The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-12-17
BUSINESS PROSPECTS.

There is good deal of well founded com
plant, especially among our retail traders OF
stagnation in business unparalleled even IN
the series of disastrous years since the war.
The clothing interest and the coal trade, are
perhaps, more profoundly affected than any
others. Beside the real depression in general
business, the persistent warm weather, wnich
threatens to reduce the winter to PERIOD OF
five or six weeks, has prevented sales, and
thus large stocks purchased in anticipation OF
an average demand, remain onFhand. Other
retail business suffers on account OF the alb
sence of visitors and. strangers. = Usually at
this season arrivals number hundreds day
sometimes even thousands-and the hotel
registers and the crowded streets bear witness
to rapid increase of our transient popuia-
ton. This year, on the contrary, the dullness
of August is almost reproduced in December.
The hotels are more full Of echoes than OF
guests. and there are fewer strangers in our
oty than we have noticed for many years
past, at this season. grAgE
All this. would be discouraging enough if
there were no reason to suppose that it is
only transient phase of the commercial sit
uation. It is true that retail trade is suffer-
ing on account of the absence of country GUS
toners; bu. the absence Of country custom
ers probably depends on causes which, in
themselves, are full of encouragement for
the immediate future. If the crops had been
small, and the rewards Of agricultural indus
try had been seriously diminished, our Gus
toners would have been prevented from
purchasing by sheer lack of money. But
this is not the case. The crops have been
large, and prices, if not high, are at least re-
munerative. The crops are so large, indeed,
and the picking and grinding season, owing,
perhaps, to exceptional circumstances, has
been 80 greatly protracted, that the country
people are still busy in their fields.
The reports show that probably third OF
the cotton crop is yet ungathered, and, until
| it has all been picked, and put in order fol-
shipping, the planters and farmers will stay
ct home. But when they do come to the city
they will come prepared to buy more largely
than for several years past. Country mer.
chants, too, will probably lay in larger stocks,
and thus the pnlses Of trade will be quick
ened, and wholesome activity restored.
We may add that inquiry among the large
comm ercial houses corroborates this view Of
the situation. Although there are no symp'
toms Of revival of speculative feeling, there
are indications of returning movement in the
undercurrent OF trade Generally those
kinds of business which may be regarded as
strictly legitimate, those depending on the
exchange of commodities and the transfer Of
the products Of industry from the producer
to the consumer, show signs of improvement
We believe it is true that the large houses are
doing better business generally than they
did last year-that their orders are larger and
their collections more easily made. This
shows that confidence is reviving, and that
the era of depression is passing away A re-
vival must come, and we have no doubt tina
it will be conspicuously manifested within
the next sixty DAYS.