The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-11-17
BUSINESS IS INCREASING.
The Outlook is Encouraging, With In-
 creased Confidence.

The Outlook is Encouraging, With In-
 creased Confidence.
 New York. Nov. 16.-Bradstreets to- morrow will say: Perhaps the most conspicuous favorable feature of the general trade situation is found in nu- merous reports from merchants and manufacturers throughout the country of a disposition to regard the business outlook more encourag1ngly and with increased confidence in an early im- provement in trade. Even in many portions of the south and southwest advices from the interior are that the country merchant is doing an Increased volume of business, based on favorable weather and large crops. This Is the more striking in view.of continued re ports of the unfavorable effect on trade south of the low price of cotton. From Georgia 1t is learned that fertilizer fnanufacturers have arranged to cur tail their output next season in some instances as much as possible.
 In eastern centers manufacturers of glass, leather, lumber, cottons and wool ems, tobacco and agricultural imple- ments, as well as jobbers in general dry goods, hardware, groceries, heavy clothing and shoes, in numerous in- stances, report an increased volume of business, indications of this tendency being corroborated by bank clearings at seventy-flve cities amounting to $1,- 019,OOo,0O0, a gain of 7.6 per cent. as compared with the week before, Is per cent. heavier than in the like week last year and 22 per cent. less than in the second week of November, 1892. There are gains in volume of goods distrib- uted at Detroit, Chicago and Kansas City, notwithstanding unfavorable weather, cut-lumber prices and heavy receipts of live cattle. At St. Louis, Milwaukee and Portland there has been an increase in the volume of trade.
 Among southern cities. New Orleans reports relatively the greatest gain in volume of business, notably in gro- ceries. shoes and dry goods and im- provement is noted at Memphis and Jacksonville. Chattanooga reports trade duller and collections slower, due to cotton being withheld from market There is 8 fair movement of merchan. disc at Atlanta and Savannah, but at Augusta jobbfng is dull. Business in most lines is reported very quiet from Birmingham and Charleston and. ex- cept for holiday goods at Nashville Exports of wheat from the United States, both coasts, show sharp spurt followed the declining movement of a week ago, due largely to heavy clear ances from Portland, Ore, late last week, the grand total (flour included as wheaD amounting to 2,9O9, 900 bush- els, as compared with 2,689, 900 bushels the week before and 2,645,0Oo bushels in the week year ago.
 Returns to Bradstreets of gross and net earnings of ninety-five railroads for September and 1855 companies for the nine months ending September 31. show in comparison with the result of the same periods in 1893 losses in sep- tember A per cent. in gross and 12.3 per cent. in net earnings, while for the nine months the decrease in gross is 13.1 per cent. and in net 11.7 per cent. The number of business failures in the United States runs heavier this week the south reporting more, but with by far the greater proportion of failing trades being those with only $5,0OO or less capital. The total number fail- ing is 280 against>241 last week, and 370 in the week year ago.
 General trade reports throughout the Canadian dominion do not indicate a marked improvement in any line, ex- cept that prices for staples tend to advance in Quebec, though largely on account of higher rail rates, due to closing navigation. Unfayorable weather in Ontario has checked trade.