davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

old bears. They boycotted the cash
wheat market with the idea of leaving
their youthful opponent high and dry
with wheat h he could not dispose
of. He was equal to the emergency.
and the bears were astounded to learn
that after buying up the May option,
which he advanced to $l.05. he was
sending his wheat to Europe. Every
available vessel was chartered and
millions Of bushels shipped. So we'll
had he understood the conditions
abroad hat he was able to sell his
wheat at a moderate proht Of several
cents q bushel.
Then Mr.. Letter had some good luck.
He held May and July wheat only fer
the purpose Of providing a market for
his cash wheat by increasing the de-
mand for cas- wheat to meet May and
July contracts. lust after he had
closed out his cash wheat and lent 1t
abroad, war vas declared. and quite
naturally up went the price of wheat.
Instead Of selling his May and July
wheat at a slight profit and just saving
his neck as he expected to do when he
bought II, he found h a on account OF
the war n the shortage due to i'm
mense exports the demand for wheat
sent the price to nearly 81 a bushel
and his operations were more surpris-
ingly successful than the quest of the
enchanted prince in widest fairy tale.
But Mr.. Letter needed something more
than luck to enable him to carry OF
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29
CORNERS IN WHEAT DEALING
Methods Of Spectators to Amass Vast Fortunes by a
Clever Juggling Of Of the Markell.

More than two billion bushels of
wheat come up out OF the earth every
year. The government estimate Of the
1897 crop In the United States was Co.,
O0o. 900 bushels. These bushels OF wheat
at from so cents to 81 each are the
chips OF the great wheat gamblers.
Cornering wheat IL only q game be-
tween speculators. The public il not
harmed; for no man can permanently
increase the price of a universal pro-
duct that 10 harvested in every month
Of the year and In every country. AZ
the game II played with one of. the
necessities Of life, the public sometimes
feels the effects; but when the price Of
wheat changes permanently. II IL due
to causes beyond the control of any
SPECTATOR, though a corner may be
credited with the result. But so inti-
mate Ii the relation between the
worlds markets and such>a nice bal
ance OF prices Is maintained, hat spec
ulators by selling or buying large
quantities OF wheat cause fluctuations
In the price; and for q short time may
control the wheat supply Of a nation.
The movement of a finger Of a cable
operator in Chicago produces a flash
In London: and the tinkle of the great
wheat operators bell summoning the
ONCE boy shocks the delicate equilib-
rum OF business forces, and the Ital-
ian peasant across the ocean goes to
bed ~supperless, because wheat has
reached a prohibitive figure and the
bakers have closed their shops. 1t
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

opseatious can hardly be called run
Ming . corner. because he has actually
bought wheat and sold 1t to consum-
ers. II 10 q remarkable fact that Mr..
Letter was the FIRST to take ADVANTAGE
Of the scarcity Of wheat In Europe. No
one knows whether to credit this to his
natural a~cuteneos OF information re-
ceived from Rockefeller and others
who, rumors says. are behind him. He
began to buy July wheat in 1897. and
10 aaid to have taken 5000. 900 bushels
at an average Of IS cents. which he
sold at Q profit of 9 cents a bushel.
The demand for wheat increased. and
Letter repeated his performance I'm
September. He declared, while the
wheat pit smiled, that he was a wheat
merchant, not an exchange operator.
ana tina he expected to send his wheat
abr& Id. He began to buy wheat for
December delivery and then Armour
fought him In earnest with the whole
pit to help. 1t seemed as II the daring
fellow was doomed. Just as the pit
expected him to be swamped, his ia
Their, Levi z. Letter. who IL said to
control $40, 900, 900 In Chicago real es-
tate, came to the rescue. The March
option matured, and Armour and other
large sellers attempted to weigh down
the young meteor with large deliveries
made simultaneously. To their Z
prise he was able to take more than
they offered. The moral Of this 10 that
q papa with $50. ooo. 900 IL sometimes .
convenience.
While Joseph Letter. backed by his
fathers guarantee, was carrying his
wheat, another move was made by the
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

