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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1892-5-19, Page 3OVER A MILLION DOLLARS, The Profits of a Chicago Wheat. Specula- tor in a Single Day, Orem a Chicago correspondent/ The very interesting game which the hlcago Board of Trade presides over has developed some marvellous "plungers" dui. - ng the twenty yeara that it has been a factor n the speculativemarkets of the country. There wore r' Jack" Sturgis, who ran the Ysmells corner of 1873 ; Phil Armour, who freauently carried 10,000,000 bushels of wheat and all the pork in the couutry ; Cudahy, • who was equally sweet on pork and wheat ; "Old Hutch," whose transac- 'ous were so enormous that the crowd it rod aghast and allowed him to take their m +naywhlen he pleased. Bub t "plungers" have. their p $ het day, usually s'tort and decisive day. None of these Id giants of the pit &re now seen on the surd. "Old Hutch" was the last one to +. He always said he liked a game with - at a "limit." 13ut two years ago he die- overed therewas a Iimit and he got it in the neck for the limit, like Harper and eene and some others. Then he quit, and S the board was without a plunger for some Ctime. Of course there were a score of mem- tk. hers who would buy or sell a million or two S any time, bat, there was nobody in "Old ntel."s" °las3s's"' j Suddenly out of the pit came the man for whom the crowd was waiting, He was a atonal man, an unassuming man, a quietman, a and his name w.ts " Ed. Pardridge." He a went out against the crowd and they trim - ed hint as they had trimmed Harder, " fa eene 4 e and ' Old Hutch." Pardrid e g first ttempt �, m to follow in the is p footsteps of Old rutoh" cost him $600,000. He said noth- g but laid in some more wood and sharps cued his saw. This was last August. He was then a bear, he is now a bear. Very few rememb;r when he was not miner. But n August wheat was rau up to$1,15on him and he settled at the loss stated. To make settlement he was forced to mortgage his million -dollar State street property for $350,000, which he turned over to the successful bulls. This puuiahment did not convince him that wheat was going up. On the contrary he still stayed on the side that had swallowed his $600,000. When Decem- ber wheat was $1 a bushel and May wheat $1.00, and°the groat mass of professional and outside traders were talking of $1.50 for May, .Pardridge said, " Well, boys, 1 lieve it will go to 80 cents before it goes 51.50." It was a case of one man against t markets of the world, for the opinion that higher prices must rule was abated in i every market where wheat was traded in as a speculative commodity, It was an up. hili fight. Ho was called a crank, a man 1 who was flying in the face of Providence, whosefortune would be recklessly dissipated on the short side of arising market. Friends volunteered advice. Relatives importuned. The little man listened—and sold. more wheat. He never let up selling until it was generally known that he carried 1:'+,000,000 bushels. Other "plungers" had carried that much wheat for a day or a week, but Pardridge carried it for months. One day May wheat closed at 80k cents. He has paid off the $350,000 mortgage and i announces that he has $1,200,000 to invest tt Thi real estate. All this was made in selling May wheat from 1.06 to 80 cents. Millions , and millions of bushels were sold by his , brokers, and on many occasions his short i\ line would run as high as 20,000,000 bushels. I Th is meant that l+Afluctuation of 1 cent up or down involved a loss or gain of $200,000. tit The change of un eighth of a cent meant a ' loss cf $25,000. There are few men who could rick a fortune, take the chances in- volved in a transaction like this and retain their reason, Yet for weeks and weeks, warned on every side that only disaster could result from these operations, Pard- ridge moved abou), the floor of the Board and joked with his friends as if he hadn't a caro in the world: The nerve of the man t commands admiration from even those who i do not approve his methods, x Nobody knows how muck money he has "*a,, -sole on this decline, and he says himself t he does not know exactly.' He has ., knowledged that he made $1,550,000, but - the gossips of the board have itthat $2,000,- 000 is about the right sum. In addition to the wheat deal he bas played successfully n the short side of cornand r vision oo sand P i his profits on these side issues are putall 1 the way from $300,000 to $500,000. To -day the speculators