Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-04-16
Stops Very Sudden Break
In July Wheat
By Buying 100000 Bushels
In IS Minutes.
Banks on July As Old Crop Month
-..Baksrs Deeply Concerned.

in the wheat pit Of the Board of Trade
today. July wheat, following a docile
advance to new high level, suddenly
dropped an extreme Az cents. The
fortunes of small specu-
lators vanished in trice and the day
was saved from route only by the
vigorous exertions of he bull leader.
James A. Patten. Within the last Is
minutes of trading Mr.. Patten bought
5000 900 bushels of wheat for July de-
livery.
Nothing but a furry said Mr.. Pat
ten, but that was after the pit had
been deserted for the day. During the
final hour he was a very busy man.
Into the corridor Of the Western Union
building which the Bartlett-Patten Of
fees are located, f1oated the sound OF
high pitched, nervous voices as clerks
at the telephone shot in buying orders
to other clerks in the pit.
Mr.. Patten personally visited the
floor of the exchange and directed his
own deals by word of mouth. 1t was
Patten against the field, and the final
gong showed that the former appar-
emily was as mighty as ever His pur-
chases and those of his followers, to-
gether with the profit taking of shorts
who lost no time in securing the fruits
of their bearish daring, caused re-
action Of over a cent all along the line.
But before this occurred. the hoard of
many a small Spectator had gone.
Afar from the maddening strife on
the board in hundreds of bakeries.
there was a different, although related
scene Flour had risen and the bakers,
with wrinkled brows, were trying 10
find out where their profits were COM
ing from unless the price of bread could
be raised.
According to one Of the largest bab-
ers in the city, the price of flour has
doubled in the last six years, milk has
advanced 1918 per cent, delivery
charges have doubled and yet ting price
of bread remains the same. ! Three
years ago when flour prices We're on 4
rampage many bakers saved their
profits by reducing the weight of their
loaves and the quality of flour used,
but it is said there is no! further eX-
IRENE of economy to which they can
go, and meanwhile they allege that
their net earnings are mil SO far,
however no concerted action has been
taken with regard to the situation.
The speculative day of the board
opened without indications of the SEN
sation to come. May and July wheat
quietly rose to higher prices. the Tor
mer to 81. 29l4 and the latter to s1.1S7s
The July price was the highest since
1877, when d European war exhausted
"a nt ~
usual remark. Either one or the other
of the options mentioned had been 40
ing the same thing since the first or
the month. There has not been trad
ing day since then that one or the 9TH
err has not created a new top price.
Patteu bought and sold as usual.
mosti, buying July and selling May.
He is said to have disposed OF l,000,o0o
bushels of his May holdings today,
and to be practically out of that option.
His energies are now centered largely
in July. II still have some May" said
he, but I am chiefly interested now In
July. I'm not paying much attention TO
the different options. They are new
crop months" 1t was IS or ~ minutes
before closing time when the selhns
tornado hit the pit. Stop-loss orders
came out in Il deluge and the pears
stirred by a scent decline at Wlnnl-
peg based, it was said, on re-selilng py
exporters, attacked the market with
great spirit July fell half cent at a
time to s114k, an extreme loss OF ~.
cents; May in large jumps dropped tc
s1.26, and September. an undisputeo
new crop month which had attained
s1.Os7a. declined to $1,05A Here the
Patten purchases made their influences
felt and the close of the session founc
july at s1155s@%: May at SLIT " Dfs
anu September at S1.O6A.
In contrast with these prices, those
of wear ago are of interest. During
April a year ago, May wheat sold al
an average of 95 cents and July arounC
So cents. The first sale of wheat fol
delivery in MAY of this year. was made
here June % last, at 89A cents. Whetli-
er it went to Mr.. Patten is not of pub
lie record. but he was among the ear
lier purchasers. Since then the price has
risen nearly 30 cents This however
does not serve to indicate the supposed
profits of Mr.. Patten and his associates
No estimate worth considering can b.
mdUp LOT even were uelaIlS Vi thCii w
erations known, 1t is safe to say thu
same capital has gone into the July
deal, the outcome of which, of course
cannot be predicted.
With the May deal proper to all in
tents thing of the past. battle roya
will be waged in July. Mr.. Patten, a
the head of an influential following
insisted that July will be an old crol
month; that is. flour must be mad
from the harvest of last year instea
of the rev wheat usually harvested il
the winter wheat belt in time for de
livery fer July for contracts. Unusu
ally unfavcrable weather for planting
last fall is given as the principal rea
son for this belief. Mr.. Patten sait
today that even if some Of the whea
were harvested early in July it will
never reach Chicago. but will b.
snatched up by famished millers before
it gets within hundreds OF miles of thi.
city.
"Why," said Mr.. Patten. they're
buying wheat out in Sumner county
Kansas, right now. Don't you know
what that means? That's the biggest
wheat producing country in the United
States and millers there have just pait