The evening bulletin. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1887-1905, 1896-05-16
DRAWBACKS TO TRADE.
Prosid entail Contest and the Uncertainty
of the Yield of Crops.

of the Yield of Crops.
NEW YORK, May 16.-R. G. Dun 81
Company's weekly review of trade says:
1t is now the middle of May, too late
for business to change materially until
the prospects of coming crops are as
sured, and definite shape has been given
to the presidential contest by the con-
ventions. Until the future is more clear
there is a prudent Discrimination to pro-
duce much beyond orders, or to order
beyond immediate and certain needs.
If this waiting spirit prevails two
months longer it will crowd into the
last half of the year an enormous bust
ness, if the outlook then is good. For
the present there is less business on the
whole than a year ago, though i'll some
branches more, and the delay following
months OF depression is to many trying,
and causes numerous failures.
An attempt was made to manufac-
ture excitement i'll cotton out of the
government report, but the price closed
exactly as it began the week, and the
port receipts have been actually larger
than last year. All current arguments
based Oh the assumption that the guam
tity used in manufacture has been or is
now at a maxim I'M rate are disapprove1
by the closing Of many mills for want
of demand, and the general effort to re-
duce wages, which has caused some
strikes.
Wheat is unchanged in spite of all
rumors, and the Atlantic exports, flour
included, which were last year greater
than western receipts, for two weeks
1868, 4S4 bushels, against 1917, 305 re-
ceived, have this year been only half as
large; 1, 096, Ala bushels exported, against
| 4,079, 239 western receipts.
The most fortunate of the chief in.
| dustries at present is the boot and shoe
manufacture, which is not only ship
| ping to customers within per cent of
| the largest number of cases ever for
warded III the first half of May, but is
getting many new orders, and there are
! many urgent requests to anticipate or
ders for June and July delivery. indi-
| eating that distribution to consumers
| has much outrun expectations.
The iron and steel industry, on the
other hand, is pronounced as dull as 1t
| ever has been in its whole history at
| Pittsburg, in part because of doubt
| about the maintenance of prices recent
| ly advanced, and the demand is so
small that in spite of such advances
prices average LIZ per cent lower for the
week. BesseIner pig being no highe"
| than it was three months ago at $l2.60.
while No. anthracite is also lower,
| $3.50 at New York. The attempt to
hold common bar iron at 1.2 cents leads
many consumers to prefer steel bars,
which sell at IL cents, and prices Of
nails are expected to be reduced be-
cause of scanty demand. There is mu .
promise for future structural work, buG
orders are deferred.
Sales of wool have been little larger
the past week, 3,543,200 pounds at the
three chief markets, but for two weeks
only $685. pounds, against over II,
100000 pounds last year, and in 1892.
| The large drives i'll clothing have
cleared out stocks of some ready-made
concerns, but checks new business, and
the general disposition is to postpone
orders as far as possible.
Failures for the week have been 224
in the United States, against 22l last
year, and 33 i'll Canada, against 81 last
| wear