St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-08
Nobody Expects a Boom, but
the Outlook Is Very
Encouraging.
st. Paul JobberS Well Salts
fed With the Situation
This Spring.
The Whole Country Has
Really Been Through a FL
naneial Crisis.
A Largely Increased Volume
of Business Compensates
for Hard Times.
Country Merchants Are Be-
ginning to Settle Scores
Long Since Overdue.
Good Crops Will Put Whole
SalerS and Retailers on
Their Feet.

The spring trade of 1889 has fairly
opened. No matter how hard the times
there is always more or less briskness
in business circles at this season of the
year, but few expected the healthy i'm
petus which the trade has shown and
the largely increased volume of bust
ness. Times have been undeniably
hard. The whole country has really
been through a financial crisis, the
money market has been close, and dur
ing the fall and winter the general de-
preston was everywhere felt, perhaps
as little in the Northwest, however, as
in any section of the country, despite
the failure of the crops. The year
opened finding the farmers in many sec
tons entirely destitute of means and
country merchants seemingly on the
verge of bankruptcy. The phenome-
nally open winter left the merchants
with the bulk of their winter stock
Dn hand, some of it even unpacked,
and with no money coming in and
the majority of outstanding bills uncol-
lectible. With this the state of affairs
The first three months of 1889 show
surprisingly small number of failures
In the Northwest, which gives added
emphasis to this well known fact-that
theSt. Paul trade is remarkably good to
its customers. If the country merchant
is honest and shows any ability at all,
the st. Paul trade is willing to assist
him to the limit of its power. There has
always been that feeling here, and this
season especially, the country mer-
chants in MANY sections have reason to
look upon the St. Paul jobbing houses
as their best friends. They found
themselves with large stocks on hand
on which they were unable to realize:
with spring stock needed; with no
money at command, and with bills for
winter goods falling due. The st. Paul
Iobbers, understanding perfectly the
condition of their customers, attempted
no crowding to the wall. They granted
extensions unhesitatingly, and before
February had far advanced, bills of
country merchants had in some manner
been taken care of, and the spring stock
Of go DDS was at their command.
With the country merchants short all
the money which in ordinary seasons
would have been realized from the sale
pr winter goods, they began this spring
buying in more conservative manner.
which has given the st. Paul jObbing
trade different and much more healthy
tone than it has known for some sea-
sons. JobberS unanimously agree that
the trade is in much better condition
tDan 1t was at this season Il year ago.
Nobody looks for 'boom." That. with
good crops, will come next year. If the
spring trade of 1889 is to be taken as in
dlcatlye OF that for the year, then st.
Paul Will have the benefit not only of
the largest, but the healthieSt, whole
sale trade in its history. The increase
In volume of business for the last three
months is at least %. and possibly SO.
per cent greater than for the correspond
0g months in 1883.
For this increase there are several
reasons. While the crops in certain To-
calltieS resulted most disaStrously, in
others they were exceptionally good
and commanded exceptional prices. An
old merchant yesterday expressed the
opinion that there was in reality more
money current in Minnesota last year
than the year before, in spite of wheat
failure, for farm products were so much
more diversified than formerly that
farmers generally had some one crop to
fall back upon when another failed.
That may be all true" remarked
Col. Granger, of p. "a. Kelly & Co.,
upon hearing this, but we'd feel a
good deal better if this granger legisla-
ton, which has kept US all by the ears,
was over, and the legislature was adj
lourned. 1t seems as if that body was
taking all the surplus there is, no mat
ter how diversified the crops"
The principal reason of the marked
increase in the jobbing trade of
st. Paul, however, careful review of
the business shows is due to the extern
sion and development of the trade in
new sections, so that the local losses
here and there are more than overcome.
There are few jobbing houses i'm this
city whose trade does not now extend to
the Pacific coast, and in the Intervening
territory new but populous districts are
constantly opening. The development
in Northwestern Wisconsin has been
closely followed by the trade here,
while the opening of the $500 road
has added another territory which takes
in a part of Michigan. The truth is that
st. Paul jobbers have Weakened up.
They are no longer content to wait for
trade. They are pushing things, and
by this are adding to the reputation of
st. Paul as the jobbing center of the en-
tire Northwest. Everything indicates a
fairly good year Tor the trade, which
will lift merchants in the poorer locali-
ties out OF debt and place everything on
firm basis for a substantial advance
ment, not to say "boom,'' in 1890.
HOLDING ITS OWN WELL.
st. Paul retailers do not express as
hopeful a feeling as the wholesalers,
fhQrn IC q my eli hot
times are rather dull. Yet when a
dozen or more firms called upon came
to compare their sales for the first three
months of this year with those for the
corresponding months of 1888, they
found almost invariably that their trade
was better this year than last, while
there is very hopeful feeling for the
summer. In dry goods. the spring de-
mand began much earlier than usual
under the influence of the fine weather,
and had this continued without inter
ruption, the season would no doubt
have been all exceptionally good one.
March, which is usually dull month.
more than made up for light sales in
January and February, while April has
opened with muck promise. This is
generally true of other branches of the
retail trade. One surprising fact is that,
with the enormous amount of build
ing going on, retail hardware men
say that times are dull, and that there is
no appreciate increase in sales over last
year. The reason for this is in the sim
pie fact that st. Paul has much larger
number of hardware houses than year
ago, and the trade is more divided. So
It has been in many other lines of trade,
and when this is considered it is seen
that the retail business is more than
holding its own in comparison with 1888
Oh any other year in the history of the
city. Good weather Is essential to a
nond enrinN frada WING Mau-in- nIiI