The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-04-20

enough to foretell the effect If a wheat
! supplying competitor would become in
! volved in a war, Russia, for instance.
There would be a precedent in such
case The present question ofp rices is
even easier for the foreign than the
| American Spectator. The Englshman
and the Frenchman regard the prospect
the same as if there was a chance of Rus
STA becoming involved in a conflict, and
they can easily remember an experience
of that sort. 1t is natural enough that
the European should be buying a good
deal Of wheat in advance and should be
willing to pay higher prices, for there is
the possibility of half his weekly wheat
supply being delayed or interrupted or
made more expensive by rising ocean and
insurance rates. But if American wheat
shipments should be interrupted or de-
layed Or made more expensive by rising
ocean and insurance rates, American
prices would by those very circumstances
be depressed rather than helped. The
trade pretty unanimously takes this view
American wheat prices consequently are
probably being more helped by the pres
ent situation, intense anxiety abroad
without any present war or its attending
possible shipping endorsements than
they would by actual war. There is now
buying anxiety on the part of the other
side, but no present difficuluty in supply
ing the demand. With war there would
probably be intenser buying anxiety, but
there might be some difficulty in shipping.
If there developed no real shipping diff
Guilty, the foreigner would soon recover
from his buying excitement.
The wiseacres believe that Letter
showed wisdom in availing himself of the
anticipatory foreign demand rather than
waiting for war and its uncertainties
If war is a legitimate bull influence on
wheat, provisions should get some help
from the same reason. Europe last year
took almost $1O0. 0tO 900 of hog product.
Hog supplies abroad have been short
relatively as the wheat. There has con-
tinued an unusual and persistent export
omvement. Provision prices are not high
If there developes a war, a naval war, as
it must be, there viii be an unusual de-
mand for cured meats for the navies, and
if an army should be sent to Cuba there
would be an unusual demand to keep it
fed. The packer and the professional
have, however, had the provision pit to
themselves. The packer has been anxious
to keep the speculative market quiet, so
as to get the summer hogs started on a
cheap basis, and the professional has not
been able to bull prices alone. BY the mid
die of next month the packer Will be able
to see an advance begin. Meanwhile he
hopes to keep it merely a scalping mar
ket
Letter has been letting so the remnants |
Of long line of May oats, selling out at
least 900 bushels last week, and per-
haps more than that. He had a line Of /.
over 900 bushels last fall. It was
bought from 2i14c down to PIC, and at one /
time showed a loss. It has been liQuidat- /
ed at a moderate profit Oats are high /
compared with corn, but their future de- /
ponds good deal upon the weather
Corn is always a guess. If anybody .
ever hits it right il is an accident. There .
IS always too much for the Spectator to (
influence the price any. and even in case /
OF crop disaster there is sometimes so /
large a. reserve that the response to any
crop loss does not come in the price until
every bull is tired out This is the sea
son for May liquidation, and on that
theory 1t has been popular to try the short
side. The war excitement has just about
Offset the May selling. In another fort
night the May liquidation VIII be over,
and then 1t viii be q matter OF weather.