The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-05-10
DOWN TOWN.
Financial Advertisements Business
Notes.

| A quiet day yesterday in the local money
market In Boston money continued easy
without any increase in demand. Mercantile
paper was discounted at to 81 per cent. at the
| banks Outside note-dealers disposed OF their
paper readily at moderate prices. Call loans
| ranged from At to a per cent. Govern
| mont IS advanced 4 but the other denomina-
lions were unchanged. The stock market was
| little stronger without animation.
Advertising is one of the fine arts. 1t af-
fords scope for diplomacy that would never be
admitted by tyro. 1t gives oppor tunity for
the display of military skill equal to Yelling
toms, and calls for a logged perseverance
equal to that of Grant in Virginia. Its move
ment is illustrated by the story of the tactics
of a besieging army in front ota fortress on
great plain. The commander threw up his line
of earthworks far out of the reach Of the cas-
tie guns, and was laughed at for his apparent
folly. But the besieged woke up one morning
and found their assailants entrenched close
under the castle walls. Noiselessly the earth
works had been turned over and pushed along
in front of the advancing army, and the for
tress capitulated The inexperienced adver-
tiser pitches In, hammer and tongs fashion, and
tries to carry the public by assault. Barnum
began to advertise Jumbo in whispers months
ago, from the other side of the ocean and he
has had more free advertising within the past
three months than any man on the continent
Sharp competition in advertising is well un-
derstood now. a good many years ago two
rival tradesmen in this city waged furious
warfare in the columns of the newspapers over
the respective merits of q certain article, and
divided the town into contending parties on
the subject. 1t was years before the secret
leaked out that there was collision sbetween
the rivals and that the wares were all made in
one lot and were identical, barring very thin
disguise. Advertising is subject for study,
and the curious can find any morning a good
opportunity to learn the pecuiiarities of adver-
with the best methods by looking in the col
umns of the PRESS.
The importations of foreign goods into New
York has declined. They reached their high
est point for the year four weeks ago, when the
value was S120924 16; and from that point
they have gradually diminished. Last weeks
footings were only 81, 792, 741, of which S6,064-
317 was general merchandise and the balance
dry goods, showing that the reduction has
been mainly in dry goods. The receipts OF
other foreign merchandise were really small;
the deficiency being partially compensated for
by the liberal arrivals of sugar and Coffee
which were valued at 81 1888 and $94S,625
respectively. If this state of our i'm
portations could be continued few weeks
longer we could safely calculate on restoring
the equilibrium between this country and
Europe very soon. There has been decline
in the consumption of certain luxuries in this
country and increased the percentage of neces-
stiles imported.
A large barge, with freight of over 1900
tons of coal, in tow of tug. arrived yesterday
at Boston from Hoboken. This was the initial
movement of a new departure In coal freight
ing, and the success of it was watched with
seme interest by shippers and dealers. 1t is
claimed by the projectors Of the enterprise that
in carrying capacity and ability to perform
round trips quickly,one of these barges can dis
place the service of half dozen ordinary coal
vessels. The chief difficulty to be feared is
the danger of this sort of navigation around
Cape Cod. This first attempt was favored
with good weather. To judge of the real |
value of this new departure the experience of
all seasons of the year must be encountered |
first.
The increase of iron tonnage in England is
shown by the last report of Lloyd's, which re-
ports the classification from March % to April |
6, of "A newvessels, of total tonnage of Al 948,
ofswhich only two were.of wood, a schooner of
113 tons and steam tug of 76 tons. There is
one iron bark of s95 tons, three steel steam
ships of 9,SSS tons, and eighteen iron steam
ships of 80, 976 tons collectively. Among the |
latter one iron steamship, 1852 tons, was built |
in Kiel, Germany; one of 502 tons, in Bergen,
Norway, and an iron steam tug 81 TONS in &C. |
noa Italy