The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-16
END OF JULY CORN CORNER
SHORTS EFFECT SETTLEMENT
 WITH HARRIS, GATES s co.
No Definite Knowledge as to the Profit Made by Those fn the Deai-The coIs ner ut One Time Promised Many Millions but the Deluging of the Market by the Farmers Caused Dfs- appointing End.
appointing End.

appointing End.
 Chicago, July 15-The famous John W. Gates corner in July corn came to an abrupt termination to-day when 1t became known that shorts to the extent of a good many million bushels had ef- fected private settlements with Harris,
 Gates & Co.,, and that the deal was at an end, so far as the steel magnate was concerned. The July price responded
 to the settlement by a quick drop or 15% cents, to 65A. Later it recovered
 fraction and closed at 651s, substan-
 tialiy the price of the cash article.
 Just how many bushels were subject to private settlement will probably
 never be known, nor is there much
 chance that the identity of the 'big fellows" in the trade who doubtless contributed literally to the fortunes Of MT. Gates and the friends associated with him in the deal will ever be posi- lively known. Mir Gates is at present in New York and Mir. Scotten, manager
 for the Harris-Gates house. would ad-
 init only the fact of settlement by the outstanding shorts. Even the fact of termination of the July deal was left largely to inference. But the trade reg
 ularly figured that, with the shorts
 practically all in, nothing in the shape
 of a corner could exist.
 No special excitement attended the
 premature puncturing of the bubble by
 trade has all along admitted that Mir. Gates was right and also his ability to do what he pleased with corn. The only unusual thing in the pit prior to the time at which it became known that the corner was at an end was the unusual
 purchasing of July corn in small lots by various commission houses.
 Manager Scotten would not discuss the settlement prices. The consensus of
 opinion among the outsiders was. how
 ever, that MT. Gates had demanded either 80 or 8t cents from the people who were foolish enough to sell him corn all the way from 60 cents up. The '1ength" of the line of July set tied for by shorts Is also a matter of
 more or less conjecture MT. Scotten
 said 1t was several million bushels"
 and that the length of the line had nev- CT been overestimated. It has been
 called as high as 25.O0O,0O0 bushels. but
 more generally 20.0O0,0O0 bushels. It is
 matter of common knowledge that
 since it became possible to make deliv- cries on July contracts the Harris-Gates people have taken In and paid for about
 8 900 900 bushels. This would leave set
 dement's on some 17OOO,0 900 bushels.
 To form an opinion on the apparent
 profit by the deal would necessitate g.
 knowledge of the average price at
 which the property was bought. This can never be known, unless some time later MT. Gates chooses to divulge it.
 It is estimated, however. by close ob- servers of the transaction that MT. Gates profit will not exceed $1,500 900. This amount will be divided up between
 ten or dozen millionaires who were in- terested in the deal. MT. Gates and his friends have between 100000 and B. 000,0 bushels of cash corn, which they must dispose of before the corner can be called absolutely settled.
 The corner at one time promised
 many millions of profit, and the farmer
 whose well-filled cribs line the tracks
 of nearly every railroad entering Chi cago is held responsible for the disap-
 pointing end of the corner There were
 substantial reserves from the bumper crop of 1900 and the large yield of 1901.
 The farmer did not begin to take ad- vantage of the situation until the price of July corn got up in the 70's. and when it finally reached 90 cents the Chi
 cago market was deluged with cash
 corn as a result. and without warning
 the Harris-Gates people withdrew all support settled with the shorts and closed the deal.