tickles the Imagination to fancy a spec
ulator in Chicago doubling the price
Of every loa of bread in the world
with Croesus-like results. But a man
ascends a dangerous path to dizzy
heights when he tries to control wheat.
A misstep means ruin.
The transactions in wheat. as we'll as
I'm other products dealt in at the great
exchanges of the world. consist chiefly
of buying and selling for future deliv-
cry. May wheat" is to be delivered
the 31st of the coming May; July
wheat on July 81, and so on. Before
the time for delivery comes a hundred
things may a happened to affect
it's value. A COW may kick over a
lamp. or a Spaniard touch q button
and blow up a warship; there may be
a famin in Russia, a plague in India.
a session Of congress-. or a flood on the
Mississippi.
Wheat is bought by the professional
dealers not to use, but to gamble with.
In many respects the exchanges are
great clubs where people play each
other for large stakes. Comparatively
little wheat actually changes hands:
and II is possible to buy and sell thous-
ands OF bushels without actually own-
Ing a grain. Contracts, not wheat. are
dealt in. A speculator who thinks that
the price of wheat will advance agrees
TO buy. say. 1000 bushels Of wheat at
q dollar q bushel on or before a GER
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

tain date. He exchanges contracts
with Q bear who expects . fall IN
prices and agrees on his part to sell
the wheat at the appointed time. Each
man puts up q margin" Of from 3 to
10 cents a bushel. II q SPECTATOR
agrees to sell wheat II 81, and IL adj
vances to $1.O2. he will evidently lose
2 cents a bushel when he carries out
his contract. This margin" Ia merely
q guarantee that the spectators will
meet their losses. When the loss il
equal to the margin, additional margin
has to be put up. No money In used
In these transactions except the cash
for the margin. OF course. q specula-
tor who has given Q contract to buy
may hedge" by q similar contract
from some one else. When the day
for delivering the wheat comes, the
man who has lost settles by paying the
difference between h market price
and the price named in his contract.
A corner" is formed when a specu-
lator buys contracts for more wheat
Than the shorts are able to deliver to
him When the day of delivery comes.
He then proceeds to squeeze" the
bears; they are forced to settle at the
price he dictates. The danger to the
bull" lies in his Understanding the
wheat supply and the moun Of cash
necessary to pay for the margins on
the immense amount of wheat con-
tracts II he refuses to accept con-
tracts that the bears" offer, the mar
ket breaks" and he makes IN as
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

A carious Combtsatios Ter Use In n
War with spain.

A curious Combtsatios Ter Use In the
War with spain.
That the war department and the
signal service bureau intend to use
war balloons and airships extensively
AZ soon As active operations in the
field are begun In acknowledged by no
less an authority than Gen. A. w.
Greeley, chief signal o~ficer. and nat
the government has for some time
been quietly making experiments with
several new inventions along this line.
which have been brought to the at
tention of the signal service officials by
their designers. Is also freely acknowl-
edged.
The latest and one Of the most prom
inent Of these inventions TO come un-
der review and receive careful atten-
ton is an airship devised by Thomas
Creper, a well posted electrician Of
Grand Rapids. Mich.
Mr.. Creper claims that his craft is
eminently practical and particularly
adapted for war purposes. The ma
chinery for propeiling the ship IL not
complicated, while q system Of aero
planes. parallel with the sides of the
airship. are designed to prevent pitch
ing and tossing while moving either
up or down in the various air currents.
Taken altogether the craft. which Is
cigar shaped. has decided lines OF
beauty, as well as of utility. Leading
experts have greatly encouraged Nj
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

the market price and the selling price
named in their contracts. but they
actually deliver the wheat. In this
case the 'bull' Spectator hnds that
he own s~torehouses full Of wheat that
must be disposed of before his deal
will show any cash returns. II the rise
in the market price was due chiefly to
manipulation, and not to q short wheat
supply, his wheat. which costs q large
sum for one days storage. may break
the market when he tries to dispose Of
IL: and all the profits may vanish like
q handful of liquid air. The bears
who were not put hors de combat by
the corner will then recuperate. This
happened to j. b. Hutchinson, the cell
ebrated "Old Hutch" who succeeded
in cornering wheat, but parted with
most Of his profits in marketing his
holdings.
There must be q hort crop II wheat
Is to be successfully cornered. The
world il secured by wheat spectators
for information concerning the proba-
BILE size OF future crops. The number
Of considerations affecting a monthly
crop Of 'l60. 000. 900 bushels Ia INFINITE
and here the superiority Of brain over
brain is manifested.
1t has been said hat Mr.. Letter was
led into purchasing wheat through the
reliable information that he received
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

