The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1897-08-27
The Wheat Boom,

The present American wheat boom is
the greatest object lesson the people have
ever had, if intelligently studied, both as
to the influence money in circulation has
on business and the rascally use the plu-
tocrat papers are endeavoring TO make OF
it. The scant crops of wheat in the old
countries last year and almost failure OF
the crop i'll the same countries this year
have caused very great demand in
European grain importing countries.
This phenomenal grain failure in those
countries has been greatly emphasized by
the large crop in the United States.
These conditions have thrown an extraor-
binary demand for wheat OH the one
country with very large crop, estimated
to reach $50 to $50 million bushels. This
large crop of wheat and the great demand
for the grain have unlocke ed the congested
money boards of Wall street and Euro
pean nations short of bread stuffs. This
heretofore idle money has been set flow
ing to the Western States to pay for grain
which the farmers have in their stacks and
granaries. The sorely long pressed farm
ers want almost everything but their
wheat which is gladly exchanged for
money and the money Immediately ex-
changed for manufactured stuff of many
kinds, largely clothing. This has. caused
the merchants who supply such things to
seek the factories and wholesale dealers
who are mostly located in the older
eastern parts of the country. This will
soon bring the money back to eastern
centers where it started from, and if the
same causes do not arise to produce a
similar result next year things must settle
back to where they we're.
phenomenal scarcity offood products
in the old world and abundant supply i'll
the United States can scarcely occur two
years in succession. In the meantime
the business movement the farmers grain
has started is affecting everything else
and to force things to the utmost the great
boom inhaters, the daily papers, are pub
fishing page after page of exaggerated
accounts of the business movement, pre-
dieting that it will last five, six or an in
definite number of years. They have no
solid reasons to give for such predictions
r and very complacently attempt none.
The red hot Republican papers make a
feeble attempt to credit the Dingley tariff
and Mckinley confidence" with large
share of the permanent good times, but
the people generally give the whole credit
to wheat. Occasionally farmer is found
so besotted with party that he is willing tc
give the credit to Mckinley and tariff
but to the credit of the good sense of the
farmers such cases are very rare.
In the meantime the stock market
gamblers, known as "bears" and 'bulls'
are fairly raising Cain among themselves
betting on the wheat rise. The papers
give but faint idea of the bedlam which
the grain pits" (exchanges) present,
where the gamblers shout at the top o.
their voices, fight, pull and haul, teal
each others clothes, and carry on like
lunatics. This is what the simple rura
: denizens read of every morning in the
city daily as business" Millions O.
| bushels of wheat are bought and solo
, daily in those pits" by gamblers thai
never owned bushel. The grain is moi
= bought i'll any sense more than the horse.
5 on race course are bought by the mer
= who buy pools" The gamblers put NJ
, stake with broker called in street par
lance Margin" and order the broker
to purchase, say 10000 bushels of whea
] to be delivered i'll September, Decembe
or at any time in the future they may
S agree upon. Great money syudicates are
/ formed for this kind of betting and they
= buy and sell millions of wind wheat in
single day. When the day for delivery o
:. the wheat rolls round, if the partie
haven't settled before that time, there i
no wheat delivered. The price of tn
n wheat is set down when the supposed sal
q was made and the price when the tim
: arrives to deliver the wheat, and the dill
ference in price of the wheat at the tim
for delivery is the amount of the stake
;, called the margin, which is in the broker
or "book makers" hands We will sup
!, pose that wheat is selling for $I.oo
!. bushel and syndicate buys 1000, 600 I,
y be delivered in September. When tn
day for delivery rolls round wheat i
quoted in the pitt at 81 o6, that is
i rise of six cents bushel on one million
g bushels, amounting in the aggregate t
;, $4,000. This is the amount of the be
;, and the seller must either pay or delive
!, the wheat which he or they haven't il
q their possession and cannot buy, so tn
e broker holding the stakes (the margin
hands over the money to the winning
q parties.
q And this is miscalled business" anC
: speculation" aud upheld, and defende,
y by the press, and millionaire class. Car
9 our readers detect any difference between
r this and the Elkton race-track gambling
t except in the magnitude of the betss
This business" constitutes large par
of the prosperity and trade movement
which the papers are shouting over and
urging factories and other lines of bushes:
S take heart and just haye confidence and
everything will prosper; and the momeu.
tum is moving great many lines of bus.