Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-04-28
A BLUE PROSPECT
For Our Business Men in These Coed
Democratic Times.
Tis Whole Bottom Seems 10 HIVE Dropped
Out Of the Market.

Out OF the Market.
New YORK. April a7.-Brsd.treets to-
morrow will say: The general business siE-
uation throughout tie United States is less
favorable, as shown by reports from more
han so important distributing centres.
l specislly depressing influence is the
,trike Of III 900 bituminous coal and coke
operatives in ~ states. The accumulated
stocks of bitumipous is about the average
tor the season and is not likely to last be-
yond the middle of May.
Already the records of furnaces banking
ires, factories closing doors. lake vessels
laying up, mills throughout the Central and
central Western states shutting down. in
cons, quence of lack or prospective lack
Of fuel, is attracting attention. This, ap-
paren.ly, is the large.t single industrial
strike taking place in this country, and is
reported caused By the efforts of operators
10 recoup themselves from the results of
the ''insaue competition" by repeated cut
ting Of miners wages.
Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Duluth
are feeling the strike, and the effect on the
We ,sel interests On these and other lake
ports is very discouraging. Duluth ore
shipments are delayed for want of return
coal cargoes. and railroad companies have
begun the discharge their coal trsin en-
ployes. Complaining the situation is the
Effort of about &c, 900 miners to supply the
demand for COAL who will not strike.
The total number of Industrial and other
employees on strike now, v ith those idle by
reason of strikes, is 100000, of which
v,,sp nd
coke operatives. 10, 400 are textile workers,
1000 are in the pottery and kindred indus
tiles, 5000 among the building trades and
5000 are railroad employees.
Only two cities OF the 30 reporting in the
Central, Western and Northwestern state s
report material improvement in general
trade this week, Indianapolis and Kansas
City, and even ut those points the gain is
slight. The reverse of the picture shows
the results of the Industrial disturbances, of
strikes on the Great Northern Railway,
slackness of the country trade due to farm
ers being in the field, and the natural reac-
ton in trade cons. queDt on the sudden and
widespread expansion of the industrial dis
turbances, when trade was barely beginning
to improve.
The bank cleariogs throughout the United
States aggregate 1859 900 900 this week, q
decrease of about 5 per cent. from the
week before and falling off of 20 per cent.
compared with the fourth week of April of
last year. The decrease for the week from
last year of fifth, compared with the de-
creases in the preceding weeks of from a
tiird to nearly 40 per cent. from the same
weeks of a year ago, is explained as due to
a smaller mum Der of bank clearings of a
year ago, rather than material improve
ment in the clearings during the recent
weeks.
In the South the business situation is
marked by quiet, even dizziness, the ex-
ception being noted in better tone to trade
in the several lines at New Orleans. The
drought in the vegetable region near jack
sonville checked shipments and affected the
local money market. Atlanta furniture fac
tories have shut down for six weeks, and
other industrial establishments are working
on short time. At Providence the manu-
featuring jewelry industry remains dull,
with no prospect of improvement before
July.
The tendency of prices of leading staples
to advance during the fortnight is offset bv
an opposite movement. STEEL bilets are 25
cents higher due to heavy purchases and
prospective short supplies of fuel. Oats
have advanced more than two cents on a
peculative squeeze, and potatoes (West)
are higher ON short supplies.
With these exceptions and that Of pig
iron, for which the demand is stimulated
by the coal strikes. the price movements
have almost all been downward,
although the various staple provis-
ions, d, laine fleeces and rice are
firm and in fair demand. Sugar is off S
cent wheat | 2 cent, corn 8 cent, cotton
Lie cent, pork 25 cents, lard 5 cents, cof-
fe. cents. Nails are weak, selling at
the lowest price on record. At Western
POINTS the slack dem and for leather had eff
feet on quotations.
The heavy auction sale of finnels re-
suited ii prices en- an average OF 10 to 20
per cent off. Eastern cotton Mills
have been selling certain lines of
product at concessions in prices. ate mping
to reduce the wages of the operatives, win
strikes as a result.
There have been 2,727 ,0G0 bushels of
wheat flour included) exported from the
United States this week against 1857 900
the week a year ago. Wheat exports from
San Francisco have nearly ceased. Two
hundred and one failures were reported in
the United States this week, against lSG in
the wet year ago.