who laughed at his- predic- tion six months ago have, after contributing thousands of dollals to his bank account, come around to his view of the situation and acknowledged that he is the only man on the Board who has been right all the time. "Hutch "said of Pardridge that he was the nerviest man who ever traded on the short sideofgrain. This opinion is shared by a large proportion of speculators the world over. Wherever there is a market for grain the operations of Pardridge are the subject of daily comment. Now to the man. What manner of man is this who can play with hundreds of thousands as other men play with dollars? The feeling is one of disappointment on seeing him for the first time. He is not a good dresser and he has not the manners of a "high roller." On the contrary, he is a most common -place looking man. No one except a green goods man would look at him twice in a crowd. His face gives very little indication of his character. He is forty- eight years old] small in stature and slight in build. He swears a $25 sack suit, his trousers are iniiocent of crease and his derby hat is not always the shape whichfashiou prescribes. He effects nothing gaudy in neckwear. Plain black ties, or summer silk tied in a plain bow -knot are good enough for him. He looks like a fairly prosperous country storekeeper. His face has a Guileless expression that completely -masks his two great characteristics, nerve anct- dogged determination. He spends most of his time during a session of the board on the main floor, close to the wheat pit. He always has from five to ten brokers to execute his orders, His chief broker, A. J. Cutler, is always near him. A motion of bis atm brings them all to his side. Hisw orders are instantly given, and the effect is felt at once on the market. Frequently by signal he starts *, dozen brokers selling like Mid, or buying, as the :situation warrants: His brokers have made comfortable fortunes on his commiesions;in the campaign jast close ` Pardridge never acts like a man to whom the fluctuation of a quarter of a cent in the market means a gain or less of thousands of dollars. Whether it is against him or with him he never increases his pace, he never loses his temper, he never winces. One day when the market was dropping like made and his hlrofits were piling up at the rate of 51,000-a minute he went down- s tars and spent half an hour consuming • v.,;1.k and pies. Mr: Rtrdridge was Corn in the State of New 'Ya k and for many years was identi- fled .with the dry -goods business, first in I3.dff'alo rand after the fire in this city. As a dr;/=goods z je span, he was a big success. He cleaned up a big fortune out of his Chicago business, whieh was known as the "Boston Store," and was a rich man long before he began dallying with the grain market. After selling out his dry -goods store he began observing the market. This was fifteen years ago. Pardridge is very modest in speaking of his success; I was on the right side °of the market," stud he, "and that is how I made. money, I told the boys last summer when wheat wasselling at $1.15 *that it . would sell under 80 cents inside of a year. They, laughed at me, but I stuck right to that prophecy, and I saw it under 80 since." "Is the rumor true that such tremendous gambling is affecting your health?" "I don't call it gambling, because it is not gambling. My definition of gambling ie a game of pure luck or chance. When one can exercise judgment and skill it is not a blip rn g Matchfn pennies ispure Mling, bub selling agmillion wheat—well, that is entirely different. No man can have confidence in a gamble. He may have nerve and all the outward evidence of confidence, but inwardly there is a struggle. In the market it is different. "The field can be surveyed, there are statistics and conditions which call for an exercise of foresight. This begets con- fidence, and one is convinced he is right. As all men do not think alike, the deduc. tions drawn are not the same, and what one analyzes as a bear market another is con- vinced means a bull campaign. You pays your money and you takes your choice. "This is the way I sized up," he continue ed, referring to the big deal which lis began some six months ago. " I believed we had raised the greatest crop this countryihad ever known. Ibelicved that the - ivsibl e resources of this country' were infinitely el Y larger than people imagined. I believed that foreigners, in their fear of short crops and famine, had bought a great deal more wheat than they needed. I knew