Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 April 1892 — ED PARDRIDGE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ED PARDRIDGE.

Said to Bo One of the Nerviest Mon on the Short Side of the Market. One of the first questions asked by a Chicago Board of Trade man on , reaching the floor of the exchange is usualiy: “What’s Ed doing this morn- , ing?” Of course he means Ed PardI ridge. No man in the speculative

world to-day is sp well known as the unassuming, diffident, quiet little man whose operations hi.ve been the wonder of pro- . fessional speculators for the last two years. B. P. Hutchinson. known familiar 1 y as “Old

Hutch.” once said of Pardridge that he was the nerviest man on the short side of the market who ever traded in grain. This opinion is now sharep by a large proportion of speculators the world over, and wherever there is a speculative market for grain the operations of the Chicago plunger are the subject of daily comment. What manner of man is this who can play with hundreds of thousands as other men play with dollars'? To ■ one who has heard/much of Mr. Pard- ' ridge there comes a feeling of disap- I pointment upon seeing him for the : first time. He does not dress like 1 a prince, nor has he the manners of ■ a “high roller.” On, the contrary, he is one of the most ordinary looking of men: no one would look at him twice j in a crowd. His face gives slight in- I dication of his character. He looks , as if he might be a fairly well-to-do proprietor of a crossroads store. There : is no particular style about his clothes, his trousers bag slightly at the knees, ' and are innocent of the crease which fashion prescribes for them. He affects nothing gaudy in neck-wear, a 1 plain black “shoestring tie” or soft summer silk tied in a plain bow knot are good enough for him. His most pronounced character- I istics—nerve and dogged* determina- i tion—would never be guessed from the , guileless expression of his face. He ' spends most of his time during the ; session of the board on the main floor of the exchange, close to the wheat pit. He always has anywhere from five to a dozen brokers to execute his orders. Mr. Pardridge is a native of the I State of New York, and for years was identified with the dry goods bust- i ness, first in Buffalo, and later, early ; in the seventies, at Chicago. As a ( dry goods merchant hi was eminently | a success, a substantial fortune hav- j ing been built out, of his Chicago I business, and he was reckoned a wealthy man long before he began paying attention to the grain market.

EO PARDRIDCM.`