The Red Cloud chief., 1898-06-17

sales in Chicago were placed as high
As l0.oo0,0OO bushels. His brokers,
Allen Il Gricr, transferred June wheat
to Armour and September to Lamson
Bros.
II was reported that n movement
was on foot among strong interests I o
take care of cash wheat and that q
meeting was in session at which the
matter was under consideration.
IL is the opinion of many that all
OF Letters immense profits have van
ishcd in the past few days, because of
the big decline in the wheat which ne
had left this morning, for which he
paid very high prices, while he was
holding the market up to sell his big
lines.
During the final moments of trading
Joseph Letter was at the Illinois Trust
and Savings bank in consultation with
his father. l.. Il. Letter, and others.
Joseph Letter said in reply to inquiries
that he would not make an assign
mcnt: that his options had beer liqui-
dated and that his cash wheat would
be put in the hands of trustees.
Stories of financial trouble for the
young man who engineered one Of the
greatest wheat deals in the history of
the country gained circulation this
morning. However, little credence
was given 20 this fcverish gossip at
first. Mr.. Letter was closeted with
his father, l.. u. Letter, and when
pressed to tell whether the slump had
affected his interests, frankly admitted
that he had lost money. How much
he would not say. He had not time to
go into details. Conferences were the
order of the day.
Letters wheat interests have been
turned over to n board of trustees who
will settle up the deal. This course
was necessary on ccoun of Mr.. Lett
er's inability to put up margins which
were called for. Joseph Letter add
mitted that his father had withdrawn
his support.
The collapse of the big deal at this
late day, when the public generally
supposed that MIR. Letter had sold most
Of his wheat and cleared up a big profit
was "a great surprise To nearly every
one.
The thing which broke Letter was
the high-priced wheat that he bought
during May while he was holding
prices up in order to dispose of his
huge holdings to the foreigners.
During last month thousands Of ears
poured into Chicago when wheat was
way above dollar. Letter bought free
~ all through the month, not only in
Chicago, but also in the Northwest,
and it was the high-pricsd wheat that
he accumulated in this way which
absorbed all the profits he made prior
to the month Of May.
Letter paid Sl.h0 a bushcl and over
for thousands OF ears that thrifty
farmers had been holding for n rise,
and which they dumped on the market
when it was very high. Some Of this
wheat was sold to-day at more than 80
cents IA bushel loss.
At one time, in March, Letter is
supposed To have owned 10000, 900
bushels of wheat, and the deal was
getting 81 heavy that it was expected
to go to smash any day. Letter, in
fact, began to sell at a loss before the
war broke out.
In the middle of May we'll informed
people figured that Letter had made
So, 900, 900 out of his deal. During the
latter part of April and the first half
of May there was an enormous foreign
demand for wheat and Letter at that
time sold many million bushels, which
yielded him large profits, But it ap.
pears that he did not sell enough then.
The foreigners finally got enough and
quit buying, But Letter went on pay.
ing extraordinarily high prices for
wheat, after the foreign demand haC
ceased. Everybody supposed he did it
to squeeze" some May shorts. But it
is doubtful now whether there were
many short, IL ,,snmnnzn