Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-05-13
TRADERS ARE STARTLED
Quotations Jump Rapidly
From $2.55 to $2.75 on
July Offering.
SEE HANDWRITING ON WALL
"a Hungry World Pleading
for Bread" View of Brokers
From Smoke Pits.

CHICAGO, May t2.-At the close OF
day such as the Chicago board of
trade never saw before traders were
asking one another what measures
would be taken. If any. to check the
sensational upward flight of wheat
prices. In Minneapolis, Kansas City,
ST. Louis and lesser markets the same
query was being put. There was no
answer save in the resolutions of such
bodies rs the Illinois council of de-
fenso which urged congress to take
rigid control of the whole food ana
basic commodity situation. May wheat
was legislated out of existence by tho
Chicago board as patriotic duty"
and because its skrrooketing course
might inspire runaway market. AS
an arrester of advances, the move
failed signally.
At the opening prices for July and
September options hesitated a few
cents below the previous close. The
strip OF blackboard where the May
ordinarily was quoted was blank, but
in II short time the adjoining columns
began to boom. When the closing
gong sounded at noon July had shown
IA net rise of 22A to 25 cents, with
| final figures ranging from sara to
| S2.75 and September even more
startling jump of 26 to 20 cents with
last sales varying from $2.44 TO S2.46.
'sn- The Best View.
The course OF the market was best
visualzed in the big smoking room OF
the board, where quotations from the
markets Of the world as well as those
of the home market are posted.
| There were those watching the
| blackboard who saw more In the fig
ures than the cold record of the law
of supply and demand. To them 1t
told the story of stricken worlds
demand for bread, the cry of deSpera-
ton from the ruined cities and the
wasted farms of Europe. the plea or
emaciated children and the food de-
mands of soldiers.
"Two fifty-five" was marked on the
! blackboard, then "257, 2.60, 2.63is"
ana presently at the summit of tho
wave "2.75", or 20 q cents higher than
yesterday.
Up 'IiiSc "a Shrek"
1T went up like II shrek." re-
marked one speculator. 1t was some
thing like that and the shrek came
from shorts In the massive trading
room, with its octagonal pits wherein
the brokers and heir clerks were
! clamorng for wheat which was not
FOR sale. Higher and stlll higher went
their bids, but those with wheat were
| indisposed to sell 1t, and there were
| few who would take chance, even
at the top, of selling short, as 1t Is
termed when a trader sells for future
delivery something he has not, hoping
that the future will enable him to buy
| in at lower price what he sold at
the apex, before delivery day comes
around.
"Shorts" Losses Heavy.
Prices continued their ascent until
| the shorts had covered" and taken
their losses, probably very heavy in
"r'S TSe opinion waVexpressed that
decrease in trading might be expected
that day. that contracts had been
largely even up and that spectators
would be slow to bind themselves to
contracts which might be affected by
action such as that taken with regard
TO May options. a question much
handed about was whether, If control
of speculation in May was good
thing. why similar action might not
apply with equal benefit to more de-
ferred futures. President Joseph Grif-
fin of the board said no such action
was contemplated for the present, for.
in the opinion of many. wheat would
begin TO arrive about July /. He was
in constant touch with Washington
and with the United States district at
torney here, he said. What part the
federal government played In the
boards action has not been divulged.
Patriotic Move.
"Our action was a patriotic one"
said MIR. Griffin "That some action
must be taken had become increasingly
apparent to the trade. Millers COM
planned OF the price OF wheat; grocers
complained of the price of flour;
housewives complained of the price OF