Year: 1876

Ihe Chicago Boarl Of Trade, and its con.


stltuency in the outer commercial world,


have been very much excited during the past


week in regard to the condition of the wheat


now in store in this city. 1t was said to be


i'll bad order by some, while others alleged


that it is all right bnt the great majority
| were uncertain, and the market was nervous


and weak i'll consequence. The State In


spectors and the warehousemen all claimed


that there were no grounds for alarm but


the anxiety "to know was so great that d


committee Of the Board was appointed in
| the latter part of the week to investigate


They reported Saturday; and the pith Of
their statement is given in our commercial
| columns.


Taking this statement, with those made by


prominent parties in the tr1,le, it appears
that small percentage OF the No. 2wLcat in


Chicago is slightly heated, or soft, but TINT


none of it is damaged to an extent which
would justify the posting of it as tout of


condition" There is nlso good reason to be-


lieve that the wheat is in no worse order


than the average Of past years at this season.
Probably the month of July has never yet
l:psed into history, during the life Of our
grain trade, without some wheat being OBJ


jected to rs s. SOFT" and refused by the ship
per: The wheat thus declined has generally
needed nothing more than IN exposure to
the mir OH tho next cool dry day to put it in
mcrchantabe condition, and there is no No.
2 wheat now in store here which needs more
attention than that to lit it for shipment.


Tho outcry here is but en echo of that
raised in New York, under completely diff
ferent circumstances and it is due to the
trade that the difference between the two
sets of circumstances should be widely
known. The wheat-crop Of last year was
harvested in bad weather, rs rule, and
larger proportion Of the whole than usual
was damp when gathered; while the unpre-
cedented competition among the railroad
companies has reduced freights to very
low point this year. The inspection stand |
ard at Chicago has been rigidly maintained
in regard to the "dryness necessary to |
make the wheat grade higher than No g.
Owing to these things smaller percentage |
of our receipts than the average has
!
and vast quantities of wheat which it
was feared were not dry enough "to pess +"
here were shipped through to the seaboard
by rail, avoiding the Chicago inspection alto
gether. The very high temperature of the
first Aalf Of July would have proved to be
severe trial for strictly dry grain in transit in
rai1road cars, and it WAS too much for the
damp wheat which was not dry enough to be
graded RS Chicago No. 2 Spring Hence,
New York is loaded down with hot wheat,
while Chicago is free from the article,-the
condition of our wheat being such that it
:an be easily kept in good order by: ware
lousemen who understand their business.


The facts in the case show that the buying
of grain in the country for the purpose of
,voiding the charges for inspection and
handling in Chicago is not always gain to
he Eastern purchaser. This year the opera
ION has been saving at the spigot and a
osing ut the bunghole, whatever it may be
Il the future, if again attempted on SO large
scale