St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-09-25
WHEAT Is TOO LOW,
And Farmers Ara Holding
Their Grain for Better
Prices.
The Result Is to Tighten D p
collections With the job
bePs.
But st. Paul Is Still Reach
ing Out for New Ter
ritory,
And New Business Swells the
Total Volume of
Trade.

While the wholesale merchants and
manufacturers report that their sales
are as large. and. in many cases, much
larger, than those Of last year, some OF
them are having slower collections at
present than they expected. This is
owing principally to the comparatively
low prices for wheat-the farmers
not caring to part with their crop at the
/ figures now Tered in the country. Ever
since the presentation 10 congress OF
the Washburn anti-option bill the prices
Of wheat have declined steadily, as pre-
/ dieted by the GLOBE last January, I'M
til now The prices for September and
| December. in Chicago, are 2115 cents
/ lower per bushel than they were one
! year ago.
Much of the grain has been threshed.
! but it is not being moved by the rail-
roads in anything like the volume that
was carried one year ago, and railway
1 freight agents begin to recognize the
fact that in view of the prosperous con-
dition of the Northwest, the farmers
are now better able 10 await better mar
ketS than they ever were before, aud
that they have great incentive for
hanging on TO the grain when the bids
for it are so low.
The merchants are not disposed to
look upon slow collections in some lines
Of trade as really unfavOrable feature,
Tor they know that the Northwest has a
reasonably good crop, is in 4 sound con-
dition. has its mortgages and old ac-
counts well squared. and will naturally
be on a good footing, financially, at the
close of the season. The crop reports
now are much better than they were at
the beginning of harvest, and wheat
losses have not been general, having
only occurred in spots, and in compare
lively few districts.
A busy, Weil-to-dO appearance pre-
walls among the wholesale merchants of
st. Paul. They are pleasant and court
eOus TO the reporter, but they have not
The time 10 give lengthy details Of their
business. In most of the houses their
forces are working day and night to
keep up with their orders. and the same
is true OF some Of the manufacturing eS-
adjustments.
The wholesale grocors are enjoying
good collections and notable increase
in trade. The farmers pay first for the
necesSaries Thus the harness men, gro
GERS, hardware men. druggists, ma
chlnery men, butchers and fuel dealers
secure tie first fruits OF the season, and
jewelers., dry goods men, furrlers and
printers have their trades and settle
ments later. As noted above. there is
no anxiety felt by the wholesalers in
these lines, for they know that the bust
ness will pan out" out satisfactorily in
the ''lohg run"
Mercantile Reports.
At mercantile agency of R. G.
Dim & Co the rpDOrts credit North and
South Dakota with good average crops,
and Minnesota farmers i'll good financial
condition. even though in some spots
the yields were light. The trade IN
hardware is very good; III groceries,
harness and drugs excellent. Collec-.
tons slow in some lines, but the pros
poets for the rest OF the year are first
class.
Very substantial new buildings are
being erected in the wholesale district
for two boot and shoe manufacturing
concerns. The cigar men are having
large sales. The banks report an
abundance of money on hand for trade
requirements. The
Expressions of Opinion
ran as follows:
II. p. Upham, President First Ma
tiOnal Bank don't count the clearings
as showing very much. but they have
been 10 TO 20 per cent larger than they
were last year. We have begun TO feel
the beneficial effects of the crops of
1891, and this years crops are generally
very fair. The wholesalers are doing
more business than ever; their clerks
have to work nights to keep up with the
trade. The prospects for this fall are
exceedingly good.