Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-12
PICTURE OF THE WHEAT KING
P~ecu1iarities and Physical Traits OF
james A. Patten, Grain
Trader.

He has a little, round, hard eye like a
hogs and a jaw of steel and concrete.
Whenever Jim Patten speaks-and he can
shout in a whisper-everyone in hearing
jumps. His voice has the rasp of the
buzz saw striking a hardwood knot. II
isn't loud-it never is loud-but the volt
age is high. TIC that voice a good deal
of his success in life may be attributed.
Certainly IT got him his first real Job. d.
and furnished him a toehoId on the steep
hill he has set out to climb. He was
hardly 20 years old and had lived all his
life upon the li-tle farm just outside
Sandwich, ILL.,, upon which he was born
The country s~torekeeper needed = man
to collect hard bills, ard some kind spirit
sent young Patten his way. Patten made
a record that is yet untouched. Every
debtor that he approached paid up. James
Alexander Patten used to lay that pun
fishing jaw alop gside the unfortunate's
ear and growl in a tone that suggested
murder that he must pay. Some of the
debtors had to go out to the grape arbor
and dig up the stocking hidden against
hard times-bdt they always paid.
Now he's IS years old, and has cornered
the worlds wheat market. He used pre-
cisely the same means that he did IN
forcing the farmers of De Kalb county,
Illinois, to pay their grocery bills. Pat
ten never coaxes. He always threatens.
The bears have learned hat a ch emical
analysis of his character would probably
result: Determination. -four parts; intelli-
gence, four parts; decision, two parts;
mercy, a trace. If Patten catches a man
short Of a market he is running, he trims
that man down to the ultimate nickel.
Or, at least, he did until some of the men
he had chased up a tree refused to take
their punishment in a s~portsnanlike way
and resorted to the courts. That was in
1902, when Patten had bought all the
oats in the world and then a crop or two
that had not been grown. The bears who
had been selling him contracts 10 deliver
oats finally came to him wearing yellow
smiles.
Were beat, jim" said they. How
much vii IL cost to quitT"
It'll cost you oats" said Patten. Il
don't want your money. I-~want-oatS."
He couldn't get oats, for there were no
more. But he would have had the finest
collection of bear pelts in the world deco
rating the rear fence of that architectural
freak he lives in, in Evanston, Ill., II the
courts hadn't interfered. This is plain
gambling said the courts, land these
contracts are not to be enforced by Law.
1t enraged Patten. even II he did come
out of the corner 81, 10000 to the good
cot course, it was gambling he used ia
growl. That's all l ana gambler. That's
all they were who played with me7Sgamb'
lers. And now the courts hold that wher
they lose they needn't pay" SincS then
Patten always settles with the man he
catches for Just a little less than the mar
has. IT leave 'em seed now" he srowls
ito grow me a new crop of dollars
That's a characteristic bit of Patter
humor. Oh, yes, he's f~unny-funny as &
broken leg. Two years ago he had the
wheat market by the ear, and the bear
came 10 him whining. 'Ill not touch
razor to my face until wheat touches $3.50,
said Patten. The market jumped a point a
a time. Then the bears found that Patter
never did touch a razor TO his face, any
how-a barber always shaved him. Thu
price settled back. but Patten had un
loaded. Last year he had one OF his duel
with the Armours. He tried to break thei
, bull hold on wheat, and lost a million dol
lars. They said he was down and out. bu
) when they got through counting their prof
: its In the wheat deal they found he ha'
penned them in a corner on the corn stu
3 alton, and he took back all his losses an
: q lot more.
1T don't pay to be one-eyed on the mar
kot," he growled to them Don't be .