The San Francisco call., 1898-06-26

hlliS Ol HllSdl, etIiu liiC SOQhily III -E general as well as those who have
 been defeated by him in his opera
 tions breathe more freely. Ills fall was rapid. It was but a few oays ago that his defeat was reported, ana within twenty-four hours the defeat De- came an utter rout-
 And it must add poignantly to his chagrin that Philip D. Armour, the Dit ter enemy and rival in business or himself and his father, was the man who stepped in, and, in apparent pity, agreed to take 3,500,0O0 bushels of Lei ter's wheat and dispose of it for the benefit of the young man who so lately ruled as king of the wheat pit.
 Late dispatches from Chicago tell also that Armour is willing to handle all the wheat held by the banks. With in the past two days fully 10,0O0,0O0 bushels of wheat have been disposed or, and Letters wheat, held in store in enormous quantities at Minneapolis and Duluth and in transit across the Atlantic, has changed hands. The wheat king is dethroned.
 The erStWhile king is not only desert ed by his friends but his own father has had a bitter quarrel with him, tell SY of life and his lack of close attention to business that brought about the giant collapse. It needed but this In addition to the triumph of his great enemy, Ar mour, to fill the cup of young Letters humiliation to the brim.
 Letters easy and gay habits away from his office have been the subject of knowing comment among his acquaint- ances. The young man who in plain little office. sat at his desk in a chair tilted forward by having it's front legs shortened, and there, while literally sunk down to his ears with his work before him, planned and directed schemes of Napoleonic daring was an- other being when he left the office be- hind him. His father has long known of this and chose to overlook it. Now he realizes that it played an important part in the huge collapse that has taken place.
 The blow has had little effect on the markets, and this is an additional hu initiation to the young king, who thought that when he should fall many must fall with him. Only a few firms here and there have suffered. The wheat market has been but little eff fected.
 In Liverpool there was a slight panic, but the market soon steadied. Letters loss is estimated at nearly $6,000000, but his sinking has made but few rip ples on the pond. Most of this big loss represents profits made in the first rise of wheat. When his troubles are set tied it is roughly figured out that his net losses will be between $1 900 and $2.000, 900. The market is firmer, and all over the United States there is a feeling of joy. And young Letter, true to his strange character, is himself cheerful It is believed in Chicago that the creditors will lose little or nothing, Q nit ho ,se- fot tt,a, gave his personal security in most of the deals. It is not expected that an actual assignment will be made.
 Charges are made that owing to the nt-heartedness of men whom he had associated with him in his speculation the crash came, but there is noth- ing more in this than that men would not stand by Letter to their own loss after they saw that the crash was inn minent. Overbuying and overstaying are declared to be the causes of the downfall.
 Had Joseph Letter been content to be a wheat speculator, and to give his at tention to it, he would still have been a financial king. But he spent, in the company of women. time that ought to have been spent in work And. puffed up by his phenomenal success in one field of speculation. he entered into wide dealings in stocks of various of various kinds The strain of such varied and complex speculation was too much for him. This fellow, the noise of whose downfall was echoed around the world, affecting the markets of cities thousands of miles away. thought that he could take up business as brilliant and gainful pastime.
 It was scarcely more than a year ago that Joseph Letter, who is now only 30 years old, began his phenomenal career. Before that, he had been deem ed only young man of ordinary abil- ity and qualities. He had been given college education. He was handsome, of snlendid nhvsiaue, trif1e over six feet in height and of great physical strength. His hair was parted in the middle. He wore the finest clothes He loved horses, yachting and gayety.
 He is gay fatalist. He believes that if man is meant by providence to sue Aceed he must succeed, and if the neo- pie are meant to suffer from the high price of bread they must suffer. Now. when disaster has overtaken him. he still keeps up bold front, and says that it is mere happening that could not be avoided, and he merely awaits new opportunity to test his fate with fortune.
 Shortly after leaving college he was given $1.000,000 by his father to play with. His father expected him to lose 1t, and, indeed, he did lose most of it But he gained knowledge. Unsuspected he studied the details of street railroad ing and mining. He learned the cost of operative electricity and how to know salted mine from the genuine
 He still laughed and danced and kent up the gay round of pleasure but he 7s5 EkSSM Szs 33 5tnR- azsesAfSSSSaM