discovery was James r.. Keene. now OF
New York. who has since made sew
eral fortunes in Wall street Ind horse
racing. About 20 years ago Mr.. Keene
came to Chicago with q fortune. 1t 10
said that he lost 81 900. 900 before he
gave up trying to squeeze the Chicago
bears. At any rate. he lost all he had.
The celebrated Handy deal occurred
in 1881. when q Cincinnati Spectator
named Handy. anticipating a scarcity
in wheat. began buying. until the price
was advanced from 30 to $1.25 q
bushel. II was then that the famous
Spectator, Philip Armour. entered the
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

pit as a leader on the bear side. He
sold contracts to Handy. and was
forced to settle at a heavy loss. The
tables were turned later. when Handy
became a bear. and Armour forced the
price up to $40. to the utter mir Of
Handy. who was the first victim of
Armour's speculative genius. George
NJ. Pullman and a number of traders of
lesser note were badly crippled by Ar
mour in the Plankinton corner OF 1882.
All Of Armour's immense
were called into play. and though
wheat was plentiful and a large crop
assured, all h July wheat was ac-
quired by Armour, and the price kept
at $3.50 until the bears had settled.
This was entirely a contest Of specula-
tors in which the side with the greatest
won. The futility of a man
attempting to corner the market with
limited capital was demonstrated in
1884 by Harper. president Of the Fidel-
ity bank of Cincinnati. He forced the
contract price up to - cents and then
the great bears began to deliver cash
wheat to him in an attempt to break
his bank" Ten million dollars worth
of wheat was presented to him; he
could o buy II. 90 he failed. He used
several millions belonging to his bank
in his efforts to ave himself and his
career ended in Jail. The most sensa-
tional wheat corner occurred In 1855.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29
Latch Keys for Women.

Now that the ola IA hioned spIn.ter
has disappeared and the che girl
has M her pIace the former IL no
longer Allowed 10 have a Of
mnst he Included the The
Ia che,or eirI is nothinr N moi deter
mined and AZ abe has adopted one OF
the last remainins a~rticIes that man
could call his own when the kew came
the pocket had to come with II. OF
course, and now IN is cut i'm the hack
OF the dress skirt very near the belt
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

uncestain elements. No track, no course,
% udder, no certainty that any breeze may
not bring destruction. =,
So with the sick man. His ~disoroered
eonstitution renders every natural Operations
uncertain. No organ can be depended On
10 do its normal work. The stomach viii
net digest food; the liver will not filter bill
i0us poisons from the blood; the kidueys
and skin viii not excrete the waste. No
regular nourishing or purifying process Is
eeing on There is NO certainty except the
0esxinsy Ut suffering.
In all dyspeptic, bilious. debilitated rom
ditious, what Is needed is to change the alb
normal. cratic operations Of the system
into a natural, regular. Straightforward pro-
Rress in the right direction. Nothing in the
world will do this so rapidly and certainly
- Dr.. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery.
II directly regulates the vitalizing func-
lions. II sets the stomach and liver into
aaturai, healthy operation and gives the
bleod-making glands power to manufacture
n abundance of pure, rich blood
II creates appetite; builds up muscular
sxength. and banishes and
aeuralgia. As IL can be assimilated by the
weakest stomach. its u~ourishing properties
ere far superior to nauseating cod liver OIL
In severe coughs and all wasting diseases.
The druggist who recommends something
else as lust as good " is thinking more OF
his extra profit on the just Is good kind
than Of your welfase-
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

