New-York tribune., 1909-04-16
PATTEN STOPS SLUMP
July at s115% to s115%; May at 81 2'7z To
S127%, and September at 81 06A.
Continued from first page.

July at s115B to s115%; May at 81 Z'77 u
S1275s and September at 81 O6A.
CONTRAST OF A YEAR AGO.
7, contrast 70 these prices. those of a year
ago are of interest. During April year ago
Nav wheat sold at an average of 90 cents ana
JuIv around So cents. The first sale OF "hea1
for delivery in May of this year was mace mere
on June % last at S9al cents. Whethg II went
TO Mr.. Patten is not of public record out lie was
among the earlier purchasers. Since tneh me
price has risen nearly 80 cents This, however
does not serve to give a line on the SUPPOSED
profits of Mr. Patten and his associates No
estimate worth considering can be MADE ir
even were details Of their operations known II
Is safe TO say the same capital has gone into the
JuIv deal the outcome Of which, of course, can
not be predicted.
With the May deal proper to all intents
thing Of the past, a battle royal VIII De "aBeu
in July Mr.. Patten, at the head OF an lnhueh-
tial following. insists that July will be an oid
crop month-that is. -four must be made from
the harvest of last year instead Of the ne"
wheat usually harvested in the winter wheat
belt in time for delivery on July contracts
Unusually unfavorable weather for planting
last fall is given the principal reason Tor thlS
belief Mr. Patten said to-day that even II
some of the wheat were harvested early In july
II would never reach Chicago. but would be
snatched up by furnishing millers before it got
within hundreds Of miles of this city.
why" said Patten, waving the cigar stun
which had served him earlier in the day, but
(which had been unlighted for hours, they're
buving wheat out in Sumner County, Kansas.
right now Do you know what that means
That's the biggest wheat producing county in
the United states, and miers there have Just
naId 81 80 for wheat which the farmers had
nra,-iousIv shipped out They've got to bring
it back"
THE DECLINE IN WINNIPEG.
"t4o,, about the scent decline at Winnipeg
Mr Patten was asked.
"It doesn't mean anything It's big cash
market. but small one specuatively. The
smaller the speculative market, the wider the
price fluctuations.
What Mr.. Patten says about July wheat, now
ever is anything but acceptable 70 many in
auential and experienced traders They point
70 the present domestic visible supply. which
10 raDorted by Pradstreet's six million bush
els in excess Of the amount in sight at this time
in 1905 But principally they insist that the
new crop will be sale in Chicago in abun-
dance They laugh at the late crop talk. and
declare that there is and will be as much wheat
in proportion to the population as there ever
was.
In talking with newspaper men to-day Mr..
Tor as well as a grain merchant and incidentally
admitted that he is long of cotton
Haven't you enough on your hands in wheat
without dabbling in cotton?' came d query.
Well. III be frank I'm grain merchant
but I'm a speculator also. like TO speculate
It's a great game. The way it looks 10 me is
this: Cotton at the present price is just about
as cheap as wheat would be around 81. so I took
a fver: but believe me- I'm not trying 10 manip-
ulate it."
yCinrinsr Man April 15.-Iu the last fifteen min
utes OF to-day's wheat market many specula tors
we're nfpped May wheat selling down from 81 Is
10 q 10 and closing at 81 2l24. Nothing like the
manic created had ever been Witnessed the local
grain exchange.
little before the close of the local market there
was a heavy selling movement In wheat. due 70 the
break Of s cents a busheI in Winnipeg prices fall
ing 2 TO cents A rally in the last few minutes
brought final prices TO levels Ia cents TO -'2 cents
last fgY1TH