The times., 1897-08-23
Joe Makes a Million Dollars This
Summer i'm Wheat.
AN AGENT MADE HIS DEALS
A New Star Appears in the Specu-
Iative Firmament-One of the Big
gest Winners of the World-Weil
Known in the Select Social Circles
of This City.

Washington cali him Joe. has, according
To accounts from Chicago, made about ST.
600 900 so far on the fluctuaticHs in
wheat. Related with strict regard for
truth, however, Mr.. Letter is only the re-
ceiver of this million, as the brains ana
experience to win that much money We're
Furnished by Mr.. George French, who Is,
course, from New York.
Mr. Letters great luck Us only another
exenlplification of the experience OF the
world that it takes a good lot of money To
play this kind of races He, has always lad
money, having been born to 1t, and raised
up with 1T and by it. He did not find in
| Washington "a hole deep enough To pour it
into, so that he is regarded here almost as
| a "reminiscences, but as having been real
| good fellow and u most agreeable fellow
| at some of the splendid functions ut the
| Letter r,anson, at Dupont circle. In Chi
| cago he has been known rather as the
! brother-in-law of Mr.. Cur2on member of
| Parliament, rather than as either the son
of his father or for any per formances in
| the pit.
| The story about the immense wealth
| made by Mr.. Joe Letter is full OF inter
esting detail They have already begun
|
Pardridge Only two men have won more
than Letter in a given time, c. A. Pills
| bury, and Barnes, of st Louis. He ap
peared suddenly. full fledged and with
royal luck.
| When il first became noised about that
Letter was in the market" one curbstone
gossip said to another:
II hear Letter is in heavy on the bull
side''
..Oh, guess not. The wheat pit has no
attr tracticns for Levi z. Letter.
Il mean Joe Letter.
"Who the devil is Joe letter.
The profane curbstone orator knew very
| well who '-,Ioe'' Letter WAS but his amaze
ment found no better expression.
Joseph Letter has been known TO the
public heretofore chiefly as the brother
in-law of the Hon. George CurZon, Nj. p,
and as ambitious To ''burn" money in
stead OF making 1t, SO ar as the curbstone
and other divisions OF the public knew.
And when he appeared on the horizon
OF the rising wheat market this summer
tile amaZement was greater than if he
had been plain joe Smith or Joe"
Johnston. Mr.. Letter saw q thing, and
knew it when he saw 1t. The fact that
he has made 81 900 900 does not prove
that he saw this good thing earlier or
appreciated It more highly than Others
who have made less than 10 per cent of
| that figure.
Young Mr.. Letter himself does not ap-
pear in the wheat pit with disheyeled raj
Tnent, fighting and gesticulating in the
manner from which the galleries derive so
] much nueoitc wonderment. 1t is doubtful
whether ne has been within the W alls of the
Board of Trade during all the time that
this comfortable little fortune was being
piled up by his brokers' quiet, unosten
tatious gentleman from New York named
George Freneh has been there, however.
Yet even Mr.. French has not precipitatel
| himself into the hurly- burl Y of the pit. Mr..
| French has been Mr.. Letters agent Ia his
| operations, and Mr. French, in turn, has
dealt with the regular commission houses.
There are three OF these which are sup
posed TO be carrying the Letter line OF bull
wheat the Allen. Greer & Cellar Company,
c. 3. Congdon & Co. and North, Worth
ington x Co.
The firm first mentioned has figured con-
splcuousIy in the market reports the last
few weeks, and before Mr.. Letters name
was mentioned in this connection frequent
references were made TO 1.-THE Allen -Gr eer
crowd
Doubtless there are many persons asso-
ciated with Mr.. Letter, through common
interest, in the bull side of the market, and
1t was not until recently that Mr.. Letter
| emerged from the obscnrity of an anony'
nous member of the Allen Greer crowd"
Mr.. French, who has prospered himself
it is said, by the appreciation in the mar
ket quotations, and who is credited with
being Mr.. Letters alter ego in the bueiness,
is a New Yorker, and-other New York men
!. are said to be affiliated closely with Mr.
: Letter.