The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-14
Liquidation For Joseph Letter Al
most Caused a Panic.
WILD SCRAMBLE TO SELL
LETTER TRADES TRANSFERRED
TO ARMOUR AND OTHERS.
July Option Dropped Sixteen Cents,
But Rallied Later-Demoralizat
In Northwestern Markets-Slump
In Stocks Caused By the Drop In
Wheat-Lively Trade In Cattle.

chicago, June 13-EnormouS liquidation
for Joseph Letter caused a. general rout of
the bulls IN the wheat pit today. Weak
ness in markets abroad and some indica-
tons of gradually clearing weather in the
west, more especially in South Dakota
Nebraska and Kansas started wheat
very weak. For an hour it continued to
decline, every drop OF 12c a bushel bring
| ing out shoals or stop-loss orders. IN
! that time September wheat lost 54.c of it's
value as ii stood at the close of the Ses-
sion Saturday. December, the next most
/ active delivery, declined 31ac IN the same
time The nearby deliveries, however, III
Wnich the trading was much smaller, sui
Tered severely. jury dropped TIC and
June SC. During that time 1t was mere
hunt for buyers i'll the pit and for a TIME
| IL was question as TO get re of wheat
rather than question as to how muen
could be got for it.
Ii became evident about l O'Clock that
; Joseph Letter had transferred his open
trades in wheat to others than brokers
that have hitherto been doing his trad
ing on the floor. His trades in June, it
soon became definitely known, had been
transferred to. Armour d Co., and his
september trades to Lamson Bros 81 Co.
AS that was interpreted as q sign of
financial weakness, the effect upon the
market was very depressing. The pre-
vlouS decline had been so severe and the
market had been relieved of such a great
quantity OF long wheat, however, that the
panic that might otherwise have been
hooked for at such a suggestion as the
mere possibility of Letter being in finan-
cial difficulty was averted. Although
further decline was, of course, inevitable.
July declined to 70, 4 drop of lie COM
pared with the close Saturday SeDrem-
Der fell to 691z and December to s..
one OF the weak factors of the day was
the utter generalization in the north
west. where a combination of which Lei
ter was at the head had been holding
July so stiftiy. The break there was
more than double what il was here. Min
neapcllS and Duluth gave indications of
a panic, the former getting 2l1ac below
saturdays close and Duluth 23c lower.
Near the close the panichy feeling here
gradually wore off and there was some
recovery from bottom prices. Liverpool
at the close was 21.d TO 4s4d lower and
Paris the equivalent of 2isc bushel low
er. The worlds shipments last week were
Y, 127, 204, against 4,260,0O0 bushels the SIM
liar week OF last year.
July opened at Hose lower at s0@S5,
sold down TO 10, up TO 81, slumped to IS,
rallied 10 70, the closing figure. Septem-
Der began at 71A@IZ1a, declined to 70A.
rose to 70l9. fell Off to 69l4, then firmed
up to 707s071 bid at the close.
There was very little Independence in
corn, prices sympathiz;ng with the wheat
collapse. July left off %G1c lower.
Oats followed wheat and corn, July de-
Ginning %I@c.
With every one wanting to sell and no
buyers in sight. provisions started very
weak. At the decline, packing houses !
bought in large quantities, and lard and /
ribs closed better than Saturday. July /
pork lost nc, lard and ribs each sc /
higher.
Inc leading futures ranged as follows: !