The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-04-13
DUN'S TRADE REVIEW.

A Quarterly Review of Commercial Fail.
ures Compared with Same Time Last
Year-Returns Showing the Conditions
OF Retail Trade in March Throughout
the Country, and the Distribution OF
Goods to Final Consumers.
NEW YORK, April 6.-R. G. Dun &
Co.'S weekly review of trade, issued to-
day, says:
Commercial failures in the first
quarter of 1895 numbered 3,Se2. with
liabilities of SAT, s13, 6s3, averaging
S12. 600 each. There were also thirty
FIVE bank failures with liabilities of
S12, 6S2, 537, or about $780, 900 each. IT
both were Jumped together as in other
reports they are the aggregate of liza
bilities here reported would be $780,
496, 900, that is, S13, $50, 900, Oh $50 per
cent. more than is shown in any other
report for the quarter. But Dun's re-
view not only gives commercial and
banking failures separately, but shows
that of the former 651 were of manu-
featuring concerns, with liabilities of
S20,2 Do, 991, averaging $50, 900 each,
while 3,107 were of trading concerns
with liabilities Of So, 979, S94, averag-
ing about $4,000 each.
The decrease in number of CONNER
cial failures, compared with the first
quarter of last year, is but Ill per
cent, while the decrease in liabilities
is S16, 300, 900, or 25.4 per cent. About
80 per cent. in manufacturing and 20
per cent. in trading. The instructive
ness of the report and its value as an
encouragement are largely due to the
separation of banking failures, in
which the liabilities were S12, 6s2, 537,
against only So, 4s2, 542 last year.
Returns of the highest Importance
given this week show the condition of
retail trade in March throughout the
country, and the distribution of goods
to final consumers, in comparison with
the same months in 1894 and 1898,
while the returns fully given on other
pages cannot be condensed into a sim
gle comparison. ard in view of widely
differing conditions in different sec
tions and branches, mightin that form
be the less useful, there is gratifying
evidence hat in most trades and dis
tricts marked improvement over 1894
is realized, though on the whole
Everywhere, also, the occurrence of
Easter in March last year, but
in April this year, is found to
account fer much difference in the
volume of retail trade, especially in
dry goods and millinery; and the Sc
we're weather and backwardness of the
season also retarded recovery. While
the volume of trade, in quantities of
goods sold, is, nevertheless, larger
than last year, but. on the whole,
smaller than in 1898, the main differ
ence, in comparison with 1893, is
found in the general decline of prices,
which makes trade in value smaller,
even where it is clearly as large or
larger in quantity.
wholesale trade are also encouraging.
There is not only a hopeful spirit, but
real gain in business, though not
equally distributed geographically or
as to branches of trade.
Instructive comparisons of daily av-
erages by months show that all Sec
tions have been gaining, but the east
rather more than others.
Railroad earnings in March were
only l per cent. larger than last year.
and Is per cent. less than in 1898,
which is scarcely better than the re-
port for February or January, but the
loss is mainly on granger and SOUTH
western roads, while eastern roads
show a handsome gain. The best news
from the industries is that labor
troubles have been settled or avoided,
Mahoning iron and eastern wooden
mills being again in active operation.
Next in Importance is the demand
for many manufactured products.
which gives greater reason to hope
that recent advances from the bottom
may prove successful. Following the
rise in coke, there have been this week
sales of {, 1000. 900 ton lake ore at about
13 per cent. advance, and finished
products are no longer inactive, Besse-
mer rising to S1O.65, gray forge to
S9.25, common bar to % cents, struc-
tural angles to S1.O5, and plates 81 per
ton.
The cotton manufacture, stimulat ted
by the rise in raw cotton, goes on gain.
ing, though cotton has halted. Bet
ter demand appears for many quail
ties, and in some slight advances in
prices.
Sales of wool reflect the renewed
confidence of manufacturers as strikes
are out of the way, for 6,675, 100 pounds
were sold last week, against 4,64S, 200
for the same week last year. No rise
in prices is seen or expected in view of
the heavy sales and receipts of for
eign wool.
Stocks have made scarcely any ad-
vance, doubt about coal settlements
having weakened Jersey Central 81
cents and the closing of Havemeyef
and Spreckel's refineries having weak
ened sugar some.
Speculation in products has been
dull and sales of cotton have fallen to