The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-01-15

The record OF the dry goods trade for
1878, and the condition in which it start.
ed on the new year, are, on the whole,
encouraging to American dealers. The
year was an improvement over. 1877,
though both manufacturers and importers
were obliged to exercise cxtraordi nary
care to avoid over.supplying the market,
and while manufacturers agents probably
disposed of more goods than ever before,
they cleared much less money than in
many previous years. There were a good
many failures, but they were due more
to the constant strain on the trade for
five years past than to anything that oc.
Cured in 1873, There was, however, q
pretty steady decrease in tho prices oil
staple goods, such rs printing cloths, prints,
sheetings and drills. The quotation SAC
for print cloths the last Of December was
tho lowest ever reached in this country.
The stocks remaining on hand are small,
what with the restriction OF manufacture
and tho forcing Of goods upon buyers by
auction sales. The year ended with not
over 100000 pieces OF print cloths in store
with New York agents, against l 200, 900 at
the close OF 1877.
Tho statistics Of imports ut New York
which still furnish fair index for the
whole country, in spite OF the recent par.
TALLY successful competition of other sea-
board towns-shows q falling off from 1877
to 1878 Of s77,5SO,7 1872 to s75,415, 100. But
the shrinkage Of prices would more than
account for this difference, and there was
without doubt an increase in the quantity
OF goods brought over. The difference
between 1878 and 1877 in the money value
OF goods imported ut New York was about
the same as between 1877 and 1875, but
there has been q constant falling Off since
1872, when the total was Sl30, S3l ,6l2.
The demand was mainly for cheap goods
last year, and the importers complain that
they lost money on the finer fabrics The
growing excellence OF American manufnc.
lures and the gradual weakening OF tho
prejudice in favor OF whatever comes from
u IGlGlBu GOuAhi9 hhNS DCbu lIullOEtAllL
factors In these changes. American dress
goods have competed very successfully
with those Of English make; our low.grade
alpacas have nearly driven foreign ones
out Of the market. The same Is true Of
our coarser and medium qualities OF silks,
lAces, embroiderics and woOlens, and the
immense sale Of domestic silk handkor.
chiefs has kept out foreign offerings.
Our export business is feeble infant
vel, but there is ground for encourage.
ment. We shipped from New York 10
Great Britain in 1873 25,ls4 packages OF
cotton goods, against 10, 2B2 in 1877, and
to China 81, 7sS, against 33, $50 in 1877; but
to Brazil, the country which weare, and
ought to be, specially cultiyating, the ex-
ports were only $3.50 packages, while In
ISL they were $3.50. To Africa we sent
9,2OS, which was a gain Of $500.
The merchants are not In the best OF
humor, when they look back on the small
profits, the large losses by failures and
shrinksse OF values and the havoc wrought
by yellow fever at tile South, but thew
have been newly impressed with the need
OF prudence and the value OF tho nimble
sixpence, and are rid Of the dangerous diff.
ference between gold and bank notes.