The crop was very small that year and
Hutchinson slyly got control Of the Wis
ible supply Of wheat, which was only
-. 0oo. 900 bushels. and bought contracts
for September delivery at from 90 to
% cents. Two or three days before the
last day of September the bears dis
covered that there was scarcely any
cash wheat to be had. There was q
rush Of bears to cover" and the price
went up to 81. Many fortunes were
lost, but "Oid Hutch IA not much
ahead after he sold all the wheat he
had bought. In this same ear John
H. Cudahy bought ar immense amount
of May wheat. He underestimate the
supply, and after forcing the price up
to 30 cents he was obliged to unload
1t a loss of several millions. which
went to line the pockets of Philip Ar
mour and the bear leader. Edward
Partridge.
All operations Of the past are
dwarfed by the achievements Of Jo-
seph Letter, the youngest and the most
brilliant operator in the Chicago wheat
Dit. II is difficult eve to approximate
iy estimate his winnings. but h opin-
ion Of the leading wheat brokers places
them at about hve millions. Letters
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

Creper In the pursuance OF his latest
undertaking. He is known as the pat
entee Of several valuable inventions
and with his genius In this line he has
a fair chance before him Of many a
of usefulness. He claims that he has
discovered an inexpensive . that In
of greater buoyancy than hydrogen
gas. but he refuses to include It's de-
scription In his patents. rs he wants
to keep that point secret. claiming that
IL is OF very great importance In hand
ling aerial vessels.
When questioned the other day re-
xarding his airship for war purposes
Mr.. Creper said: "when designing my
ship I had what I consider a very i'm
portant fact In mind: that is. that at
certain times an aerial craft must
alight on the water. At the present
time with balloons In use such a result
Is disastrous to all on board. I conse-
Quently believe that some provision
should be made In an airship which Is
to be entirely practical for travelling In
the water as well as In the air.
I'm order to overcome this difficulty
IL was necessary to pattern my inven-
ton as much az possible after a boat
so with this in view the connection
was begun at h bottom like the foun-
dalton OF a house. or as any ordinary
vessel would be built by first laying
the keel and so o N up to the decks.
n finished with a pair OF small pro-
pellers for use in the water.
las she stands at present my craft
will noat in water or air and Is capable
of making several miles an hour In
he water under favorable circum-
stances. and she IL perfectly seaworthy
under any conditions.
THE motive power will be q gasoline
engine, one OF two kinds. They will
be thoroughly tested and the one hav-
ing the least vibration will be selected.
As they are automatic they require lit
tie or no attention. The whole ship
will be constructed of aluminium wher-
eve II can be applied, while celluloid
will be substituted for glass.
Two persons can handle my ship
without dificulty continuously. one for
day and the other for night service.
and sufficient fuel can be carried TO
travel several thousand miles withou,
being replenished.
Every part Of the craft has been
practically tested. not only by myself,
but by the scientific men Of this and
European countries. ana every one of
them has stated that they are thor
oughly satisfied with the result Of each
identical part.
II must give some credit to other
inventors Of airships by stating that
have taken advantage Of all former
experiments in the line of successful
aerial navigation. In fact. l might say
I have only put the finishing touch
upon what has been o by others. so
as to assemble the whole into one
practicable body. which will be seen
and recognised at once As being all
that In claimed for II.
ITO 20 into detail and explain each
part individually would require more
space than any publication would care
to devote at one issue. l might say.
however. that a q much more buoy
ant than hydrogen will be used to sup
port the ship. while the craft can be
built for a 1.-THE Of the cost OF an aver
age CONGRATULATIONS Times.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

riches in the teeth of the wealthiest
and most experienced spectators In
the country. The effects of In
wheat are felt both ways. They do
occasionally affect the price Of bread
by causing a temporary wheat famine.
and Mr.. Letters operations In May
wheat have probably aggravated the
trouble that led to the terrible riots
in Italy. On the other hand. the ad-
vance in the price of wheat. except In
purely speculative deals like Hutchin-
sons means more money for the farm
ers. In the year 1897. 800, 0o0. 900 bushels
Of wheat were grown In the United
States, and sold at an average advance
of IS cents a bushel over the price In
1896. The result 10 that the farmers
are better of by the sum of $3.50. 900. 900.
Joseph Letter must be given some
credit for this. II bread IL dear why
corn II cheap. as Mr.. Letter suggested.
The words Of the French queen are
still pertinent. II the people have No
bread let them eat corn cake.
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

