The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-07
A REMARKABLE BOOM.
Prices Of Iron and Steel Have Ad-
Vaneed 81 to 81.
BANK CLEARINGS REFLECT THE
COUNTRIES PROSPERITY.

The Most Favorable IReports Come From
the East-Confidence in a Heavy Corn
Crop Causes Satisfaction in the West.
New York, Sept. 6.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say: Favorable crop reports
from nearly all directions and contin-
uance of the boom in steel and iron, con-
tinue to characterize sthe general trade
situation. The latest advices as to the
corn crop have replaced anxiety with
confidence in the larger estimates of the
size of that crop and satisfaction with
the outlook for trade this autumn. Har-
vesting and threshing are interfering a
little with business in the spring wheat
country, yet Duluth, Minneapolis and
st. Paul jobbers in general lines are
pushing for new business. In South
Dakota and Washingt on farmers show no
disposition to sell their grain. Califor-
MIA reports perfecU weather for harvest
ing. The other side to the crop outlook is
found in Texas, where worms are said
to have seriously damaged cotton in
some sections. Iron and steel prices have
advanced from 81 to SO further and the
demand at this time continues in excess
Of the output, which probably equals the
largest preceding rate of production.
All finished products are beginning to
show the effects of higher prices for raw
iron and steel in correspo nding advances
Western iron and steel mills have orders
to keep them busy into 1896 and refuse
to name prices for future delivery and
apparently every mill and furnace in the
country is at work and the current fiscal
year will probably break the record Of
production. AS nearly all iron makers
bought a years supply of ore at lowest
prices the advances in wages and other
items of cost to manufacturers have been
more than equalled by the advance of
prices. The delivery of demand and GER
tainty of heavy requests yet to come for
ward, point to the iron and steel boom
as. the greatest on record here. Advances
in prices this week, aside from Bessemer
pig iron, steel billets, bar iron and wire
nails included gains in quotations
for cotton, print cloths, hemlock, sole,
some cheaper paper, sugar and lead,
while wheat oats, pork, coffee, hogs, wool,
leaf tobacco and hops, are lower.
BANK CLEARINGS.
The total bank clearings this week (only
five days. amount to S915, 600, 900, about
5 per cent more than last week, l5 per
cent more than in the first week of Sep
tember, 1894, 26 per cent moresthan in
$685. but IS per cent less than in the like
week of 1892, and 13 per cent less than
in 1891. The bank clearings at SO cities
for August aggregate 81, 107, S21 ,5S7,
falling off, as waslto be expected of per
cent. from July, but an increase OF 16 per
cent over August Of last year and % per
cent over August in the panic year OF
1898 and decrease of only SS per cent
from August, 1892.
Every section. of the country shows a
gain in amount over last year except the
northwestern, which is beginning to re-
port trade expansion. Gains are the
heaviest and most numerous IN the cast
and middle States and the south is be-
ginning to experience the effects of high
er cotton prices in England The largest
gain over August of last years is at
Cleveland, 81 per New York
shows again Of 23 per cent and
Boston Of 10 per cent For eight gia M months MI
the total bank clearings are. $33, 1872, $685.
S55,a gain over 1894 of ..16.3 per cent, and
decrease from 1898 of 1 per cent The
greatest gains in the volume OF general
trade this week are recorded at Seattle
and Tacoma on the Pacific coast. ST.
Louis ana Kansas Olby ab tIle WeSu, ou-
luth and St..Paul in the northwest and
at Chattanooga. Augusta, Atlanta and
Memphis at the south. The competition
between rival ~ coal companies still pre-
vents advances of prices of both bitumin-
us ands anthracite and the outlook for
woolen mill plants are not quite as bright
as is that for cotton mills, which are
sold we'll ahead.
EXPORTS OF WHEATS.
The exports of wheat from both co asts
of the United States and Canada this
| week amount to 260, 600 bushels, against
| 8. 2O7, 600 bushels in the week year ago
and T. 9O2,O 900 bushels two years ago.
| Indian corn exports continue to expand.
This week the total sent out was l, 405,-
| 600 bushels. the heaviest weeks, ship
ments this year. compared with 1877. 900
bushels in the week year ago, and
672. 600 bushels two years ago. Wheat
stocks available last of the Rockies, here
and in Canada fell away sharply during
August and for two months the decrease
| is .927 900 bushels, against increases in
August and July in fourspreceding years.
| The worlds wheat stocks for August in
creased 642 900 bushels in August, 1894.
They gained 9,26s, 900 bushels and 1899
12, 1856, 000 bushels.
| The domestic available wheat STOCKS
are almost as light as on September l.,
| 1899, and much smaller than the one and
| two years ago. ~.
There were 1874 business failures in the
| United States reported this week, against
| 2O7 in the week year ago.