The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-02
BUSINESS STAGNATED
Dun & Co.'s Can Note No Improve
ment During the Past Week.
Tariff Uncertainty Ascribed as the Cause
for the Majority of the Commercial
IlIs-Failures 293.

NEW YORK, Dec. 1-R- G. Dun & Co.'S
weekly review of trade viii say: IL cannot
be said that during the week business has
grown better or worse. For some days the
gain in demand and in transactions which
had been previously noticed evidently con-
tinued. But afterwards tariff uncertainties
were thought to affect some branches OF
business and the state OF trade was less
clear. Monday was abundant with rates
comparatively low, and the commercial de-
mand was remarkably small. while the de-
mand for speculative uses appeared TO be
increasing. The volume OF business has been
small, increasing. and not yet as much as
was expected, the changes for last week
showing a decrease OF $50 per cent. COM
pared with last year. in part because the
week covers only five business days against
six last year. For two weeks. covering thu
same working days, the decrease has been
1913 per cent. The railroad earnings for the
last week Of November show a larger de-
crease than for either or the preceding
weeks, but in freight traffic alone the BUSH
ness was about the same as for the first
half of the month. Wheat is slightly strong
er, Western receipts being considerably
smaller thar in recent weeks, though ex-
ports are also remarkably small. Corn In
unchanged 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 continue to exceed
those of last year, in spite OF the very pos
tive estimates Of a short yield. and the
average OF guesses by operators in the New
Orleans exchange is over 100000 bales great
er than the government estimate. The
stock OF American cotton in sight is again
so large that it retards any rise in prices.
At present the iron industry shows 40
gain on 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 finished
products, and a rather scanty demand for
any. 1t Is questionable whether the work.
ing force employed Is larger than IL was a
week ago. The cotton manufactures en-
joys a decided Improvement because the
market is in absolute need OF more goods,
but there is hardly any quotable change in
prices. The sales of wool are again larger
than for the same week last year. amounts
ing to 6,6l9,S 300 pounds, against 4.354.50
pounds last year. but part Of the trans
actions are said to be speculative in theip
whatever may happen later the neces-
sites OF the country Will compel a larger
consumption OF wool within the next few
months. In boots and shoes no increase In
the working force is seen, and while East-
ern shipments are only about 9-Der cent
of the works have orders for only part of
their capacity. Apparently the country Is
paving off with its surplus products loans
amounting to many millions which were
effected in Europe TO avert great disasters
last summer Hence IL is that the con-
dition of the treasury demands attention
with its total cash reserve down TO $780,
100000 and its available gold only $50 00,0 00.
Failures during. the past week were 29S
against 236 for the same week last year,
and in Canada forty-eight, against thirty
three last year. Only four were OF liabili-
ties exceeding $1O0, 600. The returns OF
liabilities for the preceding week show a
large increase compared with the previous
week, and after deducting one large fall
ure at Denver of a street railway the in
crease in all sections is heavy and the
aggregation OF liabilities is nearly doubls
that of the nrQcedinc one