The Wichita daily eagle., 1897-12-21

and to Get it Cornered the Lake Vessel
Room, Taking Hair. Raising Chances
Against the Frost King-He Has Set g
New Mark for wouid-be Napoieons-
Old Man Letter Appears in Chicago.
Chicago, Dec. 20.-The Tribune says:
There is being made manifest TO Chi
cago and to the world at the presens.
moment of the most stupendous general
ship in connection with the handling OF
food product that the eyes OF man
have ever seen.
Day after day, two weeks after the
close Of navigation in the regular course,
Chicagoans have been perplexed by the
arrival Of steamer after steamer laden
to the waters edge with choice wheat.
the best that the wheat fields of Min
neSota, Dakota, and the entire north
ern belt of agricultural states raise.
And this in spite OF the fact that Chi
cago has always heretofore shipped
wheat and not imported il.
The public is aware that one of the
largest wheat dealsc 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. 1t is aware
that there is a vast amount of money
involved in this deal, and that some
body is likely TO come 10 financial harm
through the ultimate turn Of the mar
ket. The reading public is daily scan
ming the papers to learn whether Mr..
Armour has covered his rumored shorts
sales or whether the Letter contingent
has taken to the woods and come out
from under the price of December
wheat.
But the general public has been edu-
Gated TO believe that these wheat deals
are purely gambling for a margin 20 the
good in the settlement, and is not pre-
pared to believe that any of the great
sums in the market can really take the
sale OF six or seven millions Of bushels
of wheat so seriously as honestly to
intend TO deliver the grain upon the
day of settlement.
This same confiding public, with its
memory Of the deals of "Old Hutch"
Of long ago and Partridge Of yesterday,
Is quite certain that whichever set OF
operators comes oauh etadasonthej-oh
operators comes out second best in the
deal will step around to the captain s
Office, as represented by the other fell
lows broker, and settle for ali or part
ot its fortunes.
Possibly that is the way that any
other man than Armour would settle
this wheat deal. But the bulls forgot
that 'sThe Old Man" was a merchant
and an elevator man before he was a
speculator, and they overlooked the fact
that he probably knows more about the
acreage of the wheat belt and more
about the concentration Of vast quanti-
ties of the staple than any man living.
They thought they had cornered the
market, and at the close of navigation
caught the elevator 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 a dollar or
two dollars before the first day of jan
uary. It matters not whether the Ar
mour interest is short 100000 bushels
sold around IS to 80 cents or only
thousand bushels; whether the elevator
man adds the Letter millions to his
pile or gives up all OF ME yellow wagons
and all OF his elevators and the mil
lions behind them TO satisfy the rapacity
of the boomers; it is with the wonder
full and unprecedented coup in steamer
freignts that this has to do.
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 consequence,
wheat would be a mighty scarce artf-
Gle in his huge elevators. he called his
generals about him and bade them fig
ure out where the visible and the pos
sible supply OF the staple was located
in this country and Canada. Mr.. Ar
mour 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. red
or No. l Northern.
Thus the millions of bushels OF Cali
fornia's white wheat was barred, even
though it 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. Mime
sofa, Wisconsin and Manitoba; and
must be sound. reasonably clean, OF good
milling quality. and OF not less than so
per cent os hard varieties Of spring
wheat in the mixture. No. red win
ter wheat is the second grade OF the
long berried varieties, sound, plump.
and reasonably clean, that i. grown in
our own ssate, and in Michigan, Ohio,
Indiana, Iowa and Missouri.
Mr. Armour had a great deal OF No.
s and No. wheat, milling and brewing
varieties. in his warehouse, but that
wheat could not be rendered in settle
ment.
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
kee TO fill a shortage OF six or seven
millions? If 50, where was X? In what
quantities? How could il be transport
ed. by rail or steamers? Could IL De
transported in time 70 meet the en-
OF the bouse? And II so
could il be warehoused and inspected
before the first day OF January?
Il was determined that 1900. 900 bush
els OF wheat could De got in Minneapolis
A couple OF millions lay in the ware
houses IN Duluth, and two more millions
lay in the granaries throughout the
Next 1t was figured that by
impressing every possible grain steamer