The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-07-16
Price Paid by Those on the Wrong Side
of the Market Thought to Have
Been About 80c. !.
SIZE OF THE CORPSE"
is STILL AN ENIGMA
Much of This Bought Around zoe and
Some May Go at Considerable Loss
Farmer Who DeIuged the Market
With Cash Corn Is Blamed for Early
Pricking of the Bubble.

NtlACAGO, July 15.-The famous
John w. Gates corner in July corn
came to an abrupt termination today,
when it became known that shorts to
the extent of a good many million
bushels had effected private settle
ments with Harris, Gates & Co and
that the deal was at end so far as the
steel magnate was concerned. The
July price responded to the settlement
by quick drop of 15A to 65Ac La
ter it recovered a fraction and closed
at 65Rc, substantially 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 liberally to the fortunes Of
Mr.. Gates and the friends associated
with him in the deal, will ever be posi-
lively known. Mr.. Gates is at present
IN New York and Mr.. Scotch, manager
Tor the Harris Gates house, would ad-
NIT only the fact of a settlement by
the outstanding shorts. Even the fact
Of a termination of the July deal was
left largely to inference. But the trade
readily figured that with the shorts
| practically all in nothing in the shape
of corner could exist.
Excitement Not Great.
No special excitement attended the
premature puncturing of the bubble by
the man whose property it was. The
trade has all along admitted Mr. Gates
was right and also his ability to do
he f0Ioa
chose to close the deal a couple Of
weeks prior to the time at which it
would have ended by Limitation there
was no one to say him nay The only
unusual thing in the pit prior to the
time at which it became known tho
corner was at an end was the unusual
purchasing of July corn in small lots
by various commission houses. Pit
trade during the day, however, was not
much over 100000 bu
Manager Scotten would not discuss
the settlement price. This price, how
ever, was not matter Of decided in
terest TO the trade generally. With the
knowledge that Monday nights closing
price was sic, and the opening TODAY
from 79c to soc, the concensus of onin-
ion among the outsiders was that Mr.,
Gates had demanded either soc or sic
from the people who were foolish
enough to sell him corn all the Way
from 60c UP.
The length" of the line Of July set
tied for by shorts is also a matter of
more or less conjecture. Mr.. Scotch
said 1T was several million bushels"
and that the length of the line had
never been Overestimated. 1t has been
called as high as 25, 100000 bu. but
more generally 20,0O0,000 bu. 1t is \,
matter of common knowledge that
since 1T became possible to make deIiv-
cries on July contracts the Harris
Gates people have taken in and paid
for about 100000 bu. This would
leave settlements on some 1900, 900 bu.
Gates Profits ProbIematicaI.
TO form an estimate of an apparent
profit by the deal would necessitate a
knowledge of average prices at which
the property was bought. This can
never be known, unless some time later
Mr.. Gates chooses to divulge it, II Is
estimated, however, by close observ-
ers of the transaction, that Mr.. Gates
profit will not exceed $15OO O0O This
amount will be divided UP between
ten or dozen millionaires who were
interested in the deal Mr.. Gates and
his friends have between 1900, 900 and
100000 bu of cash corn which thew
must dispose of before the corner can
be called absolutely settled. This corn
corner ever run has been the stumb-
ling block to success. If the average
price Of the Harris Gates holding
should prove well up to the zoe point
the clique has on hand several million
bushels of corn which cost it's holders
in excess of the present market price.
Right here is the salient point Will it
be necessary to market this large hold
ing of corn at less than it cost?
The Farmer Is Blamed.
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 ending of the corner There
were substantial reserves from the
bumper crop of 1900 and the large
yield of 1901. This corn has been held
for satisfactory market. The farmer
did not begin to take advantage of the
situation until the price Of July got up
in the 7OS, and when it finally reached
90c the Chicago market was deluged
with cash corn. For a while the Har-
ris-Gates people kept the market
cleaned up, but steadily increasing
quantities began coming, and the pros
pect of loading up with a lot of soc
corn, which they might not be able to
dispose of at over 60c, became some
what appalling. Without warning they
withdrew all support, settled with the
cIA p,,I o1O %In