Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-19
FLOODS AND TRADE.
Effects of a Calamity Upon General
Produce Business
A VERY POOR PROVISION MARKET.
Chicago Good Place Both to Buy and Sell
Hog Products.
AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW OF THE FUTURE
A VERY POOR PROVISION MARKET.
AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW OF THE FUTURE
OFFICE OF PTTTsBURG DISPATCH, !
TTFSnAY lima ~ 1890

TUESDAY, June lS 1889 /
While the wash-outs along the Pennsyl-
yania Railroad have shut out some sections
very valuable to Pittsburg's jobbing trade,
very extensive trade has been developed
in some lines in the way of relief for
sufferers. A representative of the canned
meat industry reports unprecedented sales in
his line to the Johnstown Relief Committee
''The total sold by our firm" said he, twas
l5OO cases of corned beef and besides this, two
carloads of dressed beef
The Relief Committee cleaned Us out of our
stock, and we have not been as bare for years
ut this season as we are now"
A leading cheese jobber talked in the same
strain. Said he: 1--WE shipped 200 boxes of
cheese yesterday to Johnstown by order of the
Keller Committee, and this is but little more
than one-fourth the total amount we have sold
70 that committee. On the Sunday following
the flood we sent out a lot, and the aggregate
our warehouse to the Conemaugh Valley in
response to orders from the committee which
handles the benevolent offerings of Pittsburg" !"
Provision Markets.
An illustration of the fact recently noted in
this column that Pittsburg has been poor
provision market of late, as compared with
Chicago, was given to-day by one of our job
bers. Said he: "a short time ago 1 ordered 500
tierces of hams in pickle from Chicago tor July
delivery. The cost there was 101sc, and to
bring them here and smoke them would have
brought their native cost up to llszc. All that
can get for these hams here at present prices
is ll1zc. AS this would entail a loss of &c on
top of time and trouble, made an effort to sell
the goods in Chicago, and succeeded in dispos-
ing of them to the firm with which had made
the contract The firm was entirely willing,
and managed to come out better than even,
which could not have done if had brought
my picked hams to this CITY,"
One of our leading pork packers reported
that he had sold recently in Chicago go tierces
of sweet picked hams at a rate which netued
him &c more than he could have realized for
the same in this city. The same packer said:
II have been able to do better by buying hogs
in Chicago than at East Liberty all the past
season with the exception of a very few days
II seems can sell there at better figures than
here in certain lines of our products"
An Optimistic View.
The Boston CongTegdtiondList, in its current
number, contains an article on the business
situation of the country of very optimistic
cast, and furnishes facts and figures which
give apparently, good reasons for the writer's
faith and hope. The article states that for the
first five months of the year 1882 the exchanges
of 40 leading cities in the country show an in
crease of Il per cent over the corresponding
period of 1888, and slight increase over 1857,
which was year of extraordinary activity.
The transactions this year are claimed to be
on more substantial basis than for number
of years past as there has been much less
speculation IN stocks, oil and grain.
Another fact upon which the Congregation
ottSt bases its faith in the optimistic view OF
trade Is, that while there is Il per cent in
crease over last year and Is per cent over 1856
transactions this year have been at lower aver
age prices, showing that the percentage of in
crease is in fact much greater than the figures
actually show.
The croaker who can see nothing bright in
the trade situation can hardly fail to have his
backbone stiffened by a perusal of the article
referred to above.