Special Market Letter

Tliu lollowing mavket letter is furlübliöil uó by McL'ain üaoa. & Co., Coir.mission Meichauls, Rlalto Building, Chicago: The sensallonal ad vanee in wheat, vvliirh the entire country liails as a luirbinger of brighter days, has so absorbed i he attention of all classes that, lor ih moment, all other factors in deti'i üiiniiig the weal or woe of commeitiül md industrial afCairs are accorded but indifferent consideration. The Bock market has feit the diversion of nUiieut, and while there has been a fuir leaetion from extreme quotations, nuthingof ah alarming nature has occurrcd, and the market has ruled fairly steady, with a marked diminution of business. The wheat markets of the country have ruled active and buoyant ander the stimulus of strength at Liverpool, and the operations of the Wall street combi nation. which have at times been spectacular in eiïect. So steadily and persistently has it engineered the advauce that the majority of experienced local tradera have been unable to anticipate üs operations, and have in consoquenee become attentive spectatois. The fact that the combination dispose . of its holdings around 78c and afterwarda snld short, only to cover at a loss, and tlien inaugurated a buil campaign more aggressive than the first, at tnuch higher prices, puzzles the trade and makes the uiore conservative element cautious. The rapid ad vanee, with the attendint excitement and the joyous heralding of dollar wheat throughout the entire country, has so raised the hopes ( farmers wlio but a few weeks ago ivould have willingly aecepted 75c for Lheir crops, that there is a noticeable tendency araong those in the winter wbeat sections to hoard their graiu, tliereby rendering the task of bidding up the market much easier. Although there is an awakened interest in our market and considerable nervous tensión in the wheat pit, the volume of business has not been large, and when cornpared with other seasons uf such phenomenal advances is small. There is not a great short resisting the advanee, whieh is chiefly caused by the inability of would-be purchasers to secute wbeat when they bid for it ; the 3ales 11 e largely by holders having proflts. During periods of such excitement bilt liltle attention is paid to any news Ihat does not stimulate buyers, and üverything of that nature is unduly magnifledi, the result being that flnally trade becomes restricted through the necessity of demanding liberal margins to protect open trades; tliis state of affairs now exists, and ís driving many who would like to trade in wheat into corn, where a moderate oapltal will suflice, and where the attendant risks are much Ihss. There is nothing especially new in foreign advices to note, except that Liverpool has been as excited as American markets; beiug the greatest JSuropean speculative center, it has feit the apeculatlve impulse more than any other; the more stable foregn markets, vvhile following ours moderately, have responded tardily, Paris being particuhuiy reluctant; a noteworthy feature of the situation is that. while the world is buying wheat on the French shortjge more than on any otber one factor, that the prominent French market, instead of leading the advanoe aboye 80c, is but a lagging follower. Crop newa from Europe conflrm previous claims of wheat shortage, but show favorable conditions for other food crops, while adviees irom Southern hemisphere conntiïes state that the prospects for good wheat orops are exBellent, Doniestic advices are conflicting asto the spring wheat promise, some reports being sensationally discouraging while others are glowing; a fair statement of facts would probably indicate that the northwest erop is uneven in yield and in quality, but that, on account of the largely increased acreage, it will be abundant. The excitement in wheat has greatly increased the interest in corn and oats, tlie fortner being the center of attraction foran increasing number of traders; the diüicalty In operating in wheat and the prevailing belief that the former cannot maintaiu its present position without enhancingthe value of the latter is contributing to its attractiveuess. The buil clique having extended its operations to both corn and oats, of which it has bought liberally, adds to the growing bullishness of the multitude, and an active campaign in these cereals seeins to have begun. The export movetnent, which is nnusually large, pievents the fairly liberal volume of receipts from beeoining burdeusonie, and the general belief in higlier prices creates demand enough to absorb the surplus offerings of cash property and of short sellers. The strength in corn is due chiefly to the action of wheat, what support it had from tbe fear of frost for the present having vanished. ïhere are complaints of lack of moisture in sorae sections, and Lhere is a general expression of a belief in recent deterioration of the growing er ip. The visible supply of grain in the Unitt'il States and Canada shows the fnllowlng chaiigea for the past week: Wheat decioased 407,000 bu, corn increused 3.Uü,O0U bu and oats icreased l -li'Ó.OOO bu.