The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-06-17
Grain Corner
Days Gone Forever

Chicago, June NJ. L. Winters. q
director Of the Chicago Board OF
Trade, is authority for a stfikinp
comparison of present methods in the
wheat business as in contract with the
days Of "Old Hutch" B. P. Hutchin.
son, most famous of old-time grain
operators. Referring to May wheat
dealings here which have attracted
wide attention, Mr.. Winters TODAY
said:
"The day of the grain corner is
gone forever as may ~be seen from
the socalled May deal just gone into
history. This has been ACCOMPLISHED
by strict rules of the board itself in
the last 10 or 15 years. In the old
Gays before traders, for their own
protection, had adopted stringent rules
TO prevent manipulation, the recent
situation would inevitably have devel-
oped into corner controlled by some
leader like old Hutch
"Also he might have lost heavily.
let it be remembered. Few corners
made money for the manipulators. A
dozen fortunes were last where one
was gained. The old Hutch, of todav
would have had to pay the full price
OF l3,766,O00 bushels Of wheat which
were delivered on May contracts this
year, tidy sum, even at the unmanip-
ulated price of $1.16 bushel at which
the market closed May 31st. Had
there been corner, the price assured
~ would have been much higher for
the bull manipulation is compelled, to
bid up the market on himsef. In the
Letter corner the late p. d. Armour
and others delivered the actual grain
by millions of bushels to Mr.. Letter;
Letter was unable to stand the strain
on his resources, stupendous though
they were, and the corner collapsed.
I'm the present instance, no one
was attempting corner. Last winter
certain spectators thought that
wheat for delivery in May was bar
gain, and they bought independently
In expectation of an advance. By mid
May they owned everything in the
public warehouses deliverable on tron-
tracts, and hence what would have
been natural corner'-that is. one
brought about without manipulation
existed. Sellers had contracted to de-
liver more wheat in Chicago. during
May than the elevators would hold,
In the old days these shorts would
have been compelled to make a money
settlement with the bulls at prices set
by the bulls. Such squeezes sent
many a firm on the financial rocks a
generation ago.
"Suggestions came from many
sources toward the end of Nav that
the directors of the board should fix
settlement price in order to prevent
squeeze, but this was considered
unsound and futile. A contract is a
contract and it's sacredness must be
preserved. The contracts to deliver
certain quantities Of wheat during
May were valid instruments of COM
merce.
what the directors of the board ac-
tuallY- did was far better. They sim
ply declared wheat in cars regular for
delivery on contracts; in other words,
they made each car a public ware
house until the emergency passed. In
thls way every person who had made
valid sale for future delivery, that
IS, In May, was able to deliver the
wheat, and those who bought it re-
ceived it as per contract.
All interests, including that of the
farmer and the public, were protected
and the price at which the market
closed on the last day of May was the
fair balance set by conditions of sup
ply and demand the world over"