The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-07-14
Present Condition Has Existed
But Twice Before
In a Period Of 80 Years and For
Only a Few Minutes.
BIGGEST EVER KNOWN.
No Such Corner in Grain Has
Ever Been Seen Before.
Letter and Phillips Were Babies
by Comparison.

Chicago, July 14.-Corn is worth more
than wheat. For ten days it has main
tanned a price SO high it sets all board
of trade ideas topsy-turvy. In thirty
years such relation has only twice
occurred, and neither time did 1t last
longer than a few minutes. The situa-
ton is one of the wonders of the modern
commercial world.
And the reason for it is even more
striking than the fact For corn has
been rushed to its high price by means
of the manipulations of the strongest
and richest ring of spectators who ever
Joined hands to bull markets and drive
bears to destruction.
The corner in corn that is now draw
ing to close is beyond any comparison
the biggest ever known for the amount
of money that is in it.
1t is purely speculative deal,
straightaway battle between set OF
men who have deliberately cornered the
market, on one side. and on the other
the elevator men and grain dealers VINO
systema tically hedge their holdings by
selling short, with, in addition, a few
spectators who picked the wrong side
If it results in failures the failures will
be among such men, and the losses
short of failures will have to be pocket
ed by them. The actual prices of the
grain as it is sold to the consumers who
use it will be comparatively little at
fected.
Never before, however, has such an
immense wealth been owned by single
fore have operations been carried on
with such complete security and con-
fidence. Compared with the present
deal that of Joseph Letter in wheat was
retail trade. Compared with the finan-
ces of the present bull pool those of the
deposed corn king" Phillips, of last
year were as pin money to bank ac-
counts.
been bought by the ring for delivery to
it during the present month. And in the
first ten days of the month only 4,000.-
900 bushels of that amount has been
turned over, although the shorts are
straining every effort to get corn, corn,
corn, and save themselves from ruin
Sixteen more business days remain in
| the month, and during that time 16,OOO,-
| 600 bushels of corn of contract grade
must be brought to Chicago and deliv-
ered or else the penalty must be paid.
And in the last forty days the men
| of the pool have been relentlessly, per-
sistently forcing up the price of corn.
| They have sent it up 80 cents in forty
| days. They have made prices jump so
that even hardened operators call 1t "a
wicked deal" Here are the figures OF
the top prices touched on the swells of
| the movement
Date Price per busheL
June ...-.........-......-.. -ooaz cents
June % ................-.- l29s cents
July l ...78 cents
July cents
July IL Gin between jumps. SO cents
| And what the price will be tomorrow
| and the next day and the next till the
| end of the month none but the manipu-
| lators can even guess. 1t may be 81,
| it may be 81. So on a pinch it may be
| more. Who knows?
| The shorts are indeed fighting desper--
| ately. They are ransacking the west
| for corn. They are breathing impotent
| threats of court proceedings against the
| any possible procedure that will really
! help They have even started a petit
| ton calling upon the directors of the
| board of trade to fix a marginal price"
| for corn, something that has not been
done in 20 years. and the day after to-
| morrow that petition will be presented
| to the board.
All these things, however. only serve
| to. make palmer the strength of tine
bulls. A marginal price might make
| them put up many hundreds of thou
sands of dollars of additional margins,
but that would not hurt them, for they
| are so rich that they have the money.
| The extreme measure which would ruin
! a weak pool only serves as a trifiing
| annoyance to these powerful masters of
| the corn pit.
| The bulls have indeed everything their
own way There is gold on their horns
| already, and the only remaining ques-
| ton is whether they are to have blood
| there Also They are carniverous ami
| mails, the bulls of the board of trade,
| and if they are not content with skim
! ming the bears they will have the Op-
| portunity to pick their bones. 1t is cold
| comfort to the bears to know that not
| a single one of their number who has
! gone to the bulls thus far to effect a
| private settlement has been accommo-
| dated IF you want to settle go out
| on the floor and buy your corn where
you sold it," is the answer they get to
| their appeals.
There are open questions beyond this,
and they concern the possibility of a
| further pool in September corn, and not
| the conditions of the 11lV deal There
| are many people who want to know
| whether the pool will be long or short
of September corn Cudahy has been
| selling and Armour has been buying
September by the millions of bushels.
Are both of these firms in league with
the pool in helping it by lin and OUT
| trading, or is there to be a battle royal
| between Armour and the pool next
| month? This is the most, important of
the questions of the future.
The whole situation, with the GER
| ta1nty OF tortured bears this month, and
| the possibility of unknown fortunes be-
| ing inflicted in future months, has been
| brought about by an invasion of the
| grain markets by some of the kings of
| the speculative financial world. A few
of the professional grain men are in the
| pool, but they are in the minority.
| Wall street money is behind the fight.
| John w. Gates and his allies, Lambert
| and Ellwood, Daniel G. Reid, the tin
plate millionaire; VIM. B. Leeds, his
old associate, now president of the Rock
Island railroad the two Moore brothers
who control that road. and many 9TH
ers, and c. H. Spencer, the traction
| magnate of ST. Louis are among the
men in the pool. So is former Cover
nor Francis Drake of Iowa, the richest
man in his state. With them as advis-
ers are also the Cudahys who have had
wide experience in grain dealing and
John Dupee, who is one of the richest
of the grain spectators of Chicago But
the center of the pool is in the stee
men and their financial allies, and in
deed of the 10000. 600 bushels they hold
a good half is the property of Daniel G
Reid, the organizer and director of this
| greatest corn deal ever known.
These men are together worth prob.