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Show TREMENDOUS DRIVE AT WHEAT Spalls End of Big Bull Market'Slnmp in Prices Continues . i . Chicago, April 22. A further tremendous tre-mendous drive at the so-called wheat corner today, to many traders spelled the end of the big bull market. July, near the close, touched $1.09 3-8 and .May $1.21. May closed at this figure, and July only fractionally above It. Has the "bull campaign In wheat, so far a the public is concerned, been abandoned? Has the bull leader, James A. Patten, now on his way to visit the ranch of a friend in Colorado, changed his views? These and other questions unthonght of a week ago, were rife on the board of trade today, when tho slump In wheat continued, prices reaching a point 8 to 8 1-2 cents below the rec- ord price of last week, when Mr. Patten Pat-ten declared that wheat was worth intrinsically in-trinsically every cent being paid for it. "Just a week ago. May wheat here sold at $1.29 1-4, and July at $1.18 7-3." Repeatedly asked If he had a corner In the two deliveries. Mr. Patten emphatically em-phatically denied that he had asssert-Ing, asssert-Ing, amidst the quotation of crop statistics stat-istics and prospects, that actual users of wheat were responsible for the high price, and that the cereal was worth all that was being paid for it. "Even were I entirely out of the market, prices would be as high or higher than they are." said the bull leader. Since then, the market has !en declining de-clining In a way which the ordinary followers of Mr. Patten have been unable un-able to explain. Today, instead of the recovery expected after the 3ix cents decline of Tuesday and Wednesday, the market opened extremely nervous and weak. May sold at $128 early. 7-8 under yesterday's close and S 1-S cents below the high price of la6t week. Jul, in which the bulk of the trading has been done recently, declined de-clined to $1.1 3-8 or 3 l-2a5-S cents , below yesterday's close, and 8 1-2 cents under the record price of last Friday. To these prices, the market steadied, but showed no evidence of recuperative power. Rears jubilantly pressed their advantage, and pointing to the weak foreign markets as Indicative Indic-ative of the correctness of the bear movement that there is no world-wlJe shortage of wheat. Stop-loss sales were numerous. Armour, who in a recent Interview, upheld Mr. Patten's bullish survey of conditions, and whose house was credited cred-ited with buying yesterday, was rumored ru-mored to be selling on the Liverpool markets. In the Barllett-Patten offices it was stated that there was no reason to change any statement previously made by Mr. Patten. The break in prices was characteristic" as a flurry. The lost ground, it was said, would be regained re-gained without any manipulation. Timid holders it was declared were unloading, un-loading, frightened at the decline, or because their resources were insufficient insuffi-cient to maintain them In the market. It was this class of traders, mainly who expressed curiosity as to Mr. Patten's present iews. Despite his assertion that he was not manipulating the market, they expected he would prevent any such slump as the present pres-ent one. Among Mr. Patten's ames ana intimates, inti-mates, however, the word "wait" was spoken optimistically, although some of them said: "It looked funny, the wav the market acted." The eight-cent decline has made a big hole In paper profits, although to what extent no one can say how much he longs held or what price purchased. pur-chased. Also there hac been heavy actual losses among traders whose resources have given i out and their trades closed. |