Pawtucket Tribune

TWAS A CLOSE CALL.
Grain Brokers Patch Up a Plan to Save Themselves from Ruin.

St. Louis, Aug. 18.—When the St. Louis grain market closed Saturday bankruptcy stared over half of the brokers and wheat traders in the face, and it was a gloomy looking crowd that left the halls of the exchange. Finally a dozen of the leading brokers decided that something must be done to avert general ruin. The bears were out of cash and the bulls, although having large profits to their credit, were also out of money and could not make their profits available or meet the heavy margins they had been forced to call from the bears. The shorts could not close, because the longs would not sell them wheat to fill their short contracts with and "ring" the trades. A call for a meeting was issued, and at 3:30 the reading room of the exchange was jammed with anxious traders. The meeting was so quietly conducted that it was not generally known till last night. Various plans were discussed, and it was finally decided that the settling price for December wheat should be $1.06 a bushel, and the bulls could draw all margins deposited below $1.02, and the bears all above $1.10, and no trading should be done on the exchange Monday or Tuesday, except what was necessary to close trades. The agreement arrived at is all that saved at least 150 traders from being forced to announce their failure yesterday.