that when this was apparent to the trade wheat was just as certain to go down as the sun, I sold wheat, and on this down turns I traded as I never traded before in my life. As soon as there was a moderate decline, although I knew the price was going lower, I sent my brokers i'.t with orders to buy. Then, when the market rallied, I sold them all they wanted. That was the way the campaign opened, and Nettled of having out an enormous line, with profits only prospective, I have managed to have at my disposal plenty of ready money to meet the calls tor margina that are occasionally made upon me." "Do yea think every man can become a successf r 1 speculator ? "Certainly not. It isn't every man who as the right t bind of a nervous constitution o stand the strain—for it a strain, and a big one, on a man who is extensively in the market," "How much money have you made on this decline ?" "Oh, Lord 1 I don't know. I've got a few dollars in the bank and my latch string is always out." Mr, Pardridge has a palatial home on Prairie avenue, and a charining family. He has also the supreme satisfaction of know- ing he was right and all the other fellows wore wrong in the market. Modern Mothers and Their Daughters. " One of the signs of the age," says an observing woman, "is the difficulty grown' daughters find in, adapting their ideas to intolerance of the mothers who will not share in the progres>i about them. This is especially true where the daughters do not marry early, and either remain at home or go out to pursue some one of the many oc- cupations now open to woman. In either of the latter cases the home cords are not much loosened—not nearly so much as when the daughter establishes herself by marriage in an independent household. Tho gap between the mother educated twentyfive years ago and the daughter abreast of these glowing times is wider than it ever will be again, and it is a trying one to the filial child, whose widening reach of things only increases her sense of what is due to her mother and eagerness to bring the well - loved parent within the scope of the falling blessings. To many women motherhood brings an autocracy that is never wholly relinquished; for years her lightest wish has been the daughter's law, and, if what Th ekes calls the tyranny of the parents' is modified in many instances, in equally as many others it painfully exists. I have in mind at this moment a wise, calm, filial woman of 35, whose capable work fn a li- brary gives her widowed and otherwise childless mother a'pleasaut home, in which, alas, its provider has no home feeling. All her plans and ambitions are thwarted, or, if perforce accepted, it is with scant grace hor friends are snot welcome, her hobbiee, are nob tolerated, her theories and princip- les are not respected. She is merely to the mother a big edition of the littla girl whom she told to put on her school frock today and to -morrow her church gown, and whose ungrudging hospitality she accepts with no smallest sense of obligations." The Fabbath Chime. Jeru a'em ! high tower thy glorious walls, Would God I were in thee ! Desire of thee my longing heart enthralls, Desire at home to be : Wide from tho world outleaping, O'er hill and vale and plain ; My soul's strong wing is sweeping Thy portals to attain. 0 gladsome day and yet more gladsome our! When shall that hour have come, When any rejoicing soul its own free power May use in going home 1 It>elf to Jesus giving In trust to His own band:- To and,-To dwell Among the living In that blest Fatherland. A moment's time, the twinkling ofan eye' Shall be enough to soar, In.buoyani exu tation, through the sky, ' .And reach the heavenly shore, Eltjah's chariot bringing The homeward traveler there ; Glad troops of angels winging It onward through the air, A Spring Cold. A spring cold in our climate may be quite a troublesome one, and a cough in a child at this season should be looked after with special care. A cough is always a serious matter, as it is usually the precursor of a more serious disease than mere cold. Measles and many other diseases are preceded by a slight cough. Itis always safe to use means that excite :perspiration, provided the child is well protectedaf terward and kept indoors. A teaspoonfulof ipecac dissolved in a tum- bler of cold water, and a teaspoonful of this diluted' mixture given once an hour, will often break up the hoarse cold of an in fent child. There is no harm In laying hot flan- nels, dipped in camphorated oil, over the chest, if there is any sign of hoarseness, but layers of cotton batting should take their place when they are removed. Itis useless to doctor a cold of any kind -unless the pa- tient is kept from running outdoors or in draughty, cold places in the house, as all medicines open the pores and render the suf- ferer more susceptible to take extra cold if exposed. In such oases an ounce of preven- tion is certainly worth a pound of cure. OANADA.'S HEROuLES. So>lne of the 'liar velouf Feats of Lents 1. yr, Louis Cyr, who is a Britisit subject, was Isom in St. John's,'Quebec, in 1863. His grandfather on the maternal side weighed over twenty-three stone, while his mother's weight is only a trifle wader nine.'