Arizona republican., 1901-10-29
LOSSES IN LINSEED
The American Company Short
 a Half Million
It Was Lost on Short Contracts in Consequence of the War in Aug ust With the Independent Crush CTS.

New York, Oct. 2S.-It was reported
 today in linseed oil circles that the war of prices between the independent crushers and the American Linseed oil company, which developed in August,
 had resulted in loss to the combine
 of between s50O.000 and s1. .o00, ,0o0.
 While the mills of the combine are re- ported to be busy it is said that it was
 unable to fill contacts made in Aug
 ust for october delivery and that cer- tain consumers who held these con
 tracts had jumped into the open market and bought the product at from 50 cents to 65 cents. charging the differ ence between the market and the con
 tract price to the combine. It was also reported that officials Of
 the American Linseed oil company, who were responsible for the losses. would be held to strict accountability
 by the directors and stockholders Of
 the company. who did not approve the
 policy of acquiring such large short interests.
 The American company made some
 sensational cuts in August and it is reported that some contracts were made as low as 40 cents, both for inn
 mediate delivery and on futures run
 ming along the intervening months to December.
 Dealers in the trade say the con- tracts entered into were for very larS@
 quantities of oil and as the market has
 been advancing, these traders declare
 that there can be no doubt of the fact
 that the companies losses are large. On 40 cent contracts. with the price
 ruling at 65 cents. enormous losses can easily be figured.
 Some of this loss. of course. is on paper, but it is claimed that the com pany has had to pay the difference cf 25 cents a gallon to a number of large consumers.
 reporter today that the combine does
 not control a single carload of oil and that it cannot be induced to name price for future delivery.
 The American company is buying oil
 in the open market as freely as it can, according to it's opponents. who also ] make the claim that 1t is now produc- ing it's own 70 cent product from S1.45 haxsced.
 The Independents admit that the ex- ! act amount of the combines losses can on the outside but they claim to know
 that at the fiaxseed end of the business the combine has made losses varying
 from 15 to 8 cents a busheL During last weeks advance in flax seed the bulk of the sales Is credited to the American company at prices rang | ing from s1.47 to s1-54. It is matt a.
 of general knowledge how slow deliv-
 cries of the combines October con tracts have been and one man today claimed that a September shipment. purchased in the 4Os. is still owed to | him by the company.
 ] In many if said diG1n | pointed consumers have been bought off. while q few have been begged oIf. ! Several, however. have bought oil in ! the open market and compelled the American company to liquidate the dif-
 ference in the prices of spot oil ani | that pro rata named in the original ! contract.
 Another report is to the effect that a | high official has been dismissed owing | to his persistent sales of linseed oil
 under 70 cents a gallon. All the weather
 reports from Minnesota. all the an
 nouncements of an incomplete Argen-
 tine crop and all the stories about the
 approaching freezing of the water
 route have not had one-tenth of the ''bullsh" effect on linseed oil that the
 short interest of the American conI-
 pany has had. according to persons | conversant with the market. l The American company claims that ! the stringency iE the supply of the oil
 is being gradually lessened and that
 nearly all of it's mills are in operation. The situation seems to be bullish. A
 leading Chicago fax authority esti-
 mates the crop at not much over 19.0o0.-
 GOO bushels as against Duluth talk of | 2S, ,000. 900 bushels three weeks ago. The | American company has been heavy
 buyer of seed during the last fortnight l The above telegram is of special in- | terest in Phoenix at the present time 1 by reason of the fact that MT. John $. | Archer, who died here few days ago, was one of the leading spirits in the | formation of the American Linseed l Oil company.