New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-24

| Steel Association, looks Tor no 1urCner uepres-
sion in that important branch, and has adylces
from all parts of the country that the workmen
are consenting to the reductions that are made
necessary by the state of trade. President
Clark of the Thomas Iron Company, says the
pig-iron trade is looking fairly, and that his
company will start three furnaces January 1,
making 16 in operation against ~ last
New Years, but complains that prices OF steel
rails are depressed by sales at very low figures.
The cotton and woollen manufactures are also
reducing wages Orcurtailing production to some
extent but there is general feeling that the
industries are in more healthy condition al
ready. The holiday trade has been large, and
the increase in numbers of failures reported Is
wholly in small and unimpOrtant firms, while
the close approach of yearly settlements with
out embarrassment is generally regarded with
satisfaction. The truth is that there has been
great deal of apprehension, half superstitious
and half rational, about the business of the
last half of 1888. Many men had no better
reason for alarm than that the last great panic
was in 1873. Others fOresaw with clearness the
operation of causes which have made the half
year generally disheartening, but lacked con-
fidence in the ability of the country to support
the strain. Thus there are many reasons for
rejoicing that we are safely over the year
1888.
1t is said with truth by The Commercial and
Financial Chronicle of Saturday that the least
favorable feature in the commercial outlook
ais the speculation in produce, and more
Especially in wheat, which has resulted in the
"latter being piled up in stock until there are
l,,n ,l,ic gs, ia
accumulation has been caused, in great meas
ure, by an elaborate campaign of statistical men
dacty and Misrepresentation, in which the de-
mand from every quarter has been exaggerated
and the supply looked at through the wrong
end of telescope, until believing holders have
become convinced that Europe must, sooner or
later, pay us what price we please for orr
wheat. Now the official report by the
Bureau of Statistics which was issued
last week, shows that for five months Of
the new fiscal year the exports have
actually been 1882, AGO bushels of wheat,
against G7,1Sl 900 for the corresponding
months of last year. This does not look
like an extraordinary demand from abroad.
Moreover the official records prove that III
September. when the exports were less than
half as large as i'm September, 1882 the average
export price was just the same for the two
years. and in October it was also just the same,
but the exports declined from 100000
bushels in 1852 to 6,5S7O00 in 1888. These
things do not indicate the near approach of
starvation abroad. As TO the crop and surplus
of this country il is noticeable that all the ar
gumcnts for high prices begin by discarding the
official statements of the Bureau of Agriculture,
and substituting others which make the supply
a great deal less.
The stock market has been kept on the rack
by the disagrccmcnts of managers of railways.
The latest report rs to the Iowa pool was that
the Burlington undetermined to build another
line to cut into the traffic of the Union Pacific.
But railroads are not built in day, ana the
speculations of managers do not often last long
enough 10 make the construction OF new road
a helpful adjunct. The disagreement Of East
ern trunk lines may or may not be terminated
BY the latest order of the Executive Committee,
which goes into effect to-day, but that order
was certainly calculated to prevent further cut
ting of rates this winter. 1t is noticed that the
four great trunk lines all made larger earnings
in excess of operating expenses in 1SS2-3 than
in 1872. and the aggregate of their net cam
ings was St7,9SS, OSS last year, against Sl3,-
19S,2ls for the previous year. The Ncw-IOrk
Central increased in net earnings about lll2
pcr cent. the Baltimore and Ohio about 16l2 per
cent. and the Pennsylvania and Erie each about
7 NOR cent