The New York herald., 1878-08-25
THE DRY GOODS TRADE.
Business Excellent and the Prospects
Decidedly Encouraging.
ANTE-BELLUM PRICES.
The Metropolis as a Great
Distributing Centre.
VIEWS OF LEADING MERCHANTS.
ANTE-BELLUM PRICES.
VIEWS OF LEADING MERCHANTS.
A Better Method Of Carrying On
Business Necessary

Il Ia tho prevailing opinion among merchants in the
dry goods trade that business this fall Will be batter
tnan It as been Tor years. The notion that trade II
sagnant is laughed al IN the leading commission and
iobbng houses, and It Is the universal testimony that
II better at this season OF the year than II
IL now. During the last few days business has been
depressed TO ssue extent by the yellow fevor In the
South but 1t not thought this oppression will Eave
ANY marked effect upon tho market unless the ep
demic should spread toward the North and East. In
the West the crops excellent and It is believed by
merchants that the people Will have money to spend
Tor goods. On hand there are hopeful signs Of
pros porous season, and 1t is cor idenly expected
that New York VIII hold her old rank the dlsrlbu
Ing commercial centre OF the country.
MARKET.
The stranger IN the metropolis cannot fail 70 be
impressed with tho tendency OF particular business
Interests 10 seek particular localities. The money
power radates from Wall street, at the intersection
OF Broad Nassau. Insurance aud trust COM
panies line lower Broadway tho Heero Srasse OF tho
old Dutch predecessors Above Canal street, 10 this
great thoroughare, and as lar Fourteenth street.
is heterogeneous trade Of all kinds upon scale OF
the greatest spendor In the neighborhood OF Union
square the mart OF everything tnal pertains to ART
The Bowery and the avenues from the Third to the
Eighth, are devoted TO the retail trade. 1t follows
almost as consequences that the dry goods business
should have locality peculiar TO ITSELF and this To-
caty the Kalck Hook oil the Dutch settlers, once
billy promontory projecting into The Collect Pond
bounded by Chamoers street the souIh,
West Broadway tho west Canal street
on the north and Centre, more prop
srly Elm, street the east Within these
orcumscrbed boundaries covering scarcely the terri
tory occupied by New England village or Pennsyl-
vania town are nearly all the noted dry goods com.
mission aud jobbing houses Of the metropolis Oc-
rupying The site Of old Washington Hall, In Broad
way, between Chambers aud Reade streets, Is the
wholesale house OF A. T. Stewart Co. Further up
the street is the house o oodward, Lawrence Co.,
the selling agents in New York OF the old firm Of
Brown Ives, whose name, famous as 1t has been
nEce colonial timos and In the old India trade In
which Nav England was once extensively en-
gagged Is last being lost sight of in the Hope the
Lonsdss sud tho Blackstone companies. Turning
west through new Pearl street 10 Trmble
place, both made possible by the destruction
sf the old New York Hospital, 10 the sign over
. new structure Of Wright. Bliss Fabyan,
This house represents In all ffteen manufacturing
companies among them the Peppereil, Laconia, Con-
tinsutal, Androscoggin and other mills in Maine
making botu woollen and cot,eo g0oda Bet stones
throw distant in Worth street. ut the corner or Eim
Is the house oil George C. Richardson l. Co., repre-
sentative OF the Lowell Manufacturing Company, IN
opct alton iuiy halt century, besides the Everett
Boot, LowIstop, TremOnt and Suffolk, aud Asssacnu.
hetts mills, and The York aud Lawrence ana other
maoulacturing companiss In Franklin stree. are
hardy. Colby Co., representing the spraguss and
interseclng streeis IuI OF Mission, jobbing
sh1 importing houses
THE DxY GOODS CENTRE,
nes hbor hood VI wLlcn hurred summary affords
ouiy glimpse, must nave tne greasst mpo lance, or
here Of only the dry goods trade oi New YORK
ci'y but Inc Manufacturing interests OF the whole
country. Probably as many As three hundred manu-.
