St. Paul daily globe., 1896-02-09
A FINE BUSINESS SHOWING.

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A FINE BUSINESS SHOWING.
The interviews with our leading job
bers which are published in another
column this morning are encouraging
reading. January is, in business circles,
one Of the dull months of the year.
Following Immediately the holiday sea-
son, and preceding at some distance the
opening Of the spring trade, it Is not
this year has proved an exception to
the rule. Inquiries among men en-
gagged in all kinds of business, retailers
and manufacturers as well as whole
in briskly and trade moved on at a
quick pace right through the first
thirty days Of 1896. With only few
exceptions, which appear in our re-
port, the January record is one Of the
best. In several instances it is stated
to have broken the record for a large
number Of years. If this Is true at a
time when the general condition of the
able, there is every reason to expect
a great increase in business during the
next few months.
There are several reasons which ac-
count for the unusual activity Of mid
winter trade in st. Paul this year. It
is the successor OF several sea-
sons when both merchant and con-
sumer bought as few goods as pos
sible. During the excessively hard
times that prevailed just before and
ever since the panic, both money and
credit were reduced to the lowest mark.
The farmer was too poor to obtain
more than the merest necessaries. The
epidemic of failures that followed 1893
made men careful about either asking
or giving credit. The break in manu-
featuring everywhere allowed surplus
accumulations of goods to be exhausted.
We come, therefore, in 1896, upon
situation in which stocks have been
sold down to the lowest notch, and buy
ers were too cautious to order in ad-
vance even what they might reasonably
anticipate that they would need. AS
consequence, orders have had to be
sent in right along to keep the mar
ket moving and furnish the current
needs Of the people.
Again, the farmer and mechanic are
better off than they have been, and
their outlook is improving steadily
There are fewer men unemployed, and
the average Of wages is high
er than at any time since the
great commercial convulsion that
followed the destruction Of. conf
dence in our financial system Work
ingmen are~ab1e~ to live, and the first
use which they make of their wages
is to supply themselves with the neces-
go in time of general distress. Still
more marked is the change for the
better in the condition of the farming
population. The splendid crop Of last
Those farmers who were not pressed
by debt have held at least a portion
of their crop for better prices. They
are now in position to purchase more
freely. Wheat has reacted ten cents
bushel from bottom prices, and there
are those who expect to see it rise as
much more before next summer The
Northwest has great deal of actual
wealth in it's granaries; wealth in the
shape of grain that will now be mar
keted steadily while prices are salts
factory, and turned into the commo-
dities that the farmers have been un-
able to buy. The beginning of these
improved conditions, coming at time
when the unsupplied wants of the peo-
pie were many, has made the salts
factory business that stands to the
credit Of January. The showing is
cheering one, and still more encour-
aging is the fact that everything points
toward an acceleration of business inn
provement in the next few months.
With the success of the new loan. the
temporary relief of the treasury, and
the certainty that there will be no fool
ish financial legislation for at least
year to come, we look forward to the
best business season that st. Paul has
seen for many years.