The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-23
SMALL DEALERS LOSE THEIR ILL WHEN WHEAT
 COLLAPStS SHARPLY
Patten Is In Colorado, But His Brokers Announce That Their Views Have Not Changed Regard
 ing the Price of
 Wheat.

Chicago, April 22.-That James A. Pat ten, hailed throughout the country as the Wheat King" has withdrawn from the market after disposing of his heavy hold ings of May and July wheat was assert ed in many quarters here today. To this assertion was added the fact that prices have tumbled over cents during the last week. and that Mir Patten has himself sought rest in the fastnesses of a New Mexico ranch.
 Whether he has eliminated himself from the so-called deal and if so whether he came out with profit or loss, are questions which can be answered only by MT, Pat ten himself.
 The session of the board of trade was a sensational one today. Bulls had expected that after the 6-cent decline of the two previous sessions recovery would en- sue. Taking the Patten view of big crop shortage as correct. and wheat intrinsical- ly worth all that has been paid for 1t, in a purely speculative way the reaction was due.
 But the first quotations were a startling disappointment to the bulls. From near ly every point came reports of normal, and even better crop prospects Liverpool was down and shipments from Argentina. Austria and other foreign countries were said to be greater than usual at this time of the year.
 Wheat Pours In.
 Bears filled the wheat pit in a dense mass, and like an eruptive volcano poured forth a swollen stream of wheat
 Longs iqudated all along the line and the execution of stop.l Joss orders added to the confusion.s
 Frequently it was impossible to make a sale within s4 of cent of the price des- ignated by the customer to his broker.
 The Satten tex of other and more bullfsh days into which the cereal might be poured seemingly without affecting its appetite, was not in evidence. It was d tremendous liquidating market and Pat ten might have been buying secretly through others than his own house. From him there has come no word that he has changed his views as to the value of wheat. He called May wheat cheap at $1 .29 and if he still thinks so it is pointed out that the same option at $1.21 today was an excellent investment The same was said of July at s1.09ss. These prices are approximately g cents under their price of last Friday
 Small Dealers Wiped Out.
 While Mr. Patten, quoted as saying he was fleeing from reporters, was making for the ranch of his friend and partner, W. H. Bartlett, just over the Colorado line in New Alexico. dejection was pie tured on the face of many a small spec ulator watching the ticker in various brokerage houses. Many a fortune has been wiped out by the decline this week and many a man who had a handsome profit, but still hung on for more. now confronts a deficit. There are many such. The wide publicity given the market brought into it many man who ord- Darily walked in quieter paths. Even the regulars for the most part followed the bull leader with unusual enthusiasm, and until today saw nothing further in the previous declines but a furry MT. Patton so characterized 1t and his word was accepted. They held to the limit of their resources and today were wiped off the speculative slate when their margins became exhausted and there was no longer & reserve to draw on.
 They would have liked very much to know whether MT. Patten had left orders secretly to make further purchases at the concession in prices. In the absence of such information, however Mir. Pat tens absence in section of the country where he will not be much troubled by either reporters or quotations and the utter weakness indicated by soday's de- cline, gave rise to many hints that Pat ten was well out of it."
 Patten Liquidating.
 They went so far as to declare that the present slump was due to the liquidation of the big Patten line of wheat rather than to improved crop conditions.
 It is admitted that this supposition may be absolutely wrong. MT. Patten's irrta- tion against reporters was largely due to published references to himself as a manipulator of the market, the engineer of a great corner of the worlds staple food He smarted under such terms to a degree unusual to most men. He was in his office when the decline began to look most serious, but in his conversation he had much less to say about the market than about erroneous statements made concerning himself in the newspapers.
 Its a fact that he ran away from the newspapers" said one of his friends to- day. He was not running corner and published statements to the contrary wore him out. He is looking for rest, and he ought to find 1t, for MT. Bartletts ranch comprises some 30O,0oO acres. and in no place on it Is there a reporter
 Has he sold his wheat?'
 Can Afford to Hold.
 q don't know I doubt it. He can well afford to hold his line. for the pinch was not expected until the shortage began really to be felt In June and July He expected a high price then and expected tO ihdi hCl iio WhC1e hio PoSitAch had been vindicated.'
 At this point in the conversation third party remarked that to man up a tree" 1t began to look like vindication of Sec retary of Agriculture Wilson. whose in- formation concerning crops MT. Patten re- gently declared to be the joke of the century,
 To this smile was the only answer
 The regular daily bulletin issued by Bartlett, Patten & Co. after the close of the market today had this to say:
 '',rhe real situation is unchanged There is no more wheat in the country than there was before the decline, and the de- mand is just as good. Our confidence in higher prices is as great as sver."