The San Francisco call., 1909-05-30


Par1ners' probable profit. sI,J0O.OOO.
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- HICAGO. May 2e.-whst is
generally conceded 10 have been
- the most successful wheat deal
sn the annals Of the Chicago
board Of trade closed today.
and il closed without the squeezing OF
shorts. which in other days was wont 10
furnish z show 10 the gallery visitors
snd leave La sale street staggering.
James A Patten during todays brief
session made = fixed price OF sL34 a
busheI Through his pit clerk. ed"
Walker. he bought or sold at that
price. but the buying was almost purely
theoretical on his part. He did take in
a few thousand bushels from trailer"
who waited until the last moment for
his profts. but in the main he disposed
OF about 100000 bushels TO shorts. who
had hoped against hope 10 the last
moment. and then. in the parlance Of
the pit. took their medicine"
Patten Not in Pit
II was al tranquil really duIler than
usual and not even remotely resem-
bling the turbulence Of the sessions of
previous months. Few were in the pit.
and Pstten was not one OF them He
sat in his oflce facing the blackboard.
chewing vigorously al a quid of gum.
his hat pushed back on his head and
-. - 80 - -. ~,,-,4a -so-e ~ ~
tIons other than May.
Il was not until an hour after the
close OF the market that the only bit
Of sentiment connected with the whole
thing leaked out A procession OF
clerks headed for the cashiers Office
with broad grins on their faces and
slips Of white paper in their hands
called attention TO IL and 1t was
learned that every employe OF the
BsrtIett-Patten house had been given
e bonus Of 10 per cent of his annual
salary.
Remains Consistent
The price AZ which May wheat closed
today did not represent fictitious
value It was. according 10 traders.
consistent with the price the world
over. Pstten, had he wished. might
have put the price AT IS. and remain
ing shorts would have been compelled
10 pay Il or acknowledge bankruptcy.
However. according 10 his friends. he
remained consistent with his assertion
that he had 10 wish 10 manipulate
prices. but only TO secure the legiti-
mate profits OF his foresight He
hacked his judgment that there was
less wheat in the world than was gen
orally believed and found himself in
control Wall street sold short, as did
some Influential western speculators.
bur Patten stood firm He took a vaca-
tion at & critical period OF the cam
paign and ignored a decline OF y
cents that followed his departure from
Chicago That loss was more than re-
covered. for # was only a few days ago
that the cereal sold at sLs554. the
highest price in II years.
Makes Big Cleanup
Patten has made fortune. how
much he can not say until his cash
wheat is marketed His own admis-
sion. however. seems TO make $1,000, 900
. conservative estimate. Il may run
much larger. The losses, it is said.
have fallen mostly on professional
spectators.
The battle is not over yet. for the
bulls and bears are stin divided as to
whether empty bins viii be replen-
ished By the July harvest
The first sale Of wheat for delivery
this month was made June % last at
Sszc the busheL Last Tuesday It
sold at sl-s5H. rise OF s5Ac.
Depletion of Reserves
Patten's assertion that reserves have
been almost exhausted apparently is
confirmed by a comparison Of receipts
In Chicago during the last month. Dur
ing Nay year ago 1901 cars were
received here; this month there were
only l3s cars. Today. for instance.
only one car arrived Yesterday s7l.-
600 bushels Of actual wheat were de-
liVered on the trade, and today $4,000
vEa5itional were transferred. Most Of
- went 10 Patten-
Accurate information as 10 how much
wheat now rests in the Patten ware
houses is not obtainable. but the stocks
81 public and private elevators aggre-
COntInued on Page Is, Column