New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-12-07
take place before the Bridge officials learn Tue
fact which is staring them in the face
The grin must be reformed.
MONEY And BUSINESS.


evidence of dimlnution in the volume OF leSlt-
innate business The exchanges at New-forK'
where speculation centres, showed an increase
in comparison with the same week last year VI
only 26.6 per cent against 65.1 per cent for the
previous week. AT Boston, Chicago ana mi
adelphia also, the increase last week was only
about % per cent against 37.3 for the previous
week. At a third class of cities, where specu-
ation is still less active, st. Louis, Baltimore
| and New Orleans, the gain last week appears
to have been just as large as 1t was the previous
| week, namely, little less than 3 per cent he
returns for last week include payments ABOUT
| the first of month, and in such week tne
proportion Of transactions due to legitimate
business is naturally larger than In other
weeks 1t is still the fact that other indications
are somewhat mixed; they show that the vol
| ume of business has not increased in all dlrec-
tons or very greatly, in comparison with last
year. and yet of improvement in some branches
of industry and trade there is convincing
| evidence.
There is no reason to doubt that the railroad
business is on the whole improving The
weekly shipments from Chicago were only
| Al .22S TONS against 50 ,476 tons for the same
week last year. q decline of 20 per cent, but
the great trunk lines have been especially
| affected on account of the comparative stagna-
ton of the grain movement. IRE ftndncadt
| Chronicle, in its monthly statement OF the
cotton movement, shows that the shipments
overland were larger in November than ever
before namely go, 800 bales, or 341 per
cent more than in November, 1884. The coal
movement also continues large exceeding for
eleven months that of last year by 976,666
tons. 1t is probable that the report OF iron
furnaces for December l will show larger
production than was recorded year ago.
though not much larger, and the product has
undoubtedly been marketed at lower prices,
say SIS, instead of $40 25. for anthracite No. L.
But steel rails are bringing about % per
cent more than at this time last year, and it Is
in this branch mainly that the iron business
seems to have improved thus far.
On the other hand. the number of failures Is
still very large. the total reported by Brdd-
streets, since January /, being 1888 against
O,lG7 for the corresponding part of 1884,
decrease of only 1874 Moreover, rs the season
progresses the relations between labor and cap
ital are not improving. The long struggle in
the MonOngahela Valley continues, though In
one pool nearly all the men have submitted. In
and strike of sh0cmakcrs at Cincinnati throws
over 5000 persons out of work, while the con-
troversy of cigarmakers with manufacturers
here has not yet terminated. In Lynn ana
other parts of Ncw-England, boot and shoe
makers are engaged in a contest which already
involves many thousand persons directly or
indirectly. In order To understand the sltua-
ton il is necessary not to overlook these con
tinuing disagrccmcnts, for they account in the
aggregate for a large decrease in the purchas-
ing power of the working people. II is possible
that disputes have been rendered more fire.
oucnt more obstinate and more serious, be-
cause 80 much has been SAID about the great
Improv cement IN business, and in a few branches
the prices of products have been so grcatly AL
yanccd.
The grain market has pot materially changed.
though wheat has advanced 2's cents, nOtwith-
standing he lack Of demand from abroad. The
official returns show that exports Of wheat and
flour known to December 1 have been only
20, SOj.263 bushels of wheat since July /,
against 5S. 127,27l for the same part of last
year. and latest British reports represent the
market for English wheat as peculiarly de-
pressed and gloomy. But dealers III this cOun-
try appear To believe that lighting in Bulgaria
means a scarcity of wheat for the whole world.
With visible supply Of 55,G79.22S bushels,
they bid 9ll2 cents for December wheat while
just n year ago, with visible supply OF
80. 2ll 1867 bushels, they were paying only 70
cents. Corn declined Dig cents during the
week, and oats rose Il cent; cheese was weaker
and eggs | cent lower but sugar an
eighth stronger. coffee a quarter. pork 10
cents per barrel, bacon and lard 20 cents per
100 pounds. The operators advanced lead -
cents per 100 pounds, and copper and tin 10
cents, and though cotton is unchanged, prints
are a shade higher. The OIL market has not
been strong, and declined 2ls cents during
the week.
The stock market has not advanced during
the past week on the whole though it closed
strong in tone. At the very close on Saturday
the average price of sixty stocks was f6l 33
against SCI 80 for the previous week, but this
was after considerable recovery from the prices
of the middle of the week. The trunk line
stocks have been improved by the completion
of the West Shore arrangement, and Lake
Shore gained 2 during the week, New York
Central and Michigan Central / II each, Erie /,
and l.ackawanna 15s, and by way of imitation.
Ontario and Western gained | IL. On the other
hand Mr.. GOuld's announcement was followed
by less weakness in the stocks with which his
name has been associated than WAS by some
expected but Western Union closed l3i lower,
Union Pacific 23s lower, Wabash preferred / Il.
Louisville and Nashville 13s, and Kansas
and Texas 2ls lower Northwestern stocks,
both common and preferred, closed 1ai
lower and Burlington and Quincy 10, while
Southern stocks were generally weaker But
there was nothing like the sort of reaction
which changes the aspect OF the market; on the
contrary, foreign speculation appeared to be rs
great and as potent rs ever. The meeting of
Congress naturally brings to mind possible