Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1897-12-22

volume of wheat to this city, and that
his short selling will cost him about Is
or 20 cents a bushel.
BY settlement day the deal will have
been fought to finish and only the
formalitles will remain to be observed.
The present status of the case is about
as foil ws:
In July the Letter clique began it's
opel aulons IN O formidable manner by
gobbnng up July wheat at 90 cents.
The amount in its possession was vari-
ously estimated from 100000 to 1O,-
050,O0U bushels. No matter what the
actual amount of it's holdings, it was
large enough to boost the price and en-
phasize the growing foreign demand.
The price OF July wheat rose to 70
cents, and between 20 and 70 cents the
Letter clique sold out It's stock of July
and transferred q portion of it to Sep
TENDER, pocketing by the transaction
the premium which at that time existed
between July and September wheat.
- nen September came around the
Clique repeated it's bullish tactics and
accumulated at 81 cents a vast amount
of So tember wheat, estimated as high
as It,UuU,000 bushels. 1t was during
tins month that the foreign situation
Was b ought out more boldly. Septem-
bel shyrOcketed in short time up to
80 90 is. a large portion of the hold
ing was transferred to December, with
another handsome premium to put
away and u considerable bulk was sold
outright for big profit. The present
line of 10000 bushels of December
wheat which the Letter clique is caring
Tor MAS bought from the elevator peo-
pie at nom 81 to SO cents a bushel At
one me the clique had an opportunity
to sell this immense holding at profit
of nearly 20 cents bushel.
Armour, Seaverns, Peavy and the
Central Elevator company were the
people who sold wheat to the Letter
Clique. Armour's shortage was only
guessed at until the great shipments Of
wheat from Duluth by vessel and rail
showed in the sensationally large in
crease of the contract stocks in store.
The amount said to have been brought
here is nearly 100000 bushels, and
that is regarded as the amount of Ar
mour' S shortage. The other shorts did
accomplished, although not upon so
large scale. Before Mr. Armour sent
out his people to bring in wheat suffi-
cient to satisfy his contracts for deIiv-
cry he was face to face with a tough
problem.
lad ne been unable to secure the
wheat, which he is now credited with
having brought here, he would have
been compelled to pay to Letter the
difference between the price which he
sold the wheat to Letter and the mar
ket price upon the day of delivery.
Inasmuch as MIR. French of the Letter
crowd insist that the December wheat
in the clique's hands did not cost, on an
average more than 80 cents q bushel,
and assuming that the market price
would be 81 bushel on the final day
of the month, when it is necessary for
Armour to deliver what he sold to
Letter, he would have been compelled
to pay the latter 10 cents on every
bushel he could not actually deliver.
The rules of the board are ironclad on
this subject and there is no recourse.
Now that Armour has secured fully
as much cash wheat as he sold for de-
livery this month there will be no such
contingency to face. 1t was in bring
ing the weat to this city when it was
scarce, when hardly any was to be had,
that the test of strength came in.
That rubicon has been safely crossed
by Armour. At what sacrifice he saved
his business honor is known only to
himself. The costs are mostly repre-
sented in freight charges, private set
Elements for cargoes already chartered
for other ports and the displacement of
great bulks of wheat which were not
designed for shipment to this city.
The remainder of the shorts who sold
to French are generally regarded as
safely within cover. 1t is confidently
predicted that the clique will get all
the wheat which it bought. If Armour
has been buying for other houses which
played the bear side of the market it
is not known to the outside trade, and
the general belief is that Arnor bought
cash wheat for Armour d Co. first and
las