The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-08-17
MANUFACTURERS VERY BUSY.
An Unusual Condition OF Affairs for
August-The Iron Boom.


will say in their review of trade tomor-
row: A belated season and a frozen May
set everything back. The heavy business
which ought TO have been done in May
and June was pushed into July. so that
the midsummer decline due in July comes
in August, and 1t is not surprising to find
the shrinkage from July TO August rather
more conspicuous than usual The dis
appointing crop reports of last Saturday,
though evidently distrusted, lessen conf
dence in regard 10 the future of trade,
even while some spectators gain by
them. Back of all doubts is the fact that
the industries are doing better than any
body could have expected. The output OF
pig iron August was ,525 tons weekly.
or I76. 505 BY another report. in either case
close TO the largest output i'm 1898. Tn
sold stocks were S 900 tons smaller. the
steel companies having made heavy pur-
Chases In advance of needs but the actlI-
al consumption is large. and prices rise
In the face of tho increasing output. Bes-
semer iron is sl415 at Pittsburg. and
plates have advanced 81 per ton. The sales
of steel rails in 1855 to August l were S20,-
600 tons. and the deliveries $4,000 Wages
In this industry have been generally adj
vanced. and strikes are few. Minor met
ais changed little though large sales lift
cd Lake copper to 12k cents.
Textile imports have been very heavy
and advances in cotton goods 10 some eX-
tent check buying. while FAN River spin
ners are organizing for restoration of the
wages paid before the panic. The sales
of wool were e.3ls.eoo domestic and 5.279.-
900 foreign this month. against la,s70,s50
domestic and 1,s02.50o foreign last year,
and II $50 500 domestic and 4.5se.500 foreign
in 1892 indicating that the domestic wool
is largely held for speculation at prices
about cent higher than manufacturers
feel able to pay.
Failures for the week have been 1876 in
the United States. against 225 last year.
and 81 in Canada, against - last year.
Bradstreet's tomorrow viii say: The
midsummer quietness is more conspicuous
than a week ago, less so in industrials
than in commercial lines. As result
the large manufacturing industries are
exceptionally busy and the demand for
iron and steel still continues. Gross and
net railroad earnings returns for the first
half of the present year show a very sat
isfactory aggregate gain over last year.
a period of great coal and railroad strikes
and Of fina ncial and industrial depression
and derangement. The best showingS in
cIearines are made by the Central and
Western and Eastern and Southwestern
roads. while the only decreases noted are
in the Granger and Southern roads. job
hers In the more important staple lines at
Chicago. St. Louis. Kansas City. Omaha,
Milwaukee and Minneapolis report an inn
proved demand. The outlook at all those
points is for an active fall business Kan
sas City dealers do not regard early
advance IN prices OF live stock as prob
able At Omaha country merchants are
said to he buying more freely than in for
mer years
At San Francisco leading commercial
lines are quietor. Hop picking is about to
begin on tho Coast. With the outlook OF
only Il moderate crop. The wheat crop
prospect in California Is rather less IA
vorable Washington crong are good. Ia
coma reports easier collections lumber
SHIPMENTS about equal 20 those I'm the pre-
ceding months and the receipt Of 1000
tons of freight this weef from the orient
Portland wires that the spring salmon
catch on the Columbia is large Through
out the Southern states general trade re-
mains quiet.
Exports Of wheat. -four included as
wheat both coasts Of the United States.
have been slowly Increasing for four
weeks PAST. This week they amount TO
$4,000 bushels. against $50 000 last week.
. s79 nm in the same week year ago, e.
10 Goa bushels In the second week OF Au-
gust. lSQ3 $3.50 90 in 1892. and Sol co in
1891 Exports of wheat and -four during
the seven weeks Of the new cereal wear
amount in round numbers TO l20oo 600
bushels In the like period one year ago
the total exports was 100000 bushels
Two years ago il was 100000 bushels