Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-03-15

opportunity to get out with n profit,
IRON BlA cents the price began To-
climb, It advanced slowly at first.
then more rapidly, and then by periods
OF conyulSive bulges and breaks boz
ems Of room operators were I'm Letters
employment lie was as adrolt and as
quick as the Oldest trader
When the advance was more rapid
than Letter thought reasonable he was
a seller unloading part Of his accumu-
latlon and gathering In profits, only to
buy again at lower figure when the
market unable to absorb the amount Of
grain offered, broke lie had mapped
out his course ana was working toward
one end That was corner such as
had never been seen before At one
time he was long 10000 900 bushels of
wheat. He was absolute master of the
grain trade and had hundreds Of
wealthy men so completely at his
mercy that he could ruin them at any
moment
Mr., Armour the most powerful OPP
orator and wealthiest OF men in Chi
cago. was one of those caught in Lei
ter's net lie sued for peace he who
had been supreme. He was willing to
pay 81 100000 or 81 OOO coo to this dash
Ing young man Of 20 to be released
from his obligation,
LETTER COULD NOT LET GO.
Letter had forced the price Of wheat
up to $lSj bushel, and It seemed he
could put It to any figure he wished.
lie had thousands Of men employed he
was shipping millions Of bushels Of
wheat 20 Europe, az fast In fact, as
the stuff was delivered 20 him, and he
had become in one short year known
throughout the world. His father had
placed $1,000 600 TO the Young mans
credit to carry out his gigantic pro-
ject To this young Letter had added
a profit Of $4,5OOOO He could have
retired from the field and held a place
ms one Of the greatest pungers in his
tory But he found 1t hard to let go.
He had his appetite whetted, had felt
his power, and rather than close out
all his trades he carried his operations
into the new crop, Oyerweening am
billion had led him into a dangerous
field. He had been master of the May
option, but when all those he had driy-
en- turned and began to drive him he
discovered the difference between hav-
ing his speculations limited TO a crop
grown and one yet to be grown. II
simply was question Of money-whioh
side would hazard the most. Letter had
his father behind him. The opposition
had 10 times more money than the
Letters The crash came so suddenly.
on June H. 1885, as to amaze the public.
Letter confessed that all his profits
were gone. and $95O0OOO IN addition.
Mr. Armour, who had sued for .peacp,
was the riln with whom the elder Lei
ter had ~ make terms,
But Rt wasn't all, Mr.. Letter had
exported such vast quantities of grain
that he reduced the reserve stock IN
this country so materially that the way
was paved for better prices the season
following his great plunge, Prices have
been good ever since The longer they
remain so, the longer will prosperity
last.
STILWELLS DARING PLAN.
Ally Of Mr.. Letter and the farmer. al
though unintentional In each case, was
Arthur II. Stilwell He rs far better
known west OF the Mississippi than east
of that stream. He made life miser
able for the managers OF the great
trunk lines for several years, and some
day the farmers may come 10 under
stand what he did for them. With few
other men he started out about 10 years
ago to build a railroad from Kansas
City to the Gulf He got about 100
miles Of line constructed when the
panic Of 1898 came on II took sever.
years to build the next 10 miles. DOz-
ems and dozens of times II seemed a.,
though the project would have TO he
abandoned. But Mr. Stilwell never lest
hope. He hates Wall street and its
methods. He wouldn't list his stock