The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-06-22
The Usual Midsummer Check to
Business is Noticed.
BANK CLEARINGS FOR THE WEEK
SHOW A LARGE TOTAL.
Wool Has Shown Decided Strength and
Made Gains-Hot Winds in California
Feature in Iron.

featnre in Iron.
New York, June 1.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say: The feature of bust
ness this week is the customary check to
activity in trading in staple articles of
merchandise, due to the neal. approach
OF midsummer, with accompanying
stock taking in some lines In addition
to this, perhapas, the only other feature
not pointing to improvement is the
reaction of the prices Of cotton, coal,
wheat, flour wheat, corn, oats, pork and
lard from the previous relatively high
levels. In almost all other direction
reports on the business situation and
the outlook are exceptionally favorable.
Notwithstanding the reaction in the
price OF cotton goods in some in
stances are higher with market quiet
and likely to remain so until after July
4th.
Woolen mills are quiet and the mills
are fairly well employed where labor
troubles have not interfered. Trading
in wool has been very heavy, and while
the sales in the west have been made at
low prices, quotations have since ad-
vanced one-half cent per pound, thus
apparently placing wool in line with
leather, wheat, corn, cotton, iron and
steel among the staples which have en-
joyed revival in demand and price since
the extreme depression Of 1s94-95. The
remarkable strength for the demand for
iron and steel continue perhaps the
oct fri r ir,rr fnof1 r.
certain grades of iron have been enjoying
the unusual distinction of having Quota
tions advanced twice within the week.
Since the rise in prices began pig iron
advanced 25 and steel billets about 80
per cent in price, and reserved plants are
being pressed into service.
BANK CLEARINGS
Another large bank clearings total
from "A cities in the United States this
week of ST. 076, 600, 900, is evidence of the
maintenance of relatively large volume
of trading, as purely speculative tran
sactions have declined in volume of late.
This is an increase of more than per
cent over the total kst week and 2S per
cent over the total in the third week of
June, 1894
Liz IdluS S6pOfUeu from regions UrlDu-
tary to Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City,
Sioux Falls, are declared to have great
ly benefited kthe crop situation and stim-
ulated feeling that autumn will bring
active general trade. The more active
Pacific coast cities are almost alone in
presenting distinct features of trade this
week. San Francisco reports that hot
winds have admittedly affected the Cali
fornia wheat crop which now will not be
likely to exceed 33, 900, 900 bushels. The
fall trade prospects at Portland, Oregon,
are right, and Tacoma announces exports
of flour, cotton, machinery to the Orient
and lumber to South Africa. Seattle has
sent a large quantity of salmon to the
Mediterranean M ports.
At eastern cities the approach of mid
summer begins to show itself variously,
in some lines by checked volumes of sales
and in others through preparations to
send out travellers on July to take or
ders for fall delivery.
There has been no special changes in
the condition of general trade at West
ern and Northwestern Cities though sales
of shoes and clothing are smaller at
Chicago and the volume of business and
general feeling at Milwaukee and Du-
luth indicate Improvement
In the Southern States business con-
tinnes at about midsummer proportions
with improvement in dry goods and gro
cerleS at ChattanOoga and Atlanta, and
better feeling in trade circles at Briming-
ham, but only moderate expansion of
business at Galveston.
Exports of wheat flour as wheat), from
both coasts this week, are 2, s57, 3O7 bush
els, against l, 78l, 900 last week (Which
movement was exceptionally small).
!, 927, 600 the third week of June 1884, and
8, 563, 600 in 1888
The failures throughout the United
States this week number 231, against 1913
in the third week of June, 1894