The Topeka state journal., 1898-02-21
WINS MILLIONS.
Young Joseph Letter Has Earn
ed the Title
Of King of the ManipuIatOrs of
Wheat.
HIS PROFITS $4,OOO,OOO,
And He is Yet in Control of
Millions of Bushels.
Armour Talks of $I.5Oa Bush
ell For Wheat.

Chicago, Feb. 21.-It begins to look as
if Letter, for all his impudence in ig-
noring the advice of Tom, Dick, Harry
and the other old time Spectators, knew
something about running wheat deal
Here's the May over a dollar at 1O9 on
Friday, and here's the July over 80
cents at 9414 cents on Friday Theories
have been upset. Traditions have been
violated. But the results Here are
some of them:
Last weeks wheat advance was al
most 10 cents a busheI. Fridays prices
showed from the low points of the mid
die of January an advance of almost 20
cents on May and Is cents on July.
Contracts have been made for the all
rail movement out of Chicago of 4,00O,-
900 bushels of wheat; ocean tonnage
has been taken at the seaboard for
just as much
Orders for 1,2OO, 600 bushels of wheat
have already been turned into the ele-
vators by the railroads, and SOC, 900
bushels have been loaded into the cars
and started toward the seabOard Al
most 100000 bushels of cash wheat
have been marketed to consumers
abroad.
Letter has to spectators talked pro-
hibitive prices on his cash wheat ever
since December, when he came into the
possession, here and elsewhere, of about
II, 600, 900 bushels. He has, to people
who were merely inquisitiVe, declared
practically that his wheat was not for
sale. Meanwhile he has sold to con-
SumerS 1000, 600 bushels and had COM
pleted arrangements for the prompt
shipment of it all abroad.
Where wheat will go, is beyond any
body's ken. Armour says there is no
reason why it should not sell at 1.50.
He adds he is a believer in high prices
for another year. Letter talks $1-25. No
human being can forecast market
with certainty, for it would not be a
~, r-e-fTl1 10
Letter appreciates this, or he would not
now be marketing his cash holding.
The spectators with widest expert
ence agree that the Letter control is as
been time though, and never will be,
when there are not contingencies
enough about the wheat situation to
keep it exciting.
The Letter wheat interest continues
larger than any that ever existed be-
fore 1t was deemed extraordinary ear
ly in February that he should extend
his purchases in May. He has not
stopped at that. He has gone into J uly.
His risk on his cash line in wheat
have been increased. The whole effort
has been of late to cheaper the average
holding. and it would look as if success
had attended that. Letter has lost
more or less wheat on calls.
What he has done in the pit is mere
guess-work. The talent" believe ms
May line, a very commanding one,
600. His accumulations of July last
week might easily have reached 2,5OO,OOO
bushels, perhaps double that. Ihe ng-
ures seem grandiose. Letters ideas Of
quantities are however, different from
the ordinary traders It Will be no ex-
aggeration in the estimation of any pro
fessional in this market to put Letters
interest with all his recent cash sales
at 20 OOO, 900 bushels. His present profits
or. paper must be astounding, easily ST.
600 600 Some brokers double this
If Letter continues to be favored to
the end as he has been in the past, the
story of his huge wheat operations VIII
read like an Oriental one, the plans too
magnificent the results too extraordi-
nary to be every day.
War news is helping Letter beyond all
question of a doubt. Everything seems
to run to his aid. Frantic bears, even,
put $40. 900 in hard cash in his pockets
one day last week by unintentionally
rushing the price of wheat up cents.
The following estimates, compiled by
a well known broker, give the generally
accepted estimate of the Letter win
nings on the present deals in cash and
May wheat:
Cash wheat, under contract for ship