The San Francisco call., 1898-05-29


 the greatest May wheat deal on earth will end Tuesday. The shorts nave put one days grace left. They must get Tn before lis o'clock Tuesday afternoon, The tip is out that the price Will De marked up to $2. No one disputes Jos eph Letters ability to put the prlce up to $3 if he wants to, as he Is a dictator for the time being, and might, if he de- sired, bid 1t up to s5. Those very near him say he will be satisfied with s2
 In the famous Hutchinson corner, In September, 1888, it advanced os cents on the last day of the month to $z, ana Letter has desire to see $z wheat again. It will be necessary to take but very little, as there is very little wheat held outside of his office.
 The tailers who usually follow deal have generally been driven out. A good many of them sold out yesterday at $1 70, when Jackson Brothers bought 15O, 900 bushels for New York short, which was said to be the largest out standing individual line The remain ing interest is in small lots. The price yesterday was held at s1 70 to $1 75, and closed at the top figure. For three consecutive days Letter has pld the price up to $1 75 at the close.
 A week ago the short interest was over 100000 bushels. It Is now less than 100000 bushels. In seven days Letter has had about 900,000 bushels cash wheat delivered him on May con- tracts. He has also bought 100000 bushels cash stuff, paying within 5 cents to cents for May, to keep 1t out of the hands of the elevator people and the shorts.
 His expenditures for cash wheat the past three weeks have averaged s200.- 900 a day, and he is loaded with more high priced wheat than at any time during his fifteen months bull cam paign. It is expected there will be a number of defaults on May contracts for New Workers and foreigners. There are only 100000 bushels Of contract wheat in store here, all owned by Lei ter. Tuesday 300, ,000 bushels will be re- ceived, as it is being rushed in from the country in time for the last day.
 Trading has been carried on in May wheat since last July, when it sold at 77 cents. That was the low point. It did not get above S1 until February Since then it has ranged between sl and s1 S5.
 There was a reaction two weeks age to s1 35, but for the past three days prices have held around S1 75, or nearly $1 above the low point. Letters larg' est holdings were bought around 9' cents and many of them below that | figure. Within the past three weeks he has been forced to raise his average by buying large quantities in the vi cinity of $1 50.
 When May Is all cleaned up," sait Joseph Letter the other day. we vii 1 have handled 40,000.000 bushels" Thi: wheat has been merchandized at 2 profit, so far as they have gone. Since i September 1 there have been between | 25 .000 900 and 30,000,000 bushels casf wheat merchandized, the greater par1 of which was sold abroad, all of it at g profit.
 In one instance it paid over cents 6 bushel. How much he has left is known | to no one but Letter. It is estimated at from 5,000,000 to 15,000,000 bushels Most of it is either afloat for Europe ol | in store there. the stock here being | about 1,500 900 bushels. He has little 1 in the Northwest. and some at the sea l board, but the greater part or his hold- | ings are in transit.
 The wheat trade of the world has never seen anything like the extended operations of Joseph Letter, and prob ably never will again. They were made possible only by the shortage in the for eign wheat crop..
 Letter, with s3o, 900, ,o0O at his com mand, and without any speculative ex- perience, was able to cope with exist ing conditions and to take full advan- tage where an older operator would not have dared to. He operated on the theory that the consumption woulo overtake the supply and that higher prices would surely result. There have been times within the past two months when the conditions didn't look any toe | favorable, but as he controlled the | greater part of the cash wheat in al | leading markets and operated heavily about, he was finally able to start l things his way.
 The war coming on created rush for supplies among foreigners and add ed over 75 cents a bushel to the price of wheat. One feature of Letters ope- rations was in his borrowing money There was never time when he die not have a sufficient supply, but he be- lieved that in arranging for it it wa: good policy to get about double the 1 ho+ Ia