The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-23
BUSINESS GROWING BETTER.
MONEY IN MORE ACTIVE DEMAND
AT EVERY POINT.

The Improvement Particularly No
ticeabIe in the Larger cities in
the East and West-Savannah
One of the Three Southern Cities
showing nm Increase I'm the Vol
ume of Business-The Number OF
Men at work Increasing.
New York, March 22-Bradstreets to-
morrow will say: 'The Improvement in
general trade Is more marked. but not
general. 1t Is more conspicuous at the
larger New England points-notably Bos-
ton and Providence-at New York. Pitts
burg. Cincinnati. Louisville and other een-
ters along the Ohio river valley to ST.
Louis. and as far west as Kansas City.
Similar reports come from Chicago. MIL
waukee and ST. Paul. the first named an
nounclng that smaller quantities OF four
per cent money are being offered the
banks working steadily toward a per
cent. basis. the demand for loans continu-
ing TO improve, and the reserves being
lower than for a year past.
From other cities a better feeling Is
reported. based on the recently developed
strength in cotton. wheat and flour. Tha
widespread prevalence of the inquiry
whether this upward movement is the
beginning or a permanent recovery from
the two years OF depression Is Of itself
significant.
wool remains unchanged, althoug1
the volume of business Is smaller, because
it Is between seasons with dress goods.
Mills and Australian woods are more pop
ular.
mo changes in quotations are noted In
coffee, sugar or naval stores. on the other
hand cotton has jumped up 5-1gd.
"At Nashville. Memphis and Savannah
the weeks volume OF business Is reported
slightly In excess OF a week ago, Increased
demand being noted In groceries, hard
ware and agricultural implements. At no
other prominent southern cities are gains
reported except New Orleans, though trou-
BILE with the dock freight handlers has re.
suited in loss of business. At Charles
ton. Chattanooga, Atlanta, Jacksonville.
Birmingham and Galveston trade il af
moderate or fair volume, with collections
SLOW"
r. G. Dun & Co.'S weekly review of
trade tomorrow will say: The indica-
tions Of Improvement in business grow
more distinct. The most obtrusive of
them, the speculative advance In cotton
and In stocks Is the least reliable, nor can
either OF these be said to reflect actual
Improvement I'M business conditions.
Railroad earnings are scarcely better, and
the speculation Is largely based on ex~
| pectationa of more effective monopoly
on coal and some other products. Lon
don was buying largely. but 1t Is likely
to sell on any rise. Cotton does not rise
because there is more demand for goods,
but there is more demand for goods
because cotton is dearer. More valuable
indications are that the volume of domes-
tic trade gains little, money is In much
better legitimate demand and the force OF
hands at work gradually increases i'm
some industries. and in others Is res
stricted only by strikes. which are pre-
sumably temporary.
THE threatened strike of coke workers
has been avoided by an advance of Is per
cent. IN wages, and the strike In tho
building trades here has ended, the men
returning to work.
1.-THE rise In cotton to 63l cents still
seems TO have scarcely any contact with
the facts of demand and supply, but had
a very substantial basis, nevertheless
n, as some maintain, more cotton had
been sold in this country for future de-
livery than could be produced here until
another crop comes. American stocks
were last Friday 1s45,02S bales, against
200 last year, with the general ex-
pectation that something over 100000 bales
win yet come forward, while the foreign
stocks of American are e00,000 bales
greater than at this date after the great
crop of 1891. The receipts continue large,
and the movement has really no other
basis than belief that the next crop will be
small.
1.-THE advance in the wages of the coke
workers raises the cost of fuel for
large proportion of the iron manufacture
ers, but as yet does not affect the prices
OF iron or its products, as no increase i'm
demand appears. Possibly 1t is hoped
that larger buying will soon be prompted
by the idea that pig and all products will
be rendered more costly, though the
large excess Of production and producing
capacity stands in the way.
"The rise In cotton has stimulated buy
ing of goods and given confidence to
agents. Heavy transactions and some adj
vances in price appear in southern coarse
goods, but not as yet In the finer. Strikes
especially In wooden mills which have
orders enough to run full time. the OPP
eratiyes apparently assuming that these
must be realizing profits. but the margins
are so scanty that an advance in wages
is for most works impossible.
1.-The volume of business through clear-
ing houses gains little being AL per
cent. larger than last year for the week.
but 221 per cent. less than in 1893. Most
of the increase is at New York. and here
and elsewhere is partly due to active
speculation. Bankers report a decided in
crease in the commercial paper offered
and western banks give evidence of q
larger demand, reducing their balances
here.
The failures during the past week have
been 27S in the United States. against 2H
last year, and IS in Canada, against 50
last year.