The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-16
JULyWHEAT DROPS
AND WIPES OUT
SMALL DEALERS
Patten Buys 100000 Bushels
and Saves R0ut
TORNADO IN CHICAGO PIT
Rumored that Government Agents are
at Windy City investigating
Corner.
TORNADO IN CHICAGO PIT

Chicago. April 16.-July wheat fol
lowing an advance to new high level,
suddenly dropped yesterday to an ex-
| treme OF AS cents. 1t was a day of
/ shifting fortunes in the wheat pit.
The 'pyramided" fortunes of small
spectators vanished quickly and the
day was saved from rout only by the
vigorous exertions of the bull leader,
James A. Patten.
| Within the last fifteen minutes of
trading Mr. Patten bought 100000
bushels of wheat for July delivery.
Mr.. Patten personally visited the
floor of the exchange and directed his
own deals by word of mouth.
II was Patten against the field and
the final gong showed that the former
apparently was as mighty as ever. His
purchases and those of his followers
together with the profit taking of
shorts, who lost no time IN securing
the fruits of their bearish daring,
caused a reaction of over cent all
along the line. But before this oc-
Cured the hoard of many a small
Spectator had gone.
The speculative day on the board
opened without indications of the SEN
sation to come. May and July wheat
quickly rose TO new high prices-the
former to $1.29A and the latter to
S11SB. The July price was the high
est since 1877, when a European war
exhausted reserves, but neither mark
created unusual comment. Either
one or the other of the options men
toned has been doing the same thing
since the first of the month. There
has not been trading day since then
that one or the other has not created
new top price.
Patten bought and sold as usual
mostly buying July and selling May
He is said to have disposed of 1000,
900 bushels of his May holdings today
and to be practically out of that OPP
ton. His energies are now centered
largely in July.
Ii was fifteen or twenty minutes be
fore closing time when the selling tor
nado hit the pit. Stonlchs orders
stirred by five cent decline at Winni
peg, based, 1t was said, on rese!ling
by exporters, attacked the market
with great spirit. July tumbled half
a cent at a time to Sl.14h. an ex-
IRENE loss of AS cents; May, in lar
ger jumps, dropped to 1925, and Sep
TENDER, an undsputed new crop month
which had attained s1.0S%, declined
to $105%
Here the Patten purchases made
their influence felt and the close of
the session found July at s1.15ss to
$1.15% May at s1.271a to $l27ss, and
September $1,06A..
The price of flour is still going up,
and the Washburn-Crosby company of
Minneapolis are said to have been con-
templating increasing the price OF
spring wheat flour from 81 TO $7l5 n
barrel but owing to the slump in the
price of wheat at the last moment
this contemplated raise was not made
Chicago prices, however. have advanc
ed, and instead of $5.75 which was
the price here few days ago, winter
wheat -four is now quoted at $500 to
&c.
Regarding the report that Thomas
W. Lawson proposes to call meetings
of public men in various cities of the |
country to issue protests against the
prevailing high prices of wheat. Mr.
Patten said that it was very evident
that Mr.. Lawson S information regard
ing the circumstances surrounding |
the present prices was even less ac-
curate than his frequently advertised
information regarding other matters
and was deserving of no more cred
ence