Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-12-12

Trade Prospects.
The present condition of business in the
country at large is not particularly favor.
able, but there are signs of an improve
ment in the not remote future. The Bos-
ton TrdrCllcr prints interviews with a
number of leading merchants of that city
who unite in prophesying better times
ahead. Mr.. X. II. White, the great dry goods
man, thinks that thellarge failure of specu-
lators last spring had the effect of fright
ening persons engaged in legitimate trade
so thatthey have been unusually cautious
Another cause of depression has been
oNerproductiOn and ovcr-importaton, the
market having been Quilted, and third
cause has been the uncertainty and cX-
element of the political campaign. All
these causes he thinks. have now ceased
to effect trade. We have now got down
to bottom. He does not expect much of II
revival in regular business until after the
holdays,b but anticipates healthy and ac-
tive trade for the next four years. Mr.
White sums up his opinion rs follows:
II base my confidence in Il healthy bust
ness tor 1879 on the fact that low stocks
are the rule, that the political policy for
the ncNt -FOUR years may he regarded ~
settled, that dealers and iobbcrs have now
practically caught up with the manufac-
tuners, hat money Is plenty and can be
obtained at low rates of interest, that
there is little disposition anywhere to en-
gage III speculative enterprises that wages
are everywhere except in some of our
manufacturing towns good, that there il
no no, dliilculty in finding employment in the
different trades, that people are buying
for cash where once they asked credit. and
that there is an unmistakable revival of
confidence. The manufacturing towns
are the only ones where the people really
suffer, and where the purchasing ability
Is less than heretofore. | think the mills
Will soon start up and pay their old wages
and the only danger is that with the re-
viNal of trade they will 90 to rushing mat
lerS ana so bring on OVerprOductiOn again.
If, however, they will be satisfied with
doing good business at moderate profit,
paying fair dividened to the stockhold-
erS, | see no reason why we are not to
enter Immediately on an era of business
prosperity. Everything is certainly ripe
fora business revival
Mr.. John Shepard, of Shepherd, Norwell
n Co., says the principal dizziness in the
dry goods trade has been among iobbers
and wholesalers, caused by the retailers
doing ii hand-tomouth business. The re-
t,i,,,,''n ny "'PtCH9c"' ne
Vival
Men cannot very well attend to two
things at once, and most men have been
attending to politics To Il greater or less
extent Tor the past three months. They
have of course done this to the neglect of
their business They may not have been
conscious OF TINS neglect. but there has
nech neglect al the same Now. the cleo
I,a oh, g /.
lstratlon Is settled for the next four years
ana OF Congress for the next two years
ana polltlcal agitation is not going tC
ChaiiGe anything Men are, therefore,
business men | mean, not going to bother
themselves TO any great extent with poll
tlcS' put are gong to attend to business,
ana the conditions, as | have already said,
low stocks in hand, money easy to be OBJ
tanned at low rates of interest, low prices
anu me absence OF external eNcltement,are
Sron ,ii4t tlliilh we are gong TO witness
moro nrnttnIin +r'n ",i Nv. I''1 ".i,'
for long time.
Mr. Charles Francis Adams. .Tr one of
the shrewdest of observers. after remark
ing upon the decentralization and cnnse-
cannot be sold at present prices. the reme-
dy for which is Il readiustmeut of prices
which will not take Il long time. saws:
II am not one of those who can believe
that there is amy great degree of misery
IN over world mat has more OF
,rh.7 to 10 ,ni.T rh 'i,'il ~ hIiUM
through that is TO saw nrircs have cot tn
iur that lower level * ul,YnvS hard imam
those whose business has to bear the strain
of readlustment. But ! cannot believe
tlat we can be considered IN very bad