud
denly piung:ng downward &c a bushels. 10
75Isc with scarcely single stop. An equal
ly quick rally followed. prices dashing up
| TO 7sssc. nearly &c advance in two minute.
Five minutes afterward the market was
down again almost a cent and at 10 O'Clock
q. n, half an hour after the opening. sell
ing was al 75izc. May. BY 1915 a. m the
price was shooting the chutes again ana
had touched 157s. but by 1873 was COM
rarat,vely steady around asi4c. Just before
l O'Clock there was another whirl OF excite
ment. 10 some little time the market had
shown symptoms of weakness. All at once
the bottom seemed 20 fall out and prices
pitched beadlong off to 74i4c. fall OF SIC.
as compared with top figures at the open
ing. whipsaw Of ha;r-raising rapidly fol-
lowed, a full cent advance 10 15iec and a
decline to 74,sc succeeding each other in a
way that was bewildering. even 10 the old
est veterans in the house.
In the last quarter OF an hour Of the
days trading the market seemed 20 stag
nate and the May option did not ge; more
than &c away either SIDE OF I5c, which was
the closing price.
Before change opened it was regarded as
| certainty that the market would jump on
account Of the war new and at the tap of
, the bell the wheat pit became sea of
shouting, struggling spectators. There
were no foreign markets, owing TO the
| koaday season abroad. but they were no;
nee Nj, everything being lost sight OF IN
| the general interest in the struggle now
considered fairly on between Turkey and
Greece. Fortunately, perhaps, for many
commission men. there was more wheat Of
fered than anticipated. In the flood OF
realizing which broke the advance so sharp
| ly during the first half-hour. John Cudahy
took leading part. The pit was perfect
DtDel- ldAElN CAuiUc0 wei
| themselves in their eagerness to cover or
dispose of wheat, already showing heavy
profit, and the packed galleries were treated
| to a scene of excitement seldom witnessed.
Longs were heavy sellers all morning. led
| by John Cudahy and ". r. Linn. There is
no question that the unexpected amount OF
| wheat put on the market prevented what
| might have been one of the biggest ad-
IN In history the
board of trade, for the eage-less TO by,
both by shorts and outsiders. amounted al
| times to veritabIe stampede. The willing
ness OF longs to let go of their holdings
! however, carried May down TO 743sc. the
lowest point reached during the morning
and within &c OF Saturdays close. But
the market seemed almost irrepressible and
| within an hour il had scared up to 757sc
shortly after noon. During hull this al
vance was lost and al p. m, 10 minutes
| before the close the current quotation FOR
! May was a cent lower, at 7i7sc. The sales
| showed only net gain OF 1Lc over Sat
Urday's closing figure. The market was
peculiar IN that no one seemed 10 know
where all the long wheat went. TTeDen-
| dous amounts OF II were thrown over but
where II went 10 IS apparently mystery.
/ John Cudahy and ". X. Linn were undoubt
edly big winners. Both were heavy hold
ers Of wheat bought before the present ad-
vance began and both closed out at CT
| neat the top OF the bulge. No failures
| were reported. rather remarkable fact
considering that market showed an advance
of II cents since last Monday. The ''con-
fding public as a rule. got nothing bu,
experience out of the sky-rocket.ng tactics
Of the market. OF the non-profess.onal
element, which played an important par,
in the days trading. a very large proper
ton bought on the opening jump and saw
their investments melt away like froS, be-
fore a summers sun. All the other mar
kets were more or less violently affected
but after the excitement at the opening
the coarse grains and provisions were rath-
er neglected on account OF the absorbing
interest taken in the struggle in the wheat
pit.