. teen stone. She is immensely strong, and only a few years ago was able to pick up a. barrel of flour and carry it up two flights of steps. So far as his mothers side goes, therefore, ho comes from a pretty sturdy stock. His father's family were not quite so colossal, although fairly big men andwomen. His father, however, brings down the scale at sixteen stone. It was only natural Master Cyr when at scheol was master of all the lads. At the agee of fourteen there were very few men who could cope with him, and at that early age his muscular development was extraor- dinary. Hie parents were living at Montreal when he left schooI, and the question was what should they make of this young Hercules? Well,l ii u b; patchy it was decided that he should enter the police service. He was about seventeen at the time, and his strength had increased in a marvelous manner. He soon showed what a valuable acquisition he was to the force. He was sent to do duty in the roughest and most disturb- ed district of Montreal. He made so many captures and quelled such a number of clie- turbances that he soon received substantial recognition from the authorities. He was paid double salary and used to do the work of three. Naturally he Was not very popular among the roughs. M o they made their minds to settle him Accordingly six or seven picked men waited upon him one dark ni ht and went for him with sticks and belts.e was frightfully cut and can show you the scars of the wounds he received about the forehead now. It must have been a desperate fight, but in the end his pluek and superior strength were too much for the cowards. Three out of the six made their escape more or less hurt. One of the others he had picked up and dashed upon the ground, renderhi,g. him senseless. The other two he nipped around the waist until they screamed in agony. He was j met making off' with the two he had captured, when he compassionately thought of thepoor injured fellow on the ground. He, therefore, changed over his prisoners to the lefthand and holding them both firmly with one hand by the collars, picked upthe senseless man with his right arm and threw him over his shoulder. It must have been a curious sight to see this marvelousman with his senseless bur- den and captives going down the streets of Montreal on that dark night, the blood from the wounds in his forehead running down and nigh blinding lain. He dropped the wounded man in at the hospital as lis passed, and took his prisoners to the sta- tion. Cyr, however, was very much cut and had himself to go to the hospital. This and many other episodes during his service with the police made hila very popular, and after the event 'described he was left un- molested,. He had been a custodian of the police for nearly two years, when an incident happen. ed which called attention to This immensity of strength. Out day he was on duty in one of the chief thoroughfares, when a cart laden with bricks came to grief. The horse tell down and the shafts were broken. They succeeded in getting the horse free from the harness. But what was to be done with the cart? There it stood right in the line of traffic. It was suggested that it should be unloaded. "Stand on one side," said, the muscular young policeman. Divesting himself of his coat and handing his hat to somebody standing by, lie °reached ander the cart, pressing up with his broad shoulders. „The li bricks, cart and all were lifted foot by foot until they were moved right on to the side- walk. The applause of the crowd collected was tremendous. Some gentlemen who had wit- nessed this performance were so astonished that they had the whole lot weighed; The weight that ho had lifted was found to be a little over 2,100 pounds. That feat of strength determined his ca- reer. He left the police and at once enteredinto the show business. By steady practice