St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-12-24
COMMERCIAL

ST. PAUL, Dec 24-On Christmas eve no one
would expect 10 read OF week OF commercial
activity among wholesale merchants and jobbing
men, and especially upon this Christmas eve
which ushers IN the closing wees OF year re.
markable for low prices and depression--a year
In which the country miraeulously escaped, and
escaped only by the narrowesi verge, panic as
disastrous that OF is1s when banks ;ottered aud
fell and strong commercial houses were shaken
10 their foundations. The depression OF 1854.
however. was not the result OF low prices, neither
was it the sequence Of over pFod1ciion, but
rather the natural ouigrowih OF Wild aud Tile git
innate speculation and dishonest gambling. The
country owes the straits through which il has
passed to So ca reckless and knavsh houses as
Grant, Ward 81 Co.. and 81 owes its salvation
from a universal and ealamitous panic 20 the
staid and sober west. il Is believed, more than
anything else. When eastern houses were
shaking and eastern capitsists dreaded what the
morrow might bling forth. in the west, and sspec-
ally here in the great northwest. all mercantile
houses and financial institutions pursued the
tenor OF their ways calmly and cad
lily ar II no black and ominous cloud lowered aud
thre atened financial tornado, aud there is
doubt that the steady current Of the western
commercial stream saved. or did mach 10 save.
the country from the 6nancia! maeistrom which
threatened to draw the whole commercial and
financial interests OF the country INTO its vortex.
The country may be thankful that the year has
entered its last week with no heavier aud
more serious wrecks 70 be recorded
and the near dawn Of the new year
is not more clouded and threatening
than 1t is. The week just ended has. CT course,
been q very quiet one with very little doing in
the way Of wholesale trading. but that little
has amounted fully 10 a. mach for each house
was done by them during the week preceding
Christmas, 1888. There have been made sew
eral additions 10 the wholesale houses ia every
branch OF trade, consequently there has been a
greater volume OF trade; but this, OF course. was
only TO be expected with the rapid growth Of
population. There is al the present
time over 4 million Of people in
Minnesota alone and the jobbing
interest of St. Paul not only supplies this slate,
but monopolizes, 10 a great extent, the trade OF
Dakota, Montana, and even Washington Terri
tory and Oregon since the opening OF the North
ern Pacific, as well as cutting into the Wisconsin
and Iowa trade. The railroad reports show that
the carrying interest has fallen of some 500 cars
during the past week. The receipts were 1913
cars against /, 957 for the year ending Dec. iG,
being 400 cars less for the week under review.
The shipments were 1913 cars, while those for the
q decrease OF 80 cars. The movement Of 'smer-
chandise," however, shows 10 better advantage,
the receipts being 405 cars, against 438 cars for
the previous week, a decrease OF 81 cars, aud
the shipments 492 cars, against ACC Of the pre-
vious week, gain of 20 cars. Notwithst ing
this apparent gain in the amount OF business
done by the jobbing trade there IL DO doubt that
the actual business transacted has not been quite
30 heavy as that for the week ending on the 10th,
and this fact should create no surprise. for the
week inst past and the present one inEugurate
the duliest season of the year
There has been q considerable falling OF in the
boot and shoe trade aud now on iiI after the hol-
ideys no business OF any moment is expected;
price lists unchanged. The past week has
been very quiet one in leather and findings,
harness and saddlery, and the leading houses
have taken advantage OF the quiet 10 start in
stock taking The leather market remains very
firm. Iron and steel aud general hardware
have also been very quiet, drummers
are q all in from the roads, and
there has been nothing but q small order
trade by mail. There are no changes TO record
In prices current. Drugs have been very SLOW,
and business in druggists sundries has been very
] light. The demand for holiday toilet goods has
also dropped off TO a very trfing sorting up
trade; no changes are made IN price lists. Dry
goods houses have been doing nothing the past
W eek, outside OF a slight trade in holiday goods
and this has been confined TO special orders and
filing up lines The large houses have already
commenced stock taking, and they have had but
very little to interrupt them in the
arduous operation; prices current are unchanged.
Grocery houses have been fully as busy a. can
be expected at this season OF the year when
country merchants are more intent upon reduc-
ing stocks than increasing them, aud like all
other branches of the jobbing trade they have
been doing fully as well and better than they
were at the same time last year. There viii not
now till after the holidays be any business in any
branch of commerce more than the filing OF
small orders for goods wanted for immediate
consumption for al this time wants 10
carry over large stocks into the next year.