Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-01

clty-Excet WI hen~es~S ~'>'-l -.
msrcs, great Cor social and sducatiodAl
sdvantsgss end happy homes.
As TIE Dipstcl iutsfprstst the 6gures
with which la columns this morning
TEEN, Il feels proud that In these tight
times" Richmond has such good re-
cord for lss5--such grand promise
for 1886.
BUSINESS.
With merchants and manufacturers
the year has been characterized by
sharp competition. close margins Of
profit, low prices. and moderate
sales. SO it has been In nearly oil
branches Of trade. In Virginia, while
the corn and tobacco crops we're fair
there was . poor wheat crop, and our
agricultural community was therefore
not in as good financial condition as it
ought to have been. Still the fall trade
showed a marked improvement, the
holiday sales were first-rate, and the
prospects ere that in the spring there
will be clearly-observable increase in
business. "A big boom can, however.
hardly be looked for, If by that is meant
that prices will rush to high points,
and all of the unemployed have work
to do at fancy figures. That sort of
thing is not now TO be expected. The
further the war recedes into the diia
past the further we get from prices that
belonged to those days Of commotion
and strife, and while fortunes have to
hs more slowly accumulated than in
those flush times, the country, as a
whole, is far better off; the people gen.
orally are happier, have more to make
them comfortable, haze better educa-
tional advantages, and are engaged in
enterprises which will make solid the
foundation of national prosperity.
LEADING MANUFACTUREs.
Here in Richmond, in the way Of
manufacturing, the three leading de-
partments are iron, tobacco, and grain.
Owing in part to the embarrassmeuts
of the Gallego Mills Company--now,
it is hoped, soon to be reorganized upon
a sure and solid basis-our Touring
business fell off somo, but it is only
check preparatory to fresh start. The
brands of our mills are widely cele-
brated. In South American ports they
command high prices. In domestic
markets they are not to oe excelled,
and it can hardly be doubted that soon
favoring gale will come which will set
their every wheel in motion and watt
them into prosperity. b
Iron was notoriously dull and low
the land over, but in spite of that our
works here kept up with success that
is a mark Of distinction for the enter
prising spirits who control them. In
tobacco there was fine increase. Vigor
and activity distinguished the trade,
and the products are greatly larger than
in 1885, and the outlook is that the
coming year will be better still.
In the manufacture Of cigarettes, pa
per-boxcs, bags, shirts, blank-books,
&C., &C., about 1000 white girls now
find employment. So a large porto"
Of what was formerly non-producin :
population now find profitable laboi
and is nble to contribute to the famil
treasury
While these three industries stand
forth most prominently, in our tables Of
manufactures it will be observed that
the city has a great variety Of smaller
manufactures, which in the aggregate
contribute quite as much as these do to
the prosperity and advancement of the
city.
Upon the whole the manufacturers
exhibit for the year is an Improvement
over 1884, as witness the following
figures:
Number OF estab-
iishmenis. ....:.. :. ~ ess
Number OF hands 1o,676 1890
Capital In busi>
ness ..................s10,5 ,594l21 sl0.s82.850
Apnual sales .......ys24 .e97,5s7 s24.s5O, ,094
For year like 1885 this showing is a
good one; a good one for southern
city +; good cne for any city, circum-
stanced as Richmond has been. With
the gradually swelling tide Of general
prosperity, we will move off gloriously.
THE JoBBERs.
In our modern civilization the drum
mer--beg pardon, the commercial trav-
eller-plays a great part. He builds
up markets., -ha- keeps freight trains
running, fills steamboats,, and gives
"life" to The towns, and is the
genial and indefatigable go-between,
who keeps the retailer and the job
ber in easy communication. He
hears all of the news of the world !;
talks politics, religion, and science with
equal readiness knows the best brands
in the markets, the best beds in the ho-
tells, and is altogether an untiring, an
irrepressible spirit. His mission carries
him to remote villages and crossroads
stores he has to travel in heat and
cold he has to fight battalions of COM
petitors for all the orders he gets. No
wonder his wits are sharpened no won-
der he comes to know "a thing or
two." Upon such depends the success
Of the Richmond jobbing trade, and
they have done we'll for us. They have
carried our goods far and wide; they
have built up markets for us oil over
the South and in many portions Of the
West, and have nobly stood up for
Richmond.