The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-02-19

reporting. trade is dull or inactive,
though perceptible improvement within
the past ten days is noted at st. Paui
and Omaha. But collections are slow
at st. Paul, Milwaukee, Detroit. and
| Cleveland, and the number OF failures
in the northwest beyond the Mississippi
seems larger than usual. The colo
weather evidently has retardlng IN
Ruence in many quarters.
The failure Of bank at Cincinnati,
with arrest of officers, on account of
speculations 10 real estate. oil, and gas.
and the failure of Bensiey Brothers at
Chicago. an old grain house with large
credit, call attention to the chief cause
of hesitation in business. A vast
amount OF capital has been locked up,
and a vast body of Indebtedness
crested, in connection with the real
estate, grain, and other speculations OF
the past year. Indebtedness based on
hcntious valuations of pr perty or COM
modItles. in not few cases, will have
TO DC llquidated at a loss. On the
chance IF war in Europe, wheat was
suddenly advanced so far that peace
prospects involve disaster to many.
The capacity Of iron furnaces in blast
FEBRUARY LIST, was liz 400 tons weekly
less than January lst, and, contrary 10
expectation much more than half the
decrease was in other than anthracite
furnaces. The effects of the strike in
cold regions increase from day to day,
but are not as great as the depression
due to shrinkage In demand. Or the
latter, part Is attributable to tariff un
ceramics, aud part TO the excess OF
railroad building in the West, and the
consequent wars of rates. Including
5U, 900 IONS deferred from last veal, con
tracts for steel rails so far reach about
500 O0O tons, without any lifting of the
price, $3l 81 at mill. Pig iron is weaker
at Pirtsourg, but stiff at the East for
the better grades on account of their
scarcity. IL manufactured iron. slack
ened demand still causes weakness.
The effects of the coal strike, which
does not seem to approach an end. are
felt in slow collections and several
failures ar Philadelphia.
The wars of rates between western
roads have now gone so far that the
rates charged are said to re, on the
whole, not more than half those
charged before the trouble began, but
no sign of settlement is seen In any
quarter. Those who have put money
into many new lines, where new lines
were not neeued, have no reason to ex
pect returns until the business of the
country has largely increased. Mean
while the interstate law makes any
Sc Element more difficult, and places
Uoited s ates roads at a disa ivan
tage In comperluon with Canadian.
Through rates for export have been cut
also, and efforts of trunk line man
ag-rs To settle difficulties have not Yet
succeeded.
Nearly all the markets are lower ::
stocks about so cents per share for the
week: wheat about l cent per bushel,
corn "a cent, Oats Il cent coffee Il cent
/ per pound. and sugar, both refined and
crushed. an q cent, hogs 10 cents per
100 pounds, and tin q cent yer pound.
Cotton has been held steady by the re-
port of large consumption abroad. The
| dry goods trade continues good tor cot
tons, which are steady In price, and
slightly improved for woollens. The
woollen manufacturers meet on Tues
day to consider questions of credits and
IN tervaluations, and 10 perfect organ
ization. In groceries, there has bee n
some improvement in tone and In dis
| trioutiop the tea trade shows more
activity and hopefulness, but The de-
mand for butter anu cheese is hardly
satisfactory, and meats are very dull
and weak The Treasury has added
half million to deposits during the
week, but otherwise has but slightly
diminished circulation.
TIE business failures occurring
throughout the country during the
last seven days, as reported to r. G.
Dun q :, number, for the United
States, 237 and for Canada so, or
total of $50. as compared with total
of 279 last week, and 3l7 the week pre-
vious to the last. For the cores eond-
ing week of last year the figures were
267, made up of 23l failures in the
United States, and 36 in Canada. The
feature this week Is the unusual num-
Der of failures in the Dominion of
Canada. 81, being nearly double the
usual weekly average.