The Portland daily press., 1884-05-15
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL
The Financial a;tnn,ia,,

The Financial Situation.
The week closes with smash. Confidence put to
its severest strain has failed, and panic is the re-
suit Old banks, highly respectable private bank
efs and many smallfry, have gone down together.
The readers of this column will bear witness that
for several weeks we have more than limited that
such results might be the natural end of certain ev
tendencies. In the multitude of rumors we may to-
day have some false information but the fact Of the
disaster of to-day is to remain and the collateral
mischief is not yet visible When large bank with
FIVE millions Of capital and surplus shuts its doors in
New York city, it means something. There are a
hundred interests in more or less intimate connec.
tion with such failure which may be affected
The trouble may not show itself for few days or ii
may be at once apparent; until the system is
cleansed there can be healthful and natural &C.
ton. For years the process of shrinkage has been
going All classes have felt it. Great operators
have lostlarge amounts and but few have made any
thing And the fear is that bottom has not yet been
touched. Very likely there may be slight reaction
from prices of to- night, but that is not the point
The conditions must change before permanent pros
perity can be secured. Those conditions are in the
gold and silver question; the state Of our foreign
exchanges; the depression of many of our manu-
features; over production of cereals; surplus
of traders and lack of profit through excessive
competition. To our mind, hard-pan Is not yet
reached. nor will it be at once. Political excite
ment will depress business all summer. Working
men and capitalists have yet question to be SCI
tied; and until calm and quietude extends more
generally among nations we may not expect this
land to be without its commotion. Meantime
duty is imposed. A cautious and conservative
course is absolutely demanded from our merchants
The pressure to sell goods to men of doubtful credit
toad u1,Otn no FrI.sa
is the danger of to-day to our trade-a desire to
push for business at the expense profit aad safe.
ty. And in this connection print letter receiv-
ed since our last weekly article
PORTLAND, May IL, 1884.
To the Editor Of the Press:
In the Press of the 8th inst. notice your COM
ments on the letter signed Commercial Street."
You say the system of drumming il expensive. This
is true. But the drummer, on average, calls on
from ten to twenty customers in one day, and has
time to take the orders of all. He sends his orders
to the firm and men and boys, not qualified for sales
men, put up and ship the goods. If these purchas-
came into the store it would require several
ident salesmen and the firm would be expected to
take the customers to the theatre, lecture on
trip TO the islands drive about the city. Some
additional eXpen-e in this item The customer can
not afford to come 10 the market to buy small
amount of goods. / was in the business of buying
and retailing before there was in Portland what
now would be called wholesale store. We stopped
here, once or twice year, going or returnin z
trem Boston to buy molasses and sometimes Havana
Drown sugar. IWeUtysnVe to thirty years ago
traders would go to Boston twice in year and buy
goods which they expected would last them six
months, and larger part of them bought almost
wholly on four and Elk months time. got credit and
owed for many of the goods that they did not expect
to sell before the fifth sixth month after the pur
chase. Consequently they vent home owing large
amount.
Under the Presena system of drumming, custo-
mers only buy to last them from one to four weeks
and many pay the last bill and give another small
order. Under this system business of five hun
dred thousand dollars l$600oU0) can be and is
done on much less capital than under the old sys-
tenn. Trade is increased because we make an ex-
change of beans butter, green and dried apples and
other things to supply the coast trade and in
take their fish and send them into the interior of
the State The consumption of goods is mucb
larger when the market is supplied. Retailers can
not afford to go to market and pay expenses There
are seasonable goods, like fruits and vegetables
both foreign and southern, that ale sold and con-
sumed in the interior towns mot the earliest arrival
when the price is high. Being visited daily by
drummers after large arrivals, and consequently
lower prices, the sale and consumption are much
larger. So far as Portland is concei ned the trade
has grown up under the system of travelling
statesmen. can recollect VIII n Billy Deehan could
put all the goods there in the largest wholesale
grocery store here on his teams and haul along al
one load, except the molasses. Very few outside Of
those doing the business realize the large increase
the business of Cortland. Let the merchants Of
Portland act for themselves.
DRUMMER
In reply we wish to point to to days performan-
ees as a warning. The legitimate tendency of over
trading ia failure. Thus far the business houses
have not suffered SO much as brokers and specula-
tors. But allow the same pernicious principles of
trade to exist in trade now are developing in SO
many quarters, and we shall have commercial
panic extending through manufacturers and jobbers
and retailers. The argument that wholesale
dealer must send runner all over the State to sell
goods is than offset by the fact that the coun
try trader come to the city and buy goods with
hundred times the convenience that existed forty
years ago. Inasmuch as our wholesale stores now
sell, as rule. certain lines of goods and not as
formerly, everything from ram to red handker
chief this allows the country dealer to select from
many stocks the things he needs and to do this will
justice to himself he should be on the ground anc
select his own goods and buy what he needs, rather
than what drummer presses upon him.
1t is just as far from Bethel to Portland it is
from Portland to Bethel.
Review of Portland Wholesale Markes
FOR THE WEEK ENDING May IA
Business in the Wholesale market the past weel
has been rather slow, and as general thing value
have been pretty steady. Flour continues stead
and all the leading brands are strongly held Graf
sustains a firm tone and prices are higher. Beef
lower, but the demand is decidedly better. Suga
advanced during the week, and closed with fri
tone. Butter is in buyers favor and prices hav
declined. Dry Fish are very dull and in some case
easier in price. Mackerel dull and lower. Fresl
Fish are in good supply at &c y ID. Fresh Beef hrn
we quote sides 9s4 g1Oc y tb, hind quarters 1I@
13c, fores 619@71ac, rounds with tanks at 991ac
rounds at lie, rumps and loins at 13916c, rump
139l5c, loins 1S917c, rattles 61s@64hc, back
71s99c, chucks 64a97c short rib cuts S2@l4c
Mutton at S@1Oc,