The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-23
GATES DEAL BROKEN
SENSATIONAL PROCEEDINGS IN
 CHICAGO WHEAT PIT.
Efforts of Plunger and His Associates to Control the Cereal for May Delivery Prove to be Unsuc-
 cenafuI.

Chicago. Apri 22.-One of the most
 celebrated deals ever known to the Chi
 cago Board of Trade came to a climax
 today. A daring effort by John w.
 Gates and associates to control all of
 the wheat available in America for de-
 livery during the month of May was apparently ended today with a whole
 sale sacrifice of prospective profits to
 escape possible huge losses on existing
 Investments. Incidentally the result
 was one Of the widest sessions ever
 witnessed in the Chicago wheat pit. At
 one time prices showed a loss of 11s1-2 cents q hnshAi for thes day the price of
 the nptIoh bring dfiver down in A sscns sattonaf aerles of rushes to a8n1-2 cents per bushel The closing was $1 as against $1.25 less than six weeks ago.
 General opinion tonight is to the ef- feet that the Gates coterie emerged from the battle with but little if any financial loss. Gossip insists that they effected an alliance with Armour and other leading traders whereby the Gates party, while obliged to summari- ly liquidate May wheat on an enormous scale today, nevertheless, fully protect ed themselves through prior and con fident operations of the allies in both May and later options
 Another view of the situation accord Ing to some observers is that the new grouping of astute spectators, includ- ing the redoubtable Gates himself has merely cleared the decks for still more gigantic corner in wheat for de- livery during July. The idea Is that the high price heretofore prevailing for May wheat has induced a securing of the country by grain traders to se- cure wheat to sell to the bull leaders. By dropping the price 10 cents bushel today the speculators assumed to be in control have made 1t clear that if the country is raked over for wheat 10 bring 1t here they mean to buy at figure of their own making. The rush ing of the price down today, 1t Is ar gued was more drastic action than was for the moment at least required by the Gates and Armour interests. the result being that they accordingly jumped the price back to $1 per bushel The Gates party, 1t is said. had figured that the movement of wheat to market would be practically exhausted before the month of May arrived. The factor that Is alleged to have caused them to give up the deal was the steadlness with which heavy shipments from the interior continued-this and the disap- pointing long drawn out dullness of the flour demand and the apparent un- concern of the millers.
 Scenes attending today's startling de- cline were such as seldom are wit messed in the worlds greatest wheat pit. Almost frenzied in anxiety, the traders in the pit. waiting the opening bell, huddled like steers about to stampede.
 The sound of the big bell was the signal for a mighty roar of voices, a din possibly never before edualed according to men who were present at the stormy session in that market dur ing the most exciting periods of the famous Letter and Harper deals Cloth ing was torn. hats smashed and bodies bruised in the frantic efforts of the traders to sell the grain. Shorts had apparently completely covered and longs, little and large, hurled their grain at the hands that were closed against it. Nobody seemed to want May wheat above dollar.
 When one dollar was reached the wild roar that marked the opening was doubled in volume. But while the nearby option was plunging downward there was a steady buying movement going on in the July option. Brokers working for Armour and his associates, whether including Gates the latter options. In one hour alone 1t was estimated that these brokers had bought more than 5000, 900 bushels.
 This buying of July prompted fright ened shorts to cover, they believing that the Gates forces and the Armour croHyd had combined to bull the month a4 the expense of the hard hammered May. Tonight it was estimated that 5 900 OOO bushels of the May delivery were unloaded here and at Minneap- oliS