Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-05-28
puN.s COMMERCIAL REVIEW.


The Business World Refuses to Go Into q
Panic. but Is Looking Hopefully Forward
to the Realization of Assured Political
acknowledgements of Orders and Con-
tracts Deferred Because They Can BE
More Safely Given Later.
NEW YORK, May a3.-R. G, Dun &
Co., in their weekly review OF trade
this morning, say:
Failures for the week have been 22s
in the United Ste tes, against 307 last
year, and IS in Canada, against % last
year.
There is nothing like reaction In
business. though the volume is small.
The stock market refuses to obey or
ders for panic. Manufacturers are
not gaining, on the whole, but very
few are losing. Railroad stocks aver
age shade higher than week
ago, and there is abundant evidence
that men of money are watching
for the right moment to buy at the
bottom, certain that good crops and
definite political prospects viii bring
Improvement in the fall. Men of all
parties have faith that the American
people viii find the right way to main.
tain the soundness of their currency.
There is no longer the threatened dan.
ger that both houses of congress will
go wrong, and the success of sound
money men in both parties as far west
as South Dakota is most significant.
The business world has the best OF
reasons for refusing to go into panic,
and it looks hopefully forward to def
mite improvement as soon as political
uncertainties are out of the way.
The waiting conditions which seems
to some people nothing better than
stagnation. still continues But there
is difference. Thousands of orders
and contracts are merely deferred be-
cause they can be more safely given
little later.
There is nothing exciting in the
speculative market for exporta BILE pro-
wheat have been numerous, but the
general belief regarding the future
supply is fairly reflected in the decline
o. 90 cents per bushel.
Cotton speculation lifted the price a
fraction for a day or two, but it de-
clined again, and such movements are
always easy at this season, when
stocks can be easily controlled. The
European and American supplies with
commercial stocks still exceed maxi.
mum consumption for the crop year,
and the promise for the coming crop
is decidedly good.
If the output of pig iron were al.
ways relia BILE barometer of business
conditions, as some suppose, the re.
turns of furnaces in blast May /, ac-
cording to the Iron Age-1ss. 3l9 tons,
against 1874 April would be con-
vincing. But the increase of stocks
unsold since January / has been 243,-
915 tons. ano this deducted from the
output of furnaces, leaves 2.9-6, 34s
tons for four months, which is GER
tainly in excess of the actual consump-
ton. because the stocks of the great
steel companies are not included in
the statement. Since the steel billet
pool was formed these stocks have
doubtless increased largely.
There is scarcely any Improvement
in the demand for finished products,
though the bar association has become
strong enough to enable makers of
steel bars to get slightly higher
price.
The demand for nails is so light that
a reduction of price is expected; the
demand for structural work is less
urgent, but yet orders are encourag
ing in number, although new contracts
are for small quantities. Bessemer
pig is shade lower, and the ablest oh
servers of the iron market notice that
there is giaring incongruity between
pig at S12. so, billets at $50. 25 and steel
rails at S2S.
The boo. and shoe manufacturers |
have quite the best of it at present, |
and the factories are nearly all en-
ployed at full time, some of them hav-
ing orders for some months ahead. A |
slight advance in women's grain shoes |
is the only change yet made in |
prices, but general advance is |
expected because the market for |
leather is much stronger in tone,
though uncha n rod in nuntafiopS