The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-04
WHEAT IS WORTH ST
A BUSHEL IN CHICAGO
Highest Price, Since Famous Letter
Deal in T6oS-Result OF Armour
Corner of May Delivery.
ENORMOUS CORN TRADE

Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
CHICAGO, Feb. 3.-Wheat is worth 81 a
bushel. The cash article sold at this price
on the local Board of Trade to-day. This
is the highest price for wheat since the
elimination of the famous Letter deal in
June 1893
The May delivery in the option market
to-day advanced to 94kc. the highest spec
ulative price for this crop. At the top price
to-day May was 27sG211c higher than the
closing price Tuesday. The July delivery.
also, was a big bull market, advancing al
most as much as the May. There was a
good general demand for both deliveries.
but the May, of course, scored the best
gains, being the active delivery at this time
of the year and being cornered by the
Armour house.
The high prices for wheat are the direct
result of the Armour corner in the May de-
livery. The Armour Grain Company, of
which ]. ogden Armour is president, and
which is represented in the pit by Valen-
tine. owns more May wheat than the entire
contract stock at Chicago, which is esti-
mated around 100000 or 10000 bushels
The advance of the cash market TO 81 for
No. red can be traced directly to the Ar
mour deal.
Armour has been accommodating MAY
wheat for three months. He began buying
il around 76 cents. When he had pushed
the May delivery UP into the eighties it be-
gan to look as if there would Be war be-
tween Russia and Japan, and this helped
the packer-speculator to put the price high
er and higher.
Armour has been on both sides of the
market so much that ii is hard TO tell now
how much wheat he really owns But there
is little doubt that he owns enough to die
tate prices without any trouble and make
the short holders pay a fancy price to cover
There are great many spectators who
argue that wheat isn't worth present prices
and that there is bound TO be a break one
of these days, when the market will have
"a great fall" like it has at the elimination
of other corners.
The foreign demand for American wheat
is much smaller this year than ever before
when a corner being run in Chica go.
But on the other hand there is a good do
nestle demand for this cereal.
Armour has wheat corners before,
and he is credited with being one of the
cleverest spectators who ever sent orders
into a grain pit. If the market tumbles one
of these days-which 1t has no indications
of doing just now--Armour. no doubt, will
know the wherefore and the why" of H.
and will know how TO get out with enor-
nous profits.
He has already made several hundred
thousands of dollars out of his present May
deal, il is thought, but IL looks now as IL
he isn't satisfied with present profits.
The past two days have developed the
fact that Armour Is also powerful factor
in the corn market. Armour has been buy
ing corn for some time. but not until the
last two days has he operated much in this
market openly. To-day the trading I'm the
corn pits was enormous scale, and in
terest i'm corn was so great several times
during the session that wheat was a sec
ondary consideration.