tacturDg coIporsons are represented here the WOOL
Ina. finn liz Nnrf hanHS SAni Har niex
BIdIeford, kennebunk and Lewiston, In Name; AT
horlh anu South Adams, BLACKSTONE, Boylston, Cnc-
opre Falls, Fall River Lawrence, Lowei, Mtuury and
tIynioulb, IN Massacuusetts; the nnumerabls CON-
panIes which make the whole Slate oi Rhode Island
an aggregation oil mills aua spindies; Inc old Amos
keag anu other miis, IN New Hampshire, together
Win The man uIactories IN Vermont ConnectcuI, New
Y1k, New Jersey, Pebnsylvsnla and the South aud
West A. the present time Alabama has IL cot
ton mills; Georgia, 53 Louisiana. 3; Mississippi IA
Noftu Carona 4S Sodth C.rciInu Il Tennessee IS
Texas, 3, ana virginia, IL Only IA lew oi the ms
Ia Virginia. North ana SCUM Caroina and Georyia
have selling agents in New forH. Il Will De seen
HON thu. tGGt the metropolis Is fuunsi wbicn
brings together ALL The cCtLons ana wooens In the
country seeking market 10 distribute them again
the .me territory from winch they we're gath
ered. Inc Kalck Hook Is the ocalty from which
ihis distribution ~ made, ana yet wise young man
III the ary goods iraae, 10 whom HERALD re spor or
Ipplied ior information, was astute enough 10 say
tD4i except In general way, tno business has In
terest ior any ybooy, aud that the locality and per
Bopuei oi the trade would attract no attention IN
newspaper article And the same young
sd ed, cit only hurts business to have IL written
"
merchants are averss 10 tpieseing information IN re-
yard the trade. You ncsd'nt suy anytning more
than that prices nave slightly advanced Ind tnat the
prospect lor the iuiure Is good."
INTERVIEW Win WILLIAM LIBBY.
In marked contrast Win sucn ioiy tu;s was the
course oil Mr.. William ]. bby, thc artner OF Judge
hiiton IN the house oil A f. Stewart X Co. Receiving
ths reporter courteousy he expressed desire TO give
tue public any Information he possessed. I'VE an.
tcipaie gosd business TINS ia he said, 'apd, what
more, the trade Is likely 10 os ireer from sp-cua-
non than II has been ~ many OF the past seasons.
dSn't think there has been any ovcrproductIon Ia
cotton woo.p aDrIcs. Prices are io~er plane
than tbey last year even, and there iruch
pros pect of ADVANCE. Tuey can opIy be advanced
oy scarcity OF tue raw material, Of which there no
Indication 70
"but number of merchants have told me, (" the
reporter lnterposcd. ''that prices have already
81 gnty advanced IN anticipation Of BRISK fall trade"
"Ige cOtn fnissiOn merchants told you that l be-
nevs they nave forced prices up itte IN order 10
help Tho loobers out Tuis IS only temporary, now
aud prices will rule hout the season
bu as a rule, do not bclieve IN low prices. Every
honest man IL Wiling 10 pay iar price o the manu-
lacturer anu allow lar pront 10 the merchant IL
would De well u our mefcnants, as Glars, learned
ths We need b.. tier modes VI doing business anu
honor aus iair dealing IN trade Tbe great curse IRON
winch suffers Ia this country Is the constant
effort Of certain class OF merchants TO break aovn
make a name by selling goods Tor than
they eau be made and Tor less than they can buy
them that II Is no wonder honest dealers trying 10
trade IN legitimate way are often forced 10 fall.
Ninety per cent oil business men tail, aud won't
a,ributc Their failure either to incapacily or
dissipation. rhe only reason why they are not sue.
C SAUL Is because they are satpg each other up II
Hity per cent oi our merchants succeeded should
hear notbibg OF communism aud tue other evils
which threaten society aud menace trade "
corroS AND wooLLEN MANUFACTURES
''whst Is the csudiIioa Oi the manufacturing iu-
terestr" the reporter asked. Are the mills gener.
ally running On fuli timer"
"rhe. wooIlsn mills, believe, have been running
very lght 80 this season. OWING 10 the TACT that
the last winter was su sxceedingiy mid one many
merchants throughout tue country VINO made heavy
purchases year ago have stil large stock hand,
aud ihey disposed TO buy more soods usul the
old stock Is disposed vi This conuiton has to some
sxiebt restrained production but ior long time tho
woolen interest has been unsat siacory. There has
been NO general understanding among the Danufac.
turers anu, each tniukirg himself tho snrcwdcst aud
hi. line OF goods the hauusOmest, they have ali Kept
a. work wltbout any regard to the state OF tho mar
kvi. ln the meantime, too, there has been con-
s,ant decline the price Of WOOL, which
has affected them seriously and compelled
tho present condition OF decreased production.
9he cotton manuiactures the other
hand. we're always more shrewdly managed. The
actufcrs have been eful to test the market
whenever ialiing on 10 tue trade seemed likely aud