The record-union., 1898-06-14

puts" were sold in the vicinity Of
721ac, Lamson Bros. apparently hav-
ing large orders for this line.
Shortly before. the opening Of the
Board of Trade to-day brokers sup
posed to be acting for Letter were ready
sellers. The sput" price was speedily
reached and Letter, if the Lamsons
were acting for him, was enabled to
dispose of millions of wheat on the sale
of puts" whereas, if the actual wheat
had been sold in the market there
would have been more Of break Had
Allen, Greer & Sellar made the sale,
the street would have expected a ruse,
but coming from Lamson Bros. there
was no indication as to the identity Of
the seller.
1t is estimated that during the day
from 100000 to 100000 bushels of
Letter wheat, optional and visible, were
sold to the account Of the Young
Napoleon" This is supposed to have
consisted chiefly of options in Septem-
ber July and June wheat. stored in
Minneapolis, st. Paul, Duluth and Chi
cago 1t was stated on the floor that
the bankers of the Northwest who have
been carrying the Northwestern bull
clique refused to carry their burden for
a longer time, and that calls had been
made by Northwestern dealers, par
ticularly the Minneapolis interests, for
margins down to 90 cents. These, it is
said, were followed by calls upon Letter
here to margin his wheat holdings down
to 80 cents.
Mr.. Letter had about 100000 BUSH
els Of cash wheat on hand, much Of
which he is said to have disposed of at
q IL rnpnrta6 that r.
z. Letter, when asked by his son for
more money, had refused to be drawn
further into the wheat deal, and thus
compelled the latter to let go a large
line of his holdings, in order to satisfy
his warehouse creditors and marginal
demands.
Representatives of the Northwest
ern interests appear to have precipi-
tated the crisis by coming to Chicago
Saturday and learning that L. z. Lei
ter would not advance any more mon
| ey on his sons account
Mr.. Letters friends insist that he has
not made an assignment, but it was ad-
mitted tonight that the Letter inter
ests had been trusted"
Joseph Letter could not be located
tonight. L. T.. Letter was seen, but
positively declined to say a word
Joseph Letter entered the market
April 2. 1897, and Immediately after
wards the pressure of a tremendous
power was felt, but no man knew
whose was the hand. Letters first
order was negotiated by broker George
B. French. 1t was for 100000 BUSH
els Of May wheat at 7O7sc per bushel
Then orders came thick and fast. The
cheapest wheat bought by Letter was
10000 bushels bought June 10, 1897.
for September delivery at 644c. The
deal ran thirteen months. during which
the price Of wheat was down to 6434c
in June, 1897, and up to $1.S5 in May.
1898. It involved at one time an in
terest Of more than 100000 bushels
of wheat.
ITS EFFECT. IN MINNEAPOLIS.
MINNEAPOLIS (Minn), June 13-
The big break in wheat to-day caused
much excitement on Change and among
the grain men. Letters failure to
carry the load which he attempted to
| handle may have been expected by
some, but to the great majority it was
a surprise. The statement that North
western banks would be affected by the
action Of Letter is not true, at least to
any appreciable degree.
G. A. Pillsbury, asked in regard to
| his opinion Of the break, it's cause and
results, said: 1.-THE cause Of the break
| in wheat to-day was that Mr.. Letter at
tempted to carry too heavy load, and
put the price Of wheat too high. If he
had never attempted to put the price
above S1.4O he would probably have
won out great money, as 1t was legiti-
mately worth that But when the
market did not come up to his expecta-
tions, he kept increasing his load, and
| understand there was nearly 7,OOO.-
OOO bushels sold in Chicago to-day on
his account
"Of course, offerings Of such an
enormous quantity of wheat on the
market at one time depressed prices.
and it is strange to me that it has not
depressed them more. And while this
is being sacrificed on the market, prices
will be temporarily as much lower than
they legitimately should be, as they
have been higher than they legitimately
| should nave been. Wheat is worth
legitimately . cents more than it
closed at to-day, and. in my opinion
will be selling at about that much
when liquidation owing to the scare is.
over. !. In few days the mills will be
as eager for wheat at a dollar a bushel
tic concerning it at 81 40 and upwards. /"
President Chamberlain of the Securi-
ty National Bank, said the banks of
the Northwest were not put to any in
convenience on account Of Mr. Letter,
as he has no dealings with them.
The most persistent rumors connect
ed Messrs. Pillsbury and Peavey Of this
city with the deal. The latter gentle
man, however, claimed to be totally ig-
norant Of the cause Of the break. Mr..
Letter has some wheat in MINNEAPOLIS
and Duluth elevators. which is the
only interest the two have In common.
Letter is said to own most Of the con-
tract wheat in Minneapolis and Duluth
In public stocks, and that the Letter
cash interests will be a feature In cash
trading for some time to come. It IS
true, also, that Minneapolis was drawn
upon for export and will be from now
on. or till the decline is checked.