Los Angeles herald., 1909-04-23
PATTEN PUZZLES
His FOLLOWERS
IN SPECULATION
LEADERS, ABSENCE FROM PIT
CREATES CONFUSION
WHEAT PRICES CONTINUE TO
FALL STEADILY
Friends Insist Hurried Trip Is for Rest
and That Cereal Kings Great
Holdings Remain
Intact
rnv Associated Press.1

Patten, hailed throughout the
" country as the wheat king, has
withdrawn from the market after dis
posing of his heavy holdings of May
and July wheat was asserted In many
quarters here today.
To this assertion was added the fact
that prices have tumbled over cents
during the last week. and that Mr.
Patten has sought rest on a New Mexi-
can ranch.
Whether he has eliminated himself
from the deal, and If so whether he
came out with profit or loss, are ques-
tions that can be answered only by
Patten himself. Those who read the
dispatches from Colorado anent the
discouraging reception met by re-
porter who tried to interview the big
speculator between trains expressed the
opinion that this answer seemed un-
likely to be forthcoming.
The session of the board of trade was
sensational today. The bulls had ex-
pected that after the 6-cent decline OF
the two previous sessions a recovery
would ensue Taking the Patten view
of the shortage as correct, ana tnal
wheat was intrinsically worth the price
that has been paid for it in purely
speculative way, the reaction was due,
but the first quotations were start
ling disappointment to the Duils.
From nearly every point came re-
ports of normal or even better crop
prospects. Liverpool prices were down
and the shipments from Argentina,
Australia and other foreign countries
were said to be greater than usual at
this time of the year.
Patten May Still Be Buying
Bears filed the wheat pit in dense
mass and poured forth a swollen
stream of wheat. The longs liquidated
ali along the line, and the execution
of stop-loss orders added to the con-
fusion. Frequently 1t was Impossible
to make a sale within three-quarters
of a cent of the price designated by
the customer
The Patten vortex of other and more
bullish days into which the cereal
might be poured seemingly without
affecting it's appetite, was not in evil
dence. 1t was a tremendously liquidat-
ing market, and Patten might have
been buying secretly through other
than his own houses.
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 ex-
cellent investment.
Many a fortune has been wiped out
by the decline this week, and many
a man who had a handsome profit on
paper but still hung on for more now
confronts a deficit.
Mr.. Patten 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 were exhausted.
They would like to have known If MI.
Patten had left orders secretly to make
further purchases.
Is Patten Out of Market?
In the absence of certain information,
however, Mr.. Patterns departure and
the utter weakness indicated by to-
days decline gave rise to gloomy hints
that "Patten was well out" 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.
1t is admitted that this supposition
may be absolutely wrong. Mr.. Pat
tens ire against reporters was largely
due to published references to him
self as manipulation of the market,
the engineer of great corner OF the
worlds staple food
II
the newspapers" said one of Patterns
friends today. "He wasn't running a
corner, and publisred statements to
the contrary wore him out. He is look
ing for rest and intends to find it. for
Mr. Bartlett's ranch comprises some
100000 acres, and no reporter is there"
HAS he sold his wheat?"
ST don't know. I doubt it. He can
we'll afford to hold his line. for the
pinch was not expected until the short
age began really to be felt in June
and July. He expected a high price
then, and to market his wheat when
his position on the crop had been vim
dicated."
Another person remarked that 1t be-
gan to look like vindication of Secre-
tary Wilson. whose information con-
cerning crops Mr.. Patten recently de-
clared to be "the joke of the century"
The regular daily bulletin issued by
Bartlett, Patten and company after the
close of the market said:
"The real condition is unchanged.
There is no more wheat in the country
than there was before the decline. Our
confidence in higher prices is as great
as ever"