People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-12-31

success.
The report oil the Commercial
agencies for last week brought any
thing but encouragement to the
business world. The affected herald
Of prosperity following the election
of Mckinley in November has been
dashed to the ground. In order
that our readers may know how
confidence has been restored by the
"advance agent Of prosperity and
the triumph Of the gold standard we
quote below some excerpts from the
weekly review Of R. G. Dun & Co.
The failure Of two important banks,
the second in size Of business at
Chicago and the oldest at st. Paul,
with some others dependent on them,
closed not favOrably month which
promised to end with only moderate
commercial disasters. 1t does not
lesson the effects of these failures
that one was caused by enormous
loans in aid Of an electric railway and
other concerns, and that the other
appears to have resulted from heavy
ventures in unstable real estate.
Since several Thousand business men
and depOsitOrs are for the time
embarraSsedaS much as the specula-
tors which caused the trouble, the
breakdown is the reverse of hopeful
at present, although it comes when
money markets are well supplied and
when no serious effect in business is
to be apprehended.
Other important events Of the week
are the failure of the billet and rail
pools to find basis for agreement
and the somewhat general discharge
of hands or reduction Of wages in the
shoe manufactures. The holiday
trade has been fair, but generally in
articles of medium grade.
r 4
Scarcely any business has been done
in the minor metals, and Sll.37 is
quoted for lake copper, Sl2.S5 for tin,
and S3.05 for lead.
In the cotton manufacture there is
further decline in some staple goods
and takings by northern spinnerS are
disappOiDtingly light. Print cloths
accumulate and do not advance.
Sales Of wool are restricted by the
general conviction that prices asked
by interior holders cannot be realized,
and there is considerable disposition
to unload speculative purchases at
seabOard markets. Most manufaC
lures have more wool than they have
orders, and Others meet, at yet, Nc
satisfactory demand for goods. Sales
of wool were only 6,565,00O pounds at
the three chief markets, against 5,Sl4,.
300 for the same week last year.
Payments through clearing houses
have been for the week % per cent
less than last year, and for the month
thus far the daily average is 8. s pei
cent less than last year, and 20. s Del
cent than in 1892.
The aggregate or gross earnings Of
all railroads in the United States
reporting for the first half o.
December, or part thereof, is Sl2, O27,,
l26, decrease of As per cent, com
pared with last year, and IL 4 per cen
compared with the corresponding
time of 1892, the latest period O
ordinary business prosperity will
which comparisons can now bC
made.
BradStreet'S corroborates tn,
above as follows:
Retail demand for holiday good
has been active, but it is for cheape
grades than in previous years. Ii
Other lines the distribution O
merchandise has been smaller at
number of distributing centers. Fail
ureS OF important banking insti
buttons at northwestern cities tent
to unSettle confidence in commercial
and banking circles.
\
The moderate trade revival which
, followed the last presidential election
has been disappointing in that, asid
from the Christmas demand, bushes
has been more unsatisfactory for
month past than at a correspondent
period in many years. The shaken
in iron and steel prices is nearl
5 complete and quotations for besseme
! pig iron and for steel billets have go'
ten down to the level of those 70
e other staples.
! There are 327 business failures r.
q ported throughout the United State
r this week and II more than in tn
e corresponding week a year age
4 There are II business failures reporte
: throughout the Dominion of Canad
this week, against 80 last week.