The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-08-22

Eugene q. Scales proclaimed to the
world yesterday that his purse was empty
again when he filed a voluntary petition
in bankruptcy. He said that he owed about
s22s,5s5 and had only s2o0,500 with which
to pay.
No matter II the business OF the coun-
try is at skies and sevens. the exchange
closed. the foreign exchange market
demoraized and dreary prospect ahead,
Wall Street stopped long enough yester-
day to say word for and about Scales,
the most astute pyramider the cotton and
the wheat markets have ever known the
market player who would raher have
nothing than small profits the man who
has been the possessor of millions four
different times In his life and without
cent as many other times the man VINO
Increased $500 to $6,bO0.000 In little more
than a year who lost s3.500.0OO because
walk agreed with him, who jumped
from Dallas Tex. to Shreveport. La. to
New Orleans and then to New York pre-
coded by a reputation which made the
shrewdest operators court him as an ally.
Long Run Of had Luck.
The peculiar feature Of the predicament
Of Mr.. Scales, as Wall street saw II yes
terday. was that Il was the elimination
of "A run Of bad luck which BEGAN some
time near the spring OF 1910. Before that
time II seemed as IL he could not be wrong
but thereafter he could not get right :
something had happened which threw
him out OF step with the market
He lost the S3.500.000 after that walk,
as has been said. lie went into the
cotton pool with James \. Patten. Col.
Thompson and others and the Govern
ment got after them after they suffered
AN enormous loss on spot cotton. Then
Sca,cs's money kept on going the wrong
way and when Pell & Co went down II
was reported he owed them around $780,
600 The petition filed yesterday says
S34. 600 He also owes r.. II. Henderson
of hatcher. Miss. $4,000: Shearson.
Hammill & Co. s11.2sl: Gwathmey q
Co. s5,271. and Joseph NJ. Carpenter
OF Natchez. s5l.s75. To pay this he has
n II 200 acre ranch in Texas. which he
values at 5000. 900. and $500 In money.
Eugene q. Scales Is a bachelor. little
past 60. who has made his home at the
Waldorf Astoria for the past Ave years.
He comes from Paris. Tex. originally.
where boy and man he learned cotton
from the seed planting to It's Anal use.
He was in turn a planter, a merchant
and n broker. He was a young man
when he made his first fortune and his
name as cool. nervy. daring player.
He was rated at a million thirty years
ago. and was known to be without
penny a year afterward.
Had to Pawn His Diamonds.
This all leads up to the fact that in
January, 1905. Mr.. Scales found himself
in Dallas Tex, as near penniless as a
man of his experience can be
on that particular day In January his
entire worldly wealth consisted OF the
ranch. which was overmortgaged. and
a diamond stud for which he had paid
$500. lie did not have a dollar In cash
In his pocket
The diamond stud was pawned for $3.50.
Then Mr. Scales bought a ticket for
Shreveport. La. where his cousin. s. J.
Hartman. had a brokerage ONCE. He
arrived in that town with little more
than 5000. In the days OF one cycle
OF prosperity Mr. Scales had become
friendly with James 4. Pattep OF Chicago.
HIS ONCE was on Mr.. Patterns wire sys-
tenn and the Chicago man had very
favorable opinion OF the Texas man. Just
about that time Mr.. Patten was manip-
ulat,ng the 1908 wheat deal which caused
him some trouble. Mr.. Scales got into
communication with him and received
some little Information. The cousin al
lowed him to margin a purchase with the
5000, and Fortune smiled.
That 5000 had become about 100000 by
the time Mr.. Patten closed out his May
wheat. about June I. Then came cotton,
in which Mr. Scales was specialist.
lie soon Und a6,5OO,Ooo.
Cotton sold around 50 cents pound In
October, 1905. The speculator thought
that was low He went long OF the
staple little at FIRST, but ms prices ad-
vanced he began to pyramid and bought
more heavily. He knew that Texas had
no winter rains that year and that when
the crop was put In there was a con-
tnued drought. Believing the Texas crop