EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII. 329 



closely as before, and on Friday evidences of weakness come to the sur- 

 face. Most every one argued, however, that notwithstanding the high 

 price the future of the market looks good. Saturday is a short business 

 day. Merchants as a rule do not expect large trading and they are anxious 

 to get their letters out of the way as soon as possible. "Let it go un- 

 changed for the day," was the talk up to ten thirty a. m., when a large 

 receiver joins the crowd on 'change and at once advocates a decline of 

 one-half cent. "1 have accumulated 1,000 tubs of fine fresh butter within 

 the past four days and I'll sell specials at 30 cents to any one," was the 

 way he went at it. "Do you mean that?" said another prominent re- 

 ceiver. "I certainly do," was the reply. "Then I'll follow, who will buy 

 specials at 30 cents?" In five minutes everything had changed. The 

 price had broken one-half cent and the reporter recorded the fact at once. 



It is Monday morning again, receipts are still heavy, plenty of stock 

 left over and everywhere there was pressure to sell. "Better ease off 

 another one-half cent" was the first suggestion, and it found so general 

 favor that receivers determined to try it out on that basis. But the 

 market did not work right, and the next day about a dozen operators got 

 at the reporter and insisted that he should cut the quotations one cent 

 and so declare his purpose at once. Then followed a half hour of hot dis- 

 cussion. The reporter maintained the position that he was not making 

 the market, that it was not his province to quote a lower price until 

 receivers were willing to sell. Over and over again he asked the receivers 

 if they would sell at 28i/^c, and the reply came back, "yes, if you quote 

 it," which was an unsafe proposition for the reporter to stand on. "I 

 am offered my selection at 28i/^c if you will quote it," volunteered several 

 buyers, to which reply was made, "buy your goods, show me the tickets 

 and I'll know what to quote." The situation was so unsettled that the 

 reporter had to go down the street with the price left open, to be de- 

 termined by actual business, which later, left no doubt of the market 

 being one cent lower than the day before. This decline seemed to be 

 sufficient for the moment, and for the remainder of the week the re- 

 porter could find so little variation in the transactions that he felt justi- 

 fied in maintaining the quotation of 28i^c. But subsequent events proved 

 that these few days were but a lull before a fiercer storm. 



Another week opens with the most conflicting opinions. It soon 

 leaked out that two or three big houses were getting carload after car- 

 load of consigned goods from a western market, financial matters began 

 to play an important part, and new and unlooked for elements were 

 thrown into the market, which caused a feeling that something serious 

 would happen. From the start values began to tumble. Open offers to 

 sell at Ic decline soon convinced most receivers that unless quotations 

 were lowered at once buyers would refuse to operate beyond the most 

 pressing needs, and no one was in humor to accumulate stock on which 

 not a dollar could be borrowed from any warehouse or bank in the 

 city. Now for the part that the reporter had to play. He was taken 

 aside by a prominent receiver and this sort of advice was gratuitously 

 given: "You occupy a position of great importance just now. Whether 

 you like it or not, you are no longer merely a commercial reporter. 

 Your work is so closely linked with our interests that you must take a 



