New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-04-21
MONEY! AND BUSINESS.

There has been some excitement i'll wall
Street over the notion that tN-
mcndous boom in prices is knocking al
the door. to be ushercd in by silver blll.
! Possibly bit OF history may be In order Much
the same notion prevalent. and was even
entertained by very able men. when the silver
coinage bill was passed in February, 1873 In
! fact. it would not have been passed but for the
/ belief that it would sudden rise in prices
On that theory stock Spectators moved up the
! average price of active stocks about W per
/ share only TO see a subsequent decline. The
/ large and lasting rise did not come until after
specie resumption, in 1879, had added all the
/ gold in the country TO the active currency. 30
/ with commodities, no rise came in 1873 as the
result Of silver coinage, but prices sank steadily
more than IL per cent during the year. and
did not begin 10 advance until after May |, 1879,
more than year later Great activity then
came as a result Of resumption and the rcstora-
ton u the currency to sound gold .blss. No
silver bill is likely 10 pass, or 70 escape Prcsl-
dents Veto which will speedily disturb the gold
basis or violently initiate the currency and il is at
/ least possible that results anticipated from
silver LEGISLATION which Will not come at all, or
will come much too late TO be Of service to any
OF the spectators now SO active.
Bat tie Street is full Of men who are "a little
certain that mighty uprising Of prices is at hand
The average price OF railroad stocks rose G3 cents
per share for tie week, and sugar certificates also
rose from 90 Il 10 80 5-s in the belief that the
/ proposed duty on refined sugar would make the
/ Trust richer. As the difference between ccntrii-
ugal and graduated sugar Is now g. II cents
| per 100 pounds. and during the last year has
been more than ~ most OF the time il seems not
quite certain that the proposed tarf Of 40 cents
ger 100 pounds will enrich the Trust or help it
! 20 eNiort money from consumers. But other COM
m~tics have risen with even less reason Corn
| las advanced more than cent and oats nearly
o cent. for no better reason than because wheat
! hos advanced. The rise Of > cents in wheat
during The last week had for substantial founAa-
ton the accounts of serious injury in several
Western States but as the season for spring seed
ins j, by no means over. and the acreage is likely
TO De- largely increased hy the recent advance
| i'm price, 1t is possible that sonc reaction may
/ occur. Cotton has risen nearly quarter. not
vitAstanding evidence in Ellsons report that the
supply for the rest Of the crop year is abundant
! oil advanced Is cents, and tin fraction. with
| lard little stronger. but pork unchanged Neither
/ ir,n. coal nor wool has improved in price, and in
general the advance Of prices has been mainly
confined 10 the articles in which there is active
speculation
Business facts continue intentionally con-
hiciing. ON side is aecumnlating evidence
that the volume Of trade is greater than ever;
On the other much 10 Justify belief that some Of
Tie LARGEST industries have trouble ahead. Over
production of ron with prices already too low for
many producers does not stop tho building Of more
furnaces and one firm Of contractors informs THE
Iron Age" Of eight more furnaces binding and
eleven others for which estimates have been sub
] ~ 90 in all he ~
according to The Engineering News forty
rinc miles Of railroad track have been Laid since
January against scvcnty-threc in the first quar-
Ter of last year. and tho estimate Of construction
is 900 miles for this year. against LAS las;
year The coal output to April } has been
| $50. G2l tons, against 7.322.2t4 last year and
prices have nevertheless been dcmoralizcd by ac-
cumulating stocks. In wool a better tone Is OBJ
| served az Boston. but not here at Philadclphia
and the quantity of cotton taken by Northern
spinners is more than 20 per cent below last
years for April thus far Wheat and corn arr
moving largely. exports from Atlantic ports for
two weeks OF April having been equal 10
1900 900 bushels wheat. -four included, against
| 100000 last year. and 100000 bushels
corn. against 1890, 600 last year. But receipts
Of cotton for the month thus far are 40 900 bales
and exports $4,000 bales less than for the same
time in 1850.
The chief cause OF present prospective dis
turbancc in the great industries is the strike for
eight hours, which has already arrested building
operations 20 great extent in many cities and
towns. and Mr.. Gompcrs, president of the American
Federation of Labor publicly declares that tie
organization will not scatter It's forces trade by
trade, city by city town by town, it will move
along over the whole industrial ncd7 In Chicago
| tI.o anti {
said TO number 10000, and as many raorc are
expected to strike at Boston. At the same time
strikes threatened by railroad hands at Pitts
burg and some other points. The number OF
workers involved by strikes in little over half OF
April is more than 10000, and last year for the
whole month it was not half MS great. As the
agitation spreads, i, becomes increasingly clear
that il offers this altcrnative-cthcr "a permanent
and large increase IN the cost Of producing things
and consequently in the cost of living or n serious
loss by the interruption of prolonged struggle.
Yet the business in prospect is enormous At
the principal cities the exchanges last week were
/ > per cent larger than for the previous year.
Earnings reported BY The Financial Chronicle -
on cighty-siX roads the first and ti.irty-two the
second week of April show an increase over last
wear of | 1.G2 per cent The East-bound tonnage
continues the largest recorded for the season.
while late shipments from Chicago also much
exceed last years Receipts Of wheat at Western
points in April have been 30 per cent over last
years and of corn 100000 bushels, against
ZOO 0OO Imports are also heavy, exceeding last
years for three weeks at Newfork by 22.3 per
cent But exports appear to be decreasing sharply
in two weeks from New-lork the loss has been
1873 per cent, about half in cotton. Monetary
difficulties have less prominence. The Govern
mcnt has taken in 81 100000 more than 1t has
paid out, but the banks have nevertheless gained
] over 100000 from the interior, and cheaper