The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-05-04
OUTLOOK FRIGHTENING.
BUSINESS ~ BITTER CONDITION
THAN FOR TWO YEARS PAST.
The Chief Obstacle 10 the Anxiety of Many
70 Pluck Fruit Before 81 10 Ripe.
The Wage Trouble.

NEW YORK. May 3.-R. G.. Dun &
Compsny's weekly review OF trade to-
morrow will say:
Business begins May in better condi-
| ton than at any other time since the
breakdown in May, 1888. Smaller IN
volume than then. it Is not now shrink
| ing but eniarging. The chief obstacle
TO 4 more complete recovery Is The anx-
iety of many to pluck fruit before It is
ripe. Holders Of some staples have lifted
| them so far as 10 prevent their
marketing: consumption OF materials in
some branches Is checked by advances
| which cannot be realized FOR finished
| products Workers in some Industries
are demanding wages that cannot be
j paid out of any business IN sight. In
/ spite OF labor troubles and speculative ex-
! cesses. the outlook br.shtens' money
markets continue healthy and with
heavy sales on railway bonds abroad. the
deficiency i'm pubic revenue OF Ss'i2,Si0
| in April causes no apprehension. De-
mands for fun restoration or wages TO
the level Of 1892 have closed many wool
en- mills. and threatens 10 close others
employing about 800 hands at Oiney-
vile and about providence. and nave
| arrested work at other mh@ Of some
| importance.
Similar demands are made fin the cot
| ton mills Of Massachusetts. Exaggerated
| accounts Of recovery I'm business. so Of
ten published and sometimes prompted
by manufacturers themselves. made II
not entirely strange II operative ran 70
see that the business IN the great indus
tries IS without profit, and much OF the
working force Is still unemployed.
The speculative fever grows more fierce
rs IS natural when business starts up
with the price at extreme low points and
-e price OF staples have gone above
the exporting points.
rHE IRON ASD COAL TRADE.
The stock at New Castle. Pa. is now
| over-stlffened by Bessemcr pic, so that
s0.75 was quoted az pittsburg, and the
| closing of a Wheeling mill stifoned bill
lets. while southern makers have nomi-
nallv advanced their prices, though sales
have been made here under $40 for NO. 2.
Additional contacts TOR structure WORK
| here and at Chicago. sales or l.Vo tons
OF rails AZ the East better demand for
| wire and its products, ana Tor Plates ana
| sheets. are the encouraging features thls
week Cotton ties are shade higher at
| .l
| and cut nails, at 20 cents by the car
load. are less demoralized. Consumption
does not vet equal the capacity of works
| or the OUTPUT of pig but improves Late
in the week important strikes I'm the iron
works about Pittsburg threatened serious
disturbances.
Another heavy decrease Of 1861 tons
I'm the output Of coke makes the shrink
age near - per cent. IN two weeks, ana
furnace Is offered al Sl.lO.
Anthracite coal agents agreed TO mine
only three days of the week I'm May
but prices are unchanged. Window-slass
makers have adopted a new scale LOT
the two lower brackets. nifty cents higher
than before.
The remarkable rise in leather con-
tinues. and yet shipments OF boots and
shoes from Boston for April were slight
~ larger than two years ago or ever
before. and most Of the works have orders
for three or four months production az
a material advance in prices The chiet
embarrassment is uncertainty as 10 the
future price Of leather. The rise in prices
Of cotton goods also continues. The wool
on year ends with the lowest prices yet
known.
Failures i'm twenty-five days Of ATril
showed liabilities of S9.536@O. OF which
|
s5705,60O Of trading concerns. Last year
IN four weeks ending April 10Th liabilities
were SS,S2GS62, OF which $3.50 30 were Of
manufacturing and S4,67.6s9 Of trading
concerns The weeks failures are 23l I'M
the United States, against Z5 last year,
and "a in Canada, against 80 last year.
INCREASE IN THE VOLUME OF BUSINESS.
NEW YORK. May 5.-Brids-rests to-
| m prov MAJ itl. VIII saw
| The manifest Improvement in many
lines OF general trade has resulted IN AN
increase in the volume oI business not.
| withstandng the impending idleness ol
800 Rhode Island worsted-mill operatives
and many in other industrial lines.
| Industrial unrest now takes the form
OF striking Tor higher vases ms WEEK
about 5000 industrial employees, princi-
! pally coal miners and cotton AMI WOODEN
| mill employees, have struck, ana the ten
dency does not seem 10 be checked. About
| 3 100 people are reported TO have obtained
| higher wages without striking
April bank clearingi reflect improve
| demand for staples ana enlarged sptcuha
ton in stocks and bonds wheat petto
leum and cotton. IN monthly agsresate
| which Is, with two exceptions, me la Srs
reuorted since June 1893 Total Apri
| clearings at siNty-one cities are $780,
9s9 a gain over 1884 or IA per cent, ahp
over March. this year, OF 90 per cent
The increase over February is - per cent
Three-fourihs of all the cities reporuni
| show increases over April, 1875, Specia
Improvement beint noted In the eastern
and middle states. and IN The South anl
Southwest The far western group dloh'
shows a decrease Nashville and calves
ION report some little Improvement In th'
volume of business. but they prove th'
exceptions among southern cities Agrl
cultural conditions in Tennessee are sa4l
-, be fa,-orable In Texas the coast c0un
trv sin needs rain AT Chattanooga anC
Augusta the weeks business has been o
somewhat smaller volume although "A
he former some OF the manufacture
industries are better employed than on'
YEAR 40. There is only fair business
FIN cotton goods and prices remain iirm.
No gain IS looked for until the demand
| FOR fail supplies becomes general.