with the dumbbells and proper training his mus- cular powers gradually increased to the enormous dimensions of to -day. , The toughest customer he ever had to deal with in lifting to the shoulder was a Captain Burst. On one occasion when in New Brunswick Burst offered to bet him 5200 that he wculd not lift the same weight on to his shoulder that the captain would. "hone," said Cyr, and the money was put~up This feat was not to take place at an ex- hibition, but on board one of the ships lay- ing off where they were. Now, Burst was what you might call a "whoprer." He stood6 feet? inches, and, unlike the generality of giants, he was a broad shouldered, muscular individual. So to the ship they repaired, with the stakeholder, referee and a fewacquaintances. Aboard the vessel was an anchor weigh- ing exactly 800 pounds. Burst picked up with this pretty little toy and placed it ap- parently -parently not much difficulty onto his shoulder. It remained there for about a minute, during which time the wonderment and applause was great. The anchor was then taken from his shoulder by six men and replaced upon the deck. Then came Cyr's tarn, and the betting was two to ono against him.had NHe never attempted such gfeat before. Yet, nothing daunted, he grasped the anchor and after a desperate struggle managed to get it onto his shoulder. It was a near thing, however, and nothing like so easily done as by his opponent. Never mind. he got it there. "Now," said Cyr to the captain, "just you get up and straddle across my shoul- ders." After some persuasion ho was inducei to do this, and Cyr, to the -blank astonishment of the crowd, especially his opponent, walk- ed around the deck. This so astonished Burst that he shook him by the hand and said, "Well, now, you're the first man I've ever gihen hest on that feat." And the $200 was paid to Cyr. One Woman's View of Mie'sionary 'Work. A woman missionary in a talk before a woman's 'club the other afternoon sought aid to bring civilization to some South African peoples, among whom she had been. She described them as gentle, trust- ful folk, honest, affectionate, and moral, not wanting in fact in the simple elements of character. To her . earnest appeal for their rescue from heathenism and savagery a witty+woman present replied, with per- haps as much of philosophy as wit: "Why should we take these people out of such Arcadian simplicity? is it to give them. corsets and the catechism ?' A man's best friends are his ten fingers. A Dress of Spiders` Webs. Mre. White mentions as a great curiosity the dross made from apidere webs present- ed to the Queen by the Empress of Brazil in 1377. Most certainly it is, and to most Brit- ish minds such a thing might seem incred- ible ; but if 3 our correspondent were to visit Fiji—which is famous for its magnificent spiders -he might, perhaps, have less cause for wonder. The web made by the big yels low spider here is very large and strong ;. but in addition to the web proper, in which flies, mosquitoes, etc., are caught, it spins a cocoon of orange -colored, silky, . gossamer- like stuff, which, if taken 'up in the fingers, requires quite an effort to break. This stuff, I can conceive, might be woven into mater- ial for a dress. Might not the dress in question have been composed of similar ma. aerial made by the Brazilian spiders ? I can ]hardly, even now, believe that it could have been os ed of what we un- derstand to be the ordinary spider's web. I can quite imagine, however, that such a material might be of some commercial value as one frequently hears complaints at the present day of a want of fineness in fibers or materials used for scientific purposes. I may add that our cockroaches are huge, too ; but, by a merciful dispensation of Providence, our spiders are in proportion. The particular enemy of the cockroach here is not the big yellow spider above mention- ed, but a long-legged, formidable -looking brown spider, called the " bunting -spider," I cannot find out that this species spins any web, but apparently depends upon its great activity for securing its prey. I know, however, that it can bite pretty sharply, as I once saw one draw blood from the finger of a doctor friend ofmine to n he whoa t r - i was e u P 3n it o me r It is often tobeseen g f nhu. $ ginga large, flattened, circular, cream - colored bag, whieh; I take it, contains its egga. We never kill spiders in Fiji, When Baby was sick, we cave her Castorim. When she was a Child, she cried for Castaria. When she became Miss, she clung