Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-04-21
SAYS HE'S
ONLY A TRADER
DECLARES HE DOESN'T CONTROL
MARkET-SAW WHAT WAS
COMING.
SHORTAGE IN WORLDS CROP RE.
sPoNSl5LE FOR PREVAIL
ING CONDITIONS.

Chicago, April 15.-The appeal of
Pittsburg bakes to Secretary of State
Knox 10 take steps to enc manipula-
tion OF the wheat and other markets.
caused comment yesterday by James
A. Patten OF Chicago. popularity al
legged to control the present market
for the high priced cereal.
In the first place, said Mr.. Patten,
Il don't control the market. My line
at anytime has not run over 10000.
goo. have preached the gospel of
higher wheat because saw what was
coming. l saw it first, believe, but
when it comes to controlling the mar
ket, there are two or three hundred
o,her men who have bought, who have
something TO say about that"
Mr.. Patten at this point in the in
teryiew paused to open telegram
which had been handed him. He read
il, smiled grimly and then remarked:
Now what do you think of that :?
Here it is reported on the board tlat
am disguised with the whole wheat
business because of criticisms and am
going 10 get out
viii Not ogit Market.
The so-called wheat king" tossed
the offending note on his modest desk,
tugged savagely at his thick closely
clipped gray moustache and resumed:
I'm a grain trader, and don't intend
10 quit | bought when the market
looked cheap. as did others who ac-
copied my view. and I'm going to sell
it at prifit if | can. have already
old a great deal ! have more to sell
end wehn anybody offers me a proper
price / will sell more. | sold this
morning, cash stuff at SLAP. There
is no corner no manipulation Others
who bought early sell as demand de-
velops
Mr. Patten then diagnosed the situ-
alton as he understood it.
For three or four years this has
been coming and ! saw it, At the end
Of each crop. bins were empty every
where. With increasing population
here. and abroad i, was obvious that
sooner or later the crop of one year
would be exhausted before a new crop
was al hand Last fail. if not earlier,
| saw il coming. | bought whea, and
! my friends did likewise.
The great unthinking public here
! and in Europe would not, or could not
! see what was coming. Liverpool
would not buy months ago, thinking
the prices Of that day too high. Now
Europe wants 100000 bushels. The
harvest was early last year. /: has
| been trying to- cover thirteen months
instead of the usual twelve and it
can't do it, We need wheat for the
mills right here in Chicago now"
Maybe some OF the shorts will de
liver it 10 you on your May contracts? ?
was suggested.
Il wish they would for there isnT
any TO speak of here We could use
half a million for the local milling
| trade today
Buying Holds Down Prices.
Here's another point If we had
! not bought wheat mean myself and
| Cthers-the price would be higher
here than it is. Europe would have
| taken it, for the foreigners finally rec
ognized the weakness of their position
, and where would the domestic supply
have come from? We would have
been compelled to buy from the very
Europeans We sold to. | regard 1t as
fortunate that it was Americans who
first diagnosed crop conditions and
took advantage of it.
This was not philanthropy MY
| business is buying and selling grain.