Le MeschaceÌbeÌ. [volume] ([Lucy] La.) 1853-1942, 1895-02-16
DUN'S COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
The Sluice Gates of the Yellow Sea Closed
by the Expectation of Bond Sales-No
Advance an the Prices of Manufa rtured
Products and But Little in Cereals
Stocks a Little uetter-RaiIroad Earn

| Products and But Little in Cereals
| Stocks Little Better-RaiIroad Earn
| ings-Eailures.
| New YORK. Feb. Or. G. Dun s.
Co S weekly review of trade, issued to-
day, says:
A whole week, the confident expec-
| tation of The sale of bonds. has kept
| back exports of gold. Withdrawals
from the treasury amounted to about
81, ZOO, 900, but We're mainly for domestic
| purposes. No bond bill has passed or
| is likely to pass congress, aud IN the
| two months ending with February 1,
the treasury actually lost S67 900, 600
| in gold, of which So, 400, 900 went
| into circulation and SET, 800, 900, besides
| the product of the mines, went abroad.
How to arrest this outgo in either di-
| rection is q problem which another is
sue Of bonds may possibly solve.
1t is hoped that the negotiations with
| foreign bankers may secure some i'm
provement, though it is clear tliat
sales of securities here will have
| the same effect as if the bonds
were placed in this country, and they
may not be stopped by the new trans
actions. In other respects the do
mestic money market is decidedly en-
couraging, with fairly hopeful in
crease in transactions of commercial
pa per, though receipts of money from
! the interior continue surprisingly
| large for the season. The condition
OF industries, if not definitely better,
at least presents some points of en-
couragement.
No advance in the prices of manu-
factured products Indicates a better
demand. On the contrary. iron and
l-steel products have slightly declined
for the week and for the month,
and in comparison with prices of Octo-
ber, 1890, are but 81. per cent, against
54.S per cent. January 1. During the
week the demand has been checked by
the higher prices at Pittsburgh, SO
that bessemer iron receded little,
while structural products, in spite of
some large contracts. are shade
lower.
At Chicago things are brighter, pig
iron is in better demand and fair or
ders are coming in for bar; but struc-
tural orders are delayed by severe
weather. Tin has been lifted shade
by speculation, and lead is steady, but
copper is slow of sale, and weak at 9.s
cents for lake.
The difficulty in boots and shoes has
not been removed. Although deliver
les on past contracts are larger than in
any previous year, since January 1. not
many are running to their full capacity
and orders are restricted in some
grades.
In cotton goods there has been a re-
duction in some brown sheetings,
while other qualities are moving fairly
at unchanged prices. A large auction
sale of silks resulted in prices about 10
per cent. below the recent market
or September prices. In woolens the
openings of the finer grades for the
heavyweight season have brought
some increase in business, but not at
satisfactory prices.
Sales of wool thus far this year have
been 17,3os,665 pounds domestic,
against 2,52l, 800 last year, but of for
eign 11,30s,550 against 1,594.30 last
year. 1t is noticeable that sales of
foreign wool have not been materially
larger this year. without duties, than
they We're in the same weeks of 1898 or
1892.
No improvement in the prices of
farm products has resulted from the
somewhat active speculation during
the week, wheat being only half cent
higher than week ago. with western
receipts only 792,971 bushels, against
2,240.256 last year, while exports have
been little smaller. Receipts of corn
have been small, but prices have
slightly advanced. Prices of cotton are
unchanged, although the receipts con-
tinue unusually large for the season.
The market for cotton goods does not
appear to have improved abroad, as it
does not here.
Speculation in stocks has a little
more than recovered from the decline
early in the week, and railway stocks
closed % cents lower with the week.
Railroad earnings show slight i'm
provement for January, as far as they
have been reported, amounting to "a
per cent, compared with last year, but
are 1873 per cent. smaller than in 1898.
Returns from Indianapolis and st.
Louis both show an : increase
of movement. The most inn
portant event is the appointing
of receivers for the Norfolk & West
ern, road of l, ,566 miles, with $50, ,o72,-
922 Indebtedness and s57, 500. 900 stock
While this has been in measure ex--
pected. it is likely to have some effect
upon foreign holdings of American
stocks. Since the sales of bonds to
foreign bankers tend to increase sales
by foreigners of American railway Sc
curities. this may be important.
The failures reported for the month
of January show an aggregate of Sl5,-
1Os.a92 liabilities, against 500, s43, ,02s
last year, and in manufacturing only
So, 72s, 5s7, against 81, $50, Ills last year,
while in trading the liabilities were
s11,o55, 105. against s17,234,5s7 last
year.
The remarkably large decrease in
manufacturing failures deserves the
more attention, because prices of man.
ufactured products have SO greatly de-
clined during the year, and the output
has been greatly reduced.
Failures for the past two weeks have
been PSI in the United States, against
3sa last year; and So in Canada, against