The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-04-16

Last fall, when the panic had been sue
ceeded by kind of business paralysis, it
was predicted that the then blue times would
be followed by spring and season of unusual
activity in all departments of trade and indus
try Indeed, the man who always moralizes
ON such pleasant affairs as the September
panic insisted that the scare which stopped
banks and factories, was merely blessing in
disguise, designed to leach men that stock
gambling and hazardous speculations are not
the best in the long run. In November bust
ness did revive little; money began to come
into freer circulation; the factories and mills
began to start up all over the country, and
there was promise of the usual activity.
Soon after the meeting of Congress, and the
House began to vote Mondays, both for and
against imitation, indicating no settled policy,
and affording danger of the worst possible
kind, 1.-the signs Of returning activity languished
before any results were realized.
1t is the custom to charge the umpromising
state of affairs upon Congress. While there
is no doubt but that that body has added
something to the perplexity of the situation,
there are, doubtless, other causes quite as po-
tent. We seem to lose sight of that which
must still be one important factor in produc
ing the present lethargy, and that is the IT,
Nudity of buyers and consumers, which leads
the former to guard against large stock of
goods, land the latter only to purchase SO much
as he actually needs. Congress may have
had something to do with bringing about this
caution on the part of consumers, but is it
not more reasonable to believe that this large
class have get in mind the sharp and severe
lesson of last fall-the retailer fearing strn-
gency and loss through forced sales, and the
consumers being constrained by the same
lessons to exercise greater care?
In New York and other large cities there
has undoubtedly been large shlinkage in
the volume of trade. In New York it is es
timated that the dry goods business has fallen
of twenty-five per cent and the prices OF
many staples have declined not in conse-
quence of overstocking the market but sole
ly on account of an indisposition on tbs part
OF merchants to purchase. There is less mar
gin to manufacturers than for any period the
past nine years and many mills are running
at a loss. The New York World in an arti-
Gle on the trade in that city gives the follow.
ing as the remarks of an agent of several
mills:
"When people who have always been large
customers of ours come in here now, instead of
buying goods they stand around and talk about
what - fools those fellows at Washington
are, and then, when they get ready to talk
business, the men who used to buy 100 cases of
goods buy twenty-five, and those who bought
twenty-five think they are doing we'll if they
buy ten. But then what is called the spring
trade shows disposition to hold on much
longer than usual this season, as people only
buy as they want goods and feel sure that they
can pay for them. This shows healthy tone
OF feeling among business men,"
The complaints of lack of trade are still
more general among iron and hardware deal
ers, There is an extreme caution on the
part of purchasers. Parties intending to
build or improve property, hold back. There
is feeling of uncertainty-a doubt about the
bottom of things; half expectation that the
whole order of things stands an even chance
of being blown into atoms. The boot and
shoe trade languishes like all the rest, though
people have to purchase somewhat. The
grain and produce trade is more prosperous.
In view of the large demand for export,
prices in the West have ruled fair, The
same is true of groceries and provisions gen.
orally though there is general depression in
the fancy grocery trade.
Such is the general outlook. There are,
however, sections where this general slack
ness does not prevail. In Portland, for in
stance, our wholesale merchants nearly all
say that their trade is greater in volume and
equal in value with that of last year. Many
say that their trade is Larger this spring than
last and the reports of business particularly
along the coast are of very encouraging
character Another encouraging indication
il that country merchants are paying as
promptly this spring as at any time the past
three years. The revival of shipbuilding
and the diversified employments of our peo
pie has prevented Maine froLi feeling the
sharpest results of the panic and now con-
tribute to keep up the current oftrade. We
are also glad to note among our wholesale
merchants an unusual hopeful feeling for the
future