to Cestorfa. When she iiia$Children, she gave them Castor's. Discovery of Sapphires in Queensland. The (Government Geologist of Queens - laud confirms the recent reports as to the valuable discoveries of sapphires 08 Withers - field, on the Central Railway line, in that colony. He states that the stones are equal to the finest gems in the mineralogical cabinets of Europe, and believes that diamonds will also be found. The lessees have refused an other of £50,000 for the property. The pendulum was first attached to the clock iu 1056 by Hnygner. That which makes people, dissatisfied with their condition is the chimerical idea they forth of the happiness of others. A great deal of knowledge, which is not capable of making a man wise, base, natural tendency to make him vain and arrogant. The Osage Indians are said to be the rich- est community in the world. They aro but 1,509 in number, but they have 88,000,000 deposited to their credit i11 the Treasury at Washington, on which they draw 5100,000 interest every three months, and they own 1,470,000 acres of the best land in Oklahoma. Most of them wear blankets, despite their wealth. a • •• -'.+.tea• ..its - 1 �a, 4 'tisk\sNaSsass kaa:sassSa: ' :i . SSs `St. saiatSs ‘: ate`,.;>" V%ts ), waz •. lr for Infants and Children. "Caatoriaissowenadaptedtochildreathat I recommend it as superior to any prescription ,noon to me." B: . A. 6x iii. c�ht, D., 11180.. Oxford St., Brooklyn, N, Y. "The use of ' Castoria' IS so universal and its merits so wellknownthat it seems a work of supererogation to endorse it. Few are the intelligent families who do not keep Castoria within easyreacltexams M&s..rxx. D.A.. yew York Clty. Late Pastor Bloomingdale Reformed Church. Cautoria cares Colic,' Constipation, Sour Stomach, Diarrhoea, Eructation, wins Worms, gives sleep, and promotes di estio Without injurious medication. " For several years I have recommended your Castoria,' and shall always continue to do so as it has invariably produced beneficial results.' EewxxF PA.ansr, M. D., "The W atbrop," ZSStit Street turd th A,ve., - Nev York City. Tan Csarriara Cosicaxr, 77 Mannar $xstcar, Nnw Tact. •cw• DACIIL CURED IN 20 MINUTES BY Al1;ha �Yafers OR,MONEY REFUNDED. Purely Vegetable, Perfectly Harmless and Pleasant to Take. PorSale by all. Druggists. PRICE 25 Cts EXETER LUMBER YARD The undersigned wishes to inform, th3 Public In general -that h keeps constantly in stock all kinds of BUILDING MATERIAL ares4ed or Tnatlres zed. PINE AND HEMLOCK LUMBER, SHINGLES A SPECIALTY 00,000 X X and X X X Pule and Cedar Shingles now in. stock. A. call solicited and satisfaction guaranted. a8XEs WILLIO. Dr. LaROE'S COTTON ROOT PILLS ■ Safe and absolutely pure. Most powerful Female Regulator known. The only safe, sure and reliable pill for sale. LadieS ask druggists for LaBoe's Star and Crescent Brand. Take lit otllerkind. Beware of cheap imitations, as they are danger' ors. Sold by all reliable druggists, Postpaid =receipt of price AME1ICAN PILL CO., Detroit, Mich. Itis a oortiiin and speedy cure fox Cold In the lloadandCatarrhiu unite stages, SOOTHING, CLEANSING, HEALING. Instant Relief, Permanent Cure, Failure Impossible. Many ao•called diseases aro simply symptoms of Catarrh, such as read• ache partial daas s,loein g sense of smell, font breath, hawking and spit• Mug, nausea, general feeling of a. tangy, eta If you aro troubled with any of these or kindred symptoms, your hare Catarrh, and should lose no time In procuring a bottle of NASAL . BALM. Be warned in time, neglected cold in bead results in Catarrh W. lowed by consumption, and death. Nasal Dam is sold by all druggists or will be sent, post paid, en.zeceipt of Ideate° cents and 5,3.00)by addressing FULFORD & CO,, Brockville, Ont. s :.'�O°sy'�.4 . N..0 1��yVi G,% tiS 'e fi1. "lerc�e ae4SN"1i'edo w �440 0, Nps .2). 4l' K,t~��� 4ca o� °�, 4 IP p ors �a dt `� ., q `,Zoe° sD a Cie" e�k • ooc` `w�`4 g, e� 01:°'4 e0 % oaf y1� ,� d. , eh0 a Za A 4y ° t°4.0-"" , � 0 9` 41 22' 6a, :�# 4,40, N G� 4' Y✓N.F"So. Manufactured only by Themes Holloway, 78, New Oxford Street, late 553, Oxford Street, Loudon. eV' Purchasers :should look to the Label on the Boxes and Pots If the address is net 533, Oxford Street, London, they are spurious.. CANTS BOTTLE DR. T. A. SLOCUM' USE IT FOR Difficulty of Breathing. Tightness of the Chest. Wasting away of Flesh Throat Troubles. Consumption. Bronchitis, Weak Lungs Asthma, Coughs. Catar%,h, Colds. Oxygenized Emulsion of Pure ,5 LI For Sale by all Druggists. LABORATORY, TORONTO,.ONT