United States But the presciencs Of .
prophet VIII moi avan . speculator In
less he has cash for MARGINS on his
contracts- He must be prepared TO
carry from 10.o00.0oo to Is, 0oo. 900 BUSH
els Of grain: and for q margin OF 10
cents . bushel . million and q half
dollars are needed. Mr.. Letter at one
time was obliged to use about ten mill
ions for this purpose. 1t IL no joke to
attempt to n wheat. as nearly
every man who has attempted II has
learned. One Of the 6rst to make this
The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-29

A sick man 10 liz Q
man who goes up in Q
balloon. He is blown
hithef and thither by
the winds Of disease.
A traveler by rail or
steamer has . regular
track. He 10 reasona-
bly, certain Of reaching
Q gives destination
but the loo 10 at
the mercy Of totally
Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-03-15
7Wl1El .INft IfTl0IlI.T ~ -911lTH lrIlIlI3, :
I sATAN,s SEAT

Mr. Stead is No doubt alive to the risk
he runs OF being accused Of initiating An
thony Comstonk. w Washington Star. sss
y There does not seem to be much "das-
spairing democracy" about the revelations
that Mr.. Stead and others have made with
respect to London life Louisville$ Cou.
rier Journal & ,.ais'
In the case Of New York Mr.. Stead
seems to have chosen another pOint Of
view and based his observations not on .
hypothetical coming u the devil to New
York, hut his satanic majesty's actual
presence and rulo in the city Of Manhat.
tan. ~. M sl
Mr.. w. T. Stead designates New York
o. the third Of the great modern hells, this
town following London and Chicago IN
order of discovery by him. Mr.. Stead y
doing pretty we'll for an amateur, but he
u yet six bells behind Dante Alightert.
New York Sun.
'sSatan's Invisible World Displayed" y
the title OF William 4. Stead's new book
purporting to describe Greater New York. I
It Is calculated to make divers Britishers
shudder and give thanks that they dont
live In Gotham. But good many New
Workers think Stead has wildly exagger.
ated facts In order that his new "wollums''
may sell.-Boston Globe. 's%.%
Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-03-15
MAY I, is THE DATE.

Spain Must Re- Establish Peace In Cuba
by That Time.
LONDON, March l4-The Madrid
correspondent of The Morning Post
says: II am able to assert on the best
authority that United Stases Minister.
Woodford originally intimated that the
United States hoped and expected that
Spain would re.establish peace in Cuba
before March of this year. Recently,
n response to Spanish representations,
the United States extended the time to
Nay l. Both governments refuse to
describe this intimation as an ultima
tum to Spain This ultimatum was
given entirely irrespective of the Maine
isffair or OF any other complications
which may arise in the meantime.
There was no suggestion as to what
action the United States would take on
May i, should, as is certain to be the
case, the rebellion is still unsup.
preSSed,'' ,...f, =. p '~.
Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-03-15
RAILWAY TIES.

The cost Of railroads in the United
States has been %, DOC, 600, 900.
The cost Of palace sleeping car Is $lb,-
600, or II vestibuled," 81, 600.
One million persons are employed by
the railroads of the United States ,
The cost of high class eight wheel
passenger locomotive is about IS, 500.
The average cost of constructing q mile
Of railroad in the United States lat the
present time is about $50, 600. .....-gasg
The largest number Of tracks In any
German railway passenger station IL AZ
Frankfurt, II, Munich coming next with
49, @ s, T.
Only 70 years have elapsed since the first
railway in the world was finished Dur
Ing that comparatively brief period 400
600 miles hAvc been constructed.
Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1898-03-15
NOT GUILTY OF MURDER.

Jrey Justines Sheriff Martin and Depu-
ties in Shooting Strikers.
W1LKEsBARRE, Pa, March 10.-The
Jury in the case of Sheriff Martin and
deputies, charged with the killing OF
strikers at Lattimer, on Sept. 10, last,
returned verdict Of not guilty.
When the jury retired they took only
one ballot and it was unanimous for
acquittal 1t il said the jury were pre-
pared for q verdict before leaving the
box. After the jury had been thanked
and discharged by Judge Woodward,
District Attorney Martin asked that the
defendants be required to continue
their bail bond, as there are still II in
dictments for murder hanging over
them, and So for feloniously wounding.
The bond was continued as requested.
District Attorney Martin says he has
not decided what to do with these other
cases. The prosecuting committee, it
is said, insists upon further prosecu'
ton.