The Monticellonian., 1902-01-31
BOTTOM ELI OUI OF OATS.
It All Came About by Tremendous Bear Campaign and Heavy
 Liquidation.
IT WAS SAID EATEN WAS UNLOADING.
But Patteu Was Buying. md When
 the Longs Learned This. They Be- gan to Buy, and short Sellers Be came Frightened and Hurried to COver-The Drop Almost Regnined.

Chicago. Jan. 2s.-Panic stared board Of trade speeulators in the face when business opened Monday, for the bottom seemingly had fallen out of oats. It all came about by a tremendous bear campaign, begun by enormous liquidations in May oats. For some time traders had been pre- dieting that something would hap pen" in oats. and as soon as q stream of May oats began to flow into the pit, prices dropped, dropped, dropped. At once gossip had it that James Pat ten. mayor of Evanston, who is cred ited with corner of 10.000,000 bush- els of May oats, was unloading. Weak holders of margined oats had to let go everything they had. EXuberant bears said: We told you SO" and began to sell short in great quanti- ties, and everything went by the board. Millions of bushels xere liquidated, and in less than half an hour May oats fell five cents. Sup port, however, soon appeared in d marked degree. The talk changed from Patten liquidation 10 the other view of it-that an attempt had been made again to squeeze Patten. When it was found Patten was buying. and other longs came to the support the other short sellers became fright ] ened, hurried to cover. and prices be- gan to ascend again. In 15 minutes May had recovered nearly all it lost, and after it's drop from 44l4 to 39H began to steady around 43 cents.
 The usual weather and corp condi- tions had practically nothing to do with the onslaught. It was d case of speculative manipulation. And yet. after the first hours trading. the feeling was still very tense. Traders feel that the coarse grain situation is q matter of guesswork. The only thing certain is that prices are very high compared with ordinary years.
 Naturally the break ill oats affect ed other grains Wheat and corn had slumped badly. Saturday, and were in fair position to break again. though at the opening they had shown firm ness. May wheat did break from 7s3s to v. but soon reacted on the oats revival to 51% cents. May corn also fell off from 62 cents to 603s, and feeling the influence of oats relative ly stronger than wheat reacted on the early squirt only To 61 cents Pro- visions were weakened as well, and broke from j to 225s cents
 Patten Says They Got Left.
 Developments showed that bears had taken advantage of Pat1en's absence from the pit to raid the market. Mir Patten made this statement: "l have five of oats this morning. It is q deliberate raid There is no doubt it WAS started to force me to sell. The tailers are out. but the people that planned the raid did not get what they were after"
 May oats at one time went as low at 59H, drop of 5K The reaction immediately 10 434c. was short lived. for too severe q blew had been struck on top of Saturdays weakness. May waNered feeblv after the first revival of strength. and closed weak, l34M11sc. down. at 42% M42Ae.
 Shorts were the salvation in wheat and their covering brought May at one time to riga 7sc. The close was comparatively firm. asc. down. at 718le.
 Corn continued weak with oats. and after the break wasered under 61c. closing weak, ",e. lower, at. 6oa4 d607,e.