The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-25
CONDITION OF BUSINESS.
Bradstreets Finds That There is an Im-
 proyement in Trade.

Serious industrial disturbances inNew
 England. drouth in ce. oo-l and far
 western states curtailin. carly all
 staple crops. and a disp, Son In all
 lines to continue to buy Iec, nearby
 wants only, fail ti greatly in nee gen
 erai trade throughout the c' ry, the
 trend of which Is toward n CT i'm
 provement. Northwestern st- east
 of the Missouri and the Atla1 2 and
 Gulf coast southern states reI 'krela-
 lively greater gains in volumeNw Sraf-
 fic and in the spread of that better feel
 ing and confidence in larger volume
 of business in the fall on which im-
 provement in business depends.
 Prominent among evidences of expan-
 sion in the general trade in this weeks
 bank clearings totals $S20,0OO,Ooo.
 gain over last week of about per cent,
 and over the like total one year ago,
 when clearings got down to about low
 water mark, the increase Is 20 per cent.
 But compared with the total in the like
 week two years ago. this weeks aggre-
 gate clearings show a decrease of IS
 per cent. It is also worth noting as a sign of the business movement that
 every city's clearings total for the week is larger than a year ago except one. Gains in clearings at whiskey markets, Louisville, Cincinnati, Paris and Lexington, have been expanded extraordinarily. The greatest appar- ent increase in volume of business dur ing the week is at St. Louis. Baltimore, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and San Francisco.
 At larger eastern cities there Is evil dence of an increased confidence that the autumn will bring largely aug mented demand in nearly all staple lines, but Baltimore is the only city in this group announcing a decided inn provement, southern buyers having placed good orders there for dry goods, notions. millinery and shoes. Slight gains are reported only in petroleum and shoes at Philadelphia, and in cheaper grades of footwear and in the securities market at Boston. Sales of wool at the latter point have fallen off sharply, and wool importers and deal CTS having the raw product in store in bond find transactions checked be- cause of doubt whether it will be ad- mitted free or not under the new tariff. Renewed strength in the eastern states in the cotton goods market may hardly be regarded as an evidence of relation of demand to supply, it being based on the lockout and strike of mill sem- v>1o yaif p,,ff o1o find trade features to report other than that merchants anticipate 8 revival of in the fall. Iron and steel prices in western Pennsylvania have tended downward within week, pro- duction having grown steadily in ad- vance of demand.
 At Cleveland groceries are most act i've, and the outlook for freight rates is better, which is true at Duluth as well. The least encouraging report is from Cincinnati. At Louisville, even though drought threatens tobacco, de- mand for dry goods and groceries are
 larger, as is true also at Detroit. From Chicago word is received of heavier mail order and personal buying of dry goods, clothing, shoes, hardware and
 ron, from Indiana, Illinois, part of Iowa and northwestern states. Orders from west of Missouri river are light, owing to unfavorable crop prospects. Drouth is said to have curtailed the illinois butter and cheese yield, and short supplies of hogs west result in the down of packing houses in Iowa and Nebraska. Southern pur- ,hases at St. Louis continue heavy, the 'eature of the week, more than offset ing decreased western purchases due o drouth. Rains have helped pasture and in Kansas and Iowa, but not the 7ield of corn. Kansas City trade is ,nly of fair volume, and that at Omaha s quiet. The moderate gain at Mill vaukee and the striking improvement n general trade at St. Paul and Minne- polls continue, shipments from the lat CT point being quite satisfactory. Port | and, Oregon, reports fall trade good | md the Columbia river salmon pack | IS 36,O0O cases larger than last year. 1t San Francisco trade is better than or six months past, chiefly due to 8 ;ain in volume of exports in all di- ections. ,.." "-,.
 General trade at southern cities be- | rays no change within week in vol | me of transactions or demand, busi- | less on the whole being relatively bet CT than in some other portions of the | ountry. There is a better request for | umber at Charleston, for hardware | nd machinery at Augusta, rosin at | and whiskey at Nashville. | early movement of cotton 5 expected to stimulate trade in all l taple lines. Jobbers at Birmingham, Ala., report heavier August trade so ar than year ago, and the crop out ook in Louisiana Is expected to help usiness interests there generally. Tex s coast region crops are said to have cen damaged by excessive rains.
 Attempts of New Bedford and Fall iver manufacturers to reduce wages ave caused strikes and lock-outs af- ecting nearly 30,000 employees. operat- lg fully 3,000.0 spindles, over half the otton spinning capacity of the coun- y. Print cloths have advanced 3-8 per ent as result and the prospect seems , be for a months suspension of opera ons, with heavy loss to employers and mployed. Exports of wheat (fiour in-
 uded as wheaD both coasts, this week, X days, equal 3,1S2, 100 bushels against
 979,O00 bushels last week, 3,417,OO0 ushels week before last, and as com ared with 4. 960.00O bushels in the lird week of August one year ago. wo years ago the weeks foreign ship
 ents amounted to 46O6,000 bushels: lree years ago they were 6.34s, 900 bush-