St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-02
NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD.
BUSINESS THE PAST WEEK ABOUT A
STAND-OFF.
PLENTY OF MONEY IN SIGHT.
Rates Low and the Commercial
Demand Small, but the De-
mand for Speculative Purposes
on the Increase-VoIume of
Trade Increasing. but Not as
Much as Expected.

NEW YORK, Dec. 1.-R. G.. Dun's
weekly review tomorrow will say: 1t
cannot be said that business during the
past week has grown better or worse.
For some days the gain in demand and
in transactions. which had been pre-
viously noticed, evidently continued.
But afterwards tariff uncertainties were
thought to affect some branches of busi-
ness, and whatever the causes, the state
of trade was less clear. Money was
everywhere abundant, with rates
comparatively low. and the CONNER
clal demand was remarkably small,
while the demand Tor speculative uses
appears to be increasing. The volume
of trade has been increasing, and yet
not as much as was expected, the
change for last week showing decrease
OF 36.5 per cent compared with last
year, in part because the week covers
only five business days against six last
year. For two weeks, covering the
same working days, the decrease has
been 23.5 per cent. The railroad earn
ings for the latest week of November
show larger decrease than for either OF
the preceding weeks, but i'll freight
traffic alone the business was about the
same as for the first half of the month.
Wheat is slightly stronger, Western
receipts being considerably smaller
than in recent weeks, though exports
are also remarkably small. Corn is un-
changed in price, with heavy Western
| receipts and large exports. Pork and
| hog products are practically unchanged,
| as well as oil. Cotton is a Shade lower.
as receipts from the plantations con-
| tinue to exceed those OF last year, in
| spite Of the very positive estimates of
| short yield, aud the average Of gueSSeS
| by operators in the New Orleans eX-
| change Is over 100000 bales greater
| than the government estimate. The
| stocks of American cotton III sight are
| again so large that they retard any rise
in pllces. At present the iron
| industry shows no gain OH the
| whole, with the demand for pig iron
not urgent and Bessemer iron a little
| lower at Pittsburg. with no sales
OF rails at the combination price, and
| with slightly lower prices for some tin-
| iShed products, and rather Scanty de-
| mand for any. 1t is questionable
whether the working force employed is
larger than it was week ago. The
cotton manufacture enjoys decided
lm prOV6nl6nt, because the market was
i'll absolute need of more goods, but
| there Is hardly any quotable change in
| prices. The sales of wool are again
i larger than for the same week last year,
amounting 10 6,619,S00 pounds, against
| 4.S54 800 pounds last year, but part of
tile transactions are said to be Specu-
lative III their nature, being based on
| the theory that whatever may happen
later. the necessities OF the country will
compel a large consumption of wool
| within the next few months.
i In boots and shoes no increase in the
working force is seen. and while East
ern shipments are only about per cent
less than a year ago, the greater pro-
portion OF the works have orders only
for part OF their capacity.
Apparently this country is paying off
with It's surplus products loans amount
ing to many millions, which were effect
ed in Europe to avert great disasters
last summer. Hence it is that the con-
dItion of the treasury commands atten-
tlOn with its total cash reserve down to
500, ,000,U and its available gold only
So. .000.0 600.
Failures during the past week num-
bered 27S. against 1856 tor the same week
last year, and in Canada 4S, against SO
last year. Only four of the weeks
failures were of liabilities exceeding
+ 100000. The returns of liabilities for
the preceding week show large in
crease compared with the previous
week, and after deducting one large
failure at Denver, of street railway,
the increase in all sections is heavy
and the aggregate of liabilities is nearly
double that of the preceding week.