The Portland daily press., 1895-01-19


With Domestic Goods.
New York, January 1S.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say: With few exceptions the
commercial, financial and industrial feat
ures indicate only the relation of improve
| ment heretofore noted. Among the more
favorable phases of trade is found a some
what improved demand for bessemeI pig iron
and steel billets woolens. rubber goods,
shoes, hardware and iron. Print cloths
have gone down to the Lowest price on
reeord.'' .Iondon's wool sales opened at five
per cent off. which affected prices here un-
favorab bly,. One Southern pig iron company
is reported to have taken ar order undersS6,
and wooden and cotton goods manufacturers
in the Eastern Central and Middle States
declare that prices are SO low and broken
that there is practically no profit. Other
declines in prices this week are wheat and
corn one cent each; oats one-quarler cent,
pork 25 cent and lard Is cent. The only
important advances in addition to those
specified are lumber at some Western mar
kefs and coffee at one-eight cent. General
lines of cotton goods affected,by conditions
resulting in depressing prints. although
ginghams are more animated and the de-
mand for foreign woolen dress goods is
noticeable. Domestic woolen dress goods
remain quiet with little new business for
mills. Large quantities of foreign piece
dyedsserges and clay worsteds are here in
bond pointing to competition with cores
poLding domestic fabrics.
.Jobbers in South Carolina and Georgia
complain of slowness in mercantile collec-
tions and general trade throughout the
South as at the West and Northwest con-
tinues hampered by unreasonable weather.
Baltimore reports that southern merchants
continue to hold of and prices of almost all
staple lines are
LOWER THAN EVER"
The most favorable report from the South
is the usual semi-annual dividends declared
by cotton factories and the latter have fair
orders. ST. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City and
St. Paul are the only cities reporting any
noteworthy degree of Improvement in de-
mand but larger Missouri jobbing houses
are reporting a good distribution in staple
lines though at very low prices. Chicago
merchants judging from the demand
throughout the region tributary to that city
report the outlook for spring business as
fair. although there has been little gain this
week. Kansas City reports an improvement
In Q1StrlDutlOn OIL SOOuS GulS Week, anu Ie-
ceipts of satisfactory orders from travellers.
At Omaha, as we'll as at Minnea polls, a
moderate gain in the movement of goods is
reported.
Leading manufacturing industries and
larger Wholesale houses at business centres
report that extreme conservatism in pur-
chases will mark business during the spring.
Interior buyers are not inclined to antioi-
pate the wants more now than in the pre-
vous year. Prices generally continue very
near the lowest reported for many years;
and wages, with mere exceptions are as low
as they have peen at any time during or
since the panic of 1898. A reoeeming feature
is found in a moderately increased number
of industrial employees at work, compared
with year ago, but rates of compensation
have not advanced.
BANK CLEARINGS
throughout the United STATES for six bust
ness days ending January II, aggregate
S977, ,sO9, 900, or about six per cent less than
last weeK, and 81 per cent more than the
third week in January, 1894.
The total quantity of wheat (aour in
cluded as wheat. exported from both coasts
of the United States the past week. jumped
I'D sharply at New York, San Francisco and
Oregon, amounting altogether to 1864, coo
bushels as compared with 1882, 600 in the
week year ago.
The number of failures this week in the
United states is 87s against 4o4 in the
week year ago.
FRENCH POLITICS.