The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-17
GOOD, old BULL |. !. TURN.
The Bears Have Turned Tail and
Wheat Is Still Creep
ing Up.
its Strong Advance Can Be Ac-
counted For Without the
Corner Theory.

The liveliest bull market In a long time
was on to-day at the Minneapolis Chamb-
or of Commerce. Wheat shot up to 1885 c
for May on covering by frightened short
sellers. The buying was on a large scale.
The bulls came out jubilant and the bears
were very sore. Local traders in wheat
have been getting Jared up these last
few days by remarkable showing OF
strength in wheat and q market unlike
anything seen in years. Wheat has been
advancing. Slowly. quietly, prices have
been moving UP by the smallest fractional
gains At no time has there been enough
of an advance to lead anyone to suspect
there was a bull campaign on. Many Of
the traders have been badly fooled, and
even those who are always first to get
aboard on bull turn have stood around,
and seen the May option creep up from
73hc, the low point early in the month.
But when May sold up to 1880 with every
sign Of going higher they began to realize
that the bulls were it, and there was
something doing. They had been deceived
by the slow, stealthy upward creep.
=. Everyone Is Guessing.
What does it mean? Is any one trying
to corner wheat? These are the questions
of the day at the Chamber.
When May wheat sold to-day in the
Minneapolis pit at 1850 1t was the high
est price touched so far on the present
option. At this price no one dared sell
any considerable quantity short as there
is the belief that the most powerful Chi
cago interest is back of the market. :. It
is the expectation that next week will
see a lively bull campaign here. Everyone
now admits that 1T is a bull market of
the regular oldfashioned kind and, now
that the movement has started no one
pretends to say where it will stop. The
only difference of opinion Is In the cause
of the strength. The bulls are divided in
to those who believe some powerful in
terest-possibly Armour-is out to, bull
the market, and those who look upon the
heavy buying of Armour in the Chicago
pit as merely an incident of the advance.
These latter argue that wheat must ad-
vance anyway on its merits. .
One of the largest elevator companies
In Minneapolis has been investigating
supply conditions In the northwest, and
reports tabulated this morning show that
In North Dakota IS per cent of the wheat
has been marketed. In South Dakota &73
per cent has been marketed and In Min
nesota 6S per cent. This gives an aver
age of 70 per cent, so that there is ap-
proximately II per cent Of the crop of
last year yet to come in How much
this means In bushels depends upon how
much wheat was raised. Most Of the
estimates were too high. The most re-
liable and conservative estimator putt
the quantity raised in the three states
at about 17S,000, 900 blu, and there is a
feeling that even this may have been a
trile too large. If the three states raised
that quantity, then there is about 49, 0O0,-
900 bushels yet to come, or not as much
as will be required by the mills. There
is in store here 14,s18,S5s bushels, and
in country elevators $500, 900 bu, which
helps out. but at the best stocks are
light. This is a sample bull argument
such as may be heard these days. on
change. : .: < :. *. '$,i
Terminal Stocks Light
But the bulls have other strong points
to present. Stocks Of Wheat in Mime
apolis, Duluth and Chicago are lighter
than on any corresponding date in four
years. The 6,600,0 900 bushels in north
western country elevators looks like
something until compared with last year,
when 1t is found there were then 11,500;-
600 bu. There are in all about SO, oOO, 600
bushels in the visible supply, which In
cludes stocks at "a points embracing
the country from Port Arthur and Fort
William, Ont, to New Orleans and Gal
weston, and from Kansas City to New
York. and almost one-third, or $4,000
600 bushels Of this is in Minneapolis.
The local mills will grind every bushel OF
this and more besides, so that the domes-
tic situation Is strong, irrespective Of the
fact that foreign importing countries
have been Bidding for wheat of late. II
may be that Armour or some other bic
bull Is out to corner wheat. but if he IS
the bulls say, he is only anticipating an
advance that will likely come anyway
before another American wheat crop is
harvested. - - :" F"tii -, T."