The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-04-04
DuN's COMMERCIAL REVIEW.

No Change in the General Condition of
Business Noted-Failures of Magnitude
Reported Swell the Aggregate of La
biIities Beyond Those of Last Year
Wheat Gains a Point but Corn and Cot
ton Remain Unchanged.
NEW YORK, March 2s.-R. G. Dun &
Co., in their weekly re Tiew OF trade
to-day say:
The returns of failures are some
what disappointing. Several of mag
nitude were mentioned Il week ago,
and they have swelled the aggregate
of defaulted liabilities for three weeks
of March to 81, 1888, 61i, against Sill
271, 121 last year. A heavy failure in
Texas will also swell the aggregate of
returns for the past week, which in
cludes 259 in the United States, against
Pa last year; and 80 in Canada, against
IL last year.
No important change has occurred
in the general condition of busip'-s
during the week, and if trade in some
spects looks worse, in other respect, It
seems better. Some failures of magni-
tude have occurred, which have caused
much apprehension and unwillingness
to lend among bankers, and there have
been somewhat less favorable features
in the dry goods market; but
in iron and steel. conditions are
slightly improved, and in boots and
shoes considerably more hopeful. For
eign trade is a little more satisfactory,
exports from New York for three
weeks showing an increase over last
year of six per cent, while imports
nave shown nearly the same rate of
decrease. In general the course of
domestic prices tends to favor the
marketing of staples abroad.
Wheat has gained about a point, but
corn and cotton remain unchanged.
Cotton had a lively rise with the cov
ering of short sellers, but began to
decline again a week ago and has beer
tagging ever since. The receipts from
plantations continue quite as large as
in the same weeks of the last short
crop year; and stocks in sight. with
the quantities known to be held by
European and American mills, make
up an ample supply for the rest of the
crop year.
In the dry goods market the last in
d~ications do not warrant expectations
that the mills will continue full pro-
duction throughout the season. The
demand foI woolens and dress goods
is the best feature of the wooden mar
kctS. The sales of wool nave fallen to
less than half an ordinary weeks full
consumption, amounting last week to
only 2,926, $50 pounds at the chief mar
kets. \ striking feature this week
mas been u sale of 100000 pounds OF
american wool for shipment to En-
81 nd.
The iron and steel markets have dis
closed d similar feature. for Il little
Alabama pig was sold for export,
though few imagine hat much bust
ness of that sort is possible.
The combination of lake ore pro-
duccrs has at last announced its prices
for the coming season-four dollars
for tirst-class BesSemer, SO. 40 to S5.75
for Messaba and So for nOn-Bessemer
ores-and it is calculated that with
coke at 81 per ton Bessemer pig can be
produced at about S12.25 per ton at
Pittsburgh, which is now the current
price there.
But the slow marketing of finished
products is still the main trouble.
There has been Il little more activity
this week, and the Carnegie works
have sold 10, 900 steel rails to Japan.
thus scoring a noteworthy success. but
in the main, the market is about as in
active and insufficient as it has been.
Their has been no trading worth the
name in railroad stocks during the
past week, and scarcely any in the in
dustrials, SO that fluctuations i'll prices
are scarcely worth noting.
The earnings of the railroads have
been rather less promising than in
,n-ar;,,C DpnnthS