The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-26
BUYING FAR FROM BRISK.
Times in Commercial and Industrial
Circles Still Dull.

NAANANA 1NAAA NNAAa
/ No Improvement in Prospect During
/ the Summer Months--Rain Storms
| Aid in Curtailing Business Nearly
! Everywhere East of the Mississippi
| During the Past Week The Present
Supply of Soft Coal at the Leading
Centers Sufficient to Last Sixty
| Days.
! New York, May Bradstreet's to-
morrow viii say The unfavorable con
dition prevailing in commercial and in
dustrial circles throughout the country,
| together with the prospect for no mate
rial improvement during the summer,
marks the present season as probably the
dullest relatively for twenty years. At
no time since the panic and business de
preston manifested themselves last year
have reports as to the volume of sales of
merchandise, the manufacture of staple
goods and the indisposition of merchants
generally to buy, except for absolutely
immediate wants, been so pronounced and
so general throughout the country as dur
ing the past few weeks.
Rain storms have exercised an I'M
favorable influence on business this week
at almost all points east of the Missis-
sippi river. No one of the larger eastern
cities rerorts an improvement in any line,
with the exception of the demand for
shoes at Boston and Philadelphia. All
business has fallen off at Pittsburg. At
Buffalo the situation is the dullest for
years and Baltimore travellers report
country merchants not buying anything
except to meet actual sales to customers.
Eastern wooden and cotton goods mills re-
port the conditions and outlook quite I'M
| favorable.
NOT SHORT ON COAL.
DAILY newspaper press reports of a
soft coal famine this week and a shut
down of general manufacturing opera
! tions prove without foundation Present
supplies of coal at leading eastern, cen
trail, western and lake cities will last from
ten to sixty days. Coal from Kentucky
| and West Virginia mines and from other
sources and substtutiOns of anthracite,
oil, wood and natural gas for fuel, have
prevented the famine anticipated. The
total number of industrial employees idle
as a result of the coal scarcity is placed
at $4,000, and the total number idle owing
to the strike, which now appears likely to
fail, is 210,000
AN encouraging industrial feature is
the probable settlement of next season s
iron and steel wage scale without strike
"Advices from the south present con-
tinuous report of excessive dullness,
except that there are gains in sales of
plantation supplies at Memphis, advanc-
ing prices for naval stores at Savannah,
and some activity in fruits at Mobile.
Jacksonville reports that vegetables
need rain badly, and Augusta that the
crops are damaged by cold, and the trade
outlook is less favorable"
BUSINESS ON A VACATION
R. G. Dun & Co.'S weekly review of
trade will say tomorrow: Storms and
foods, prolonged strikes and large ex-
ports of gold, have done their
utmost this week to give bust
ness a vacation. But the wants
unsatisfed during the past year, belated
and much lessened, and yet greater than
those of any other nation, have caused a
volume of trade quite large for he'seasou.
while the iron industry, especially,
and many others to some extent, have
been restricted by scarcity of coal and
coke, the number of works resuming has
been greater than the number stopping
from other causes. But it is a symptom
not to be overlooked that the demand for
manufactured products, instead of in
creasing, appears for the moment, rather
smaller than before, and indifference of
buyers is shown in the cancellation of or
ders hitherto given. IL is a waiting sea-
son, but the disposition to wait is this
year much intensified.
sHRINKAGE IN ORDERS
Works in operation are fairly busy in
closing up orders for belat ed spring de-
mand, but there is even more shirkage in
orders for the future than was noticed
last year as the precursor of coming dull
ness. There appears no increased de-
mand for cotton goods, and manufactur-
ers have agreed that the accumulation of
print cloths, which now sell at 80 cents
for CAS- must presently be checked by sus-
pending production. Exchanges through
clearing houses compare favorably for the
week, being only 1871 per cent. smaller
than last year.
Failures diminish in Importance, the
amount of liabilities for the third week
in May being only 81 204, l39 and for three
weeks s., S36, 972, of which s., 642, 6S7 were
of manufacturing and s., 005, 007 of trading
| concerns. The number of failures re
ported this week is 1873 in the United
States against $50 last year, and in
Canada % against IA last year. and again
there are noted scarcely any of i'm
DOrtanCen