The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-05-09
DUN'S COMMERCIAL REVIEW

The Gains in Business Less than Expected
Lowest Range of Prices Yet known
Cotton Advances on Speculation ant
Wheat Declines-Silks Weaker and Wool.
ems Show mo- Improvement Boots and
Shoes In Fair Demand.
NEW YORK, May 2.-R. G.. Dun 3
Co., in their weekly review of trade,
issued to-day, say:
Failures for the week have been 23e
in the United States, against PAL last
year, and 81 in Canada, against 81 last
year.
As the season advances there is more
business, but advices indicate that on
the whole the prevalent feeling is that
the gain is less than there was rea-
son to expect. While retail trade has
been active enough to materially lessen
stocks and obligations, and thus to
prevent a great many threatened en-
barrassments, it has not yet brought
enough e business to mills or fac
tories to prevent decrease of untitled
orders and closing of some works.
Substantially the same state of things
exists in all the great industries, not
w~lthstanding the strong combinations
in some, and evidence of inadequate
consumption appears in the fact hat
the general range of prices of com.
modities, farm, as well as manufac-
tured products, is nearly l per cent.
lower than it was April 1, and the
lowest ever known, the decline since
October. 1892, being 16. per cent. Nor
can this be attributed to scarcity of
mnnny- pyhiab S aaSia- md r,Ar
abundant as the liquidation of many
dealers lessons outstanding obliga-
lions.
Speculation has raised cotton an
eighth, though receipts and crop pros
poets still favor lower prices and &C.
cumulated stocks of unsold goods are
very large.
Wheat has declined Ak cents for
cash. With only two months of the
crop year remaining there is little to
encourage higher prices.
Silk has weakened a little, owing to
the overlooking of japanese dealers.
Wool is weak, the wool year closing
with the greatest quantity of wool on
hand ever carried at this season.
Wooden goods have not improved in
demand, and fiannels have opened ) to
Il per cent. lower than last year,
though the material decrease of pro-
auction has given to other. wooden
goods a stronger tone.
Dress goods are helped by the re-
striction of foreign imports, but the
association reports that, On the whole.
wool machinery is not more than half
employed.
Some cotton mills have ceased pro-
duction, including one large printing
establishment, and stocks on hand still
increase, though for brown goods
there has been a better legitimate de-
mand, and great quantities of ging-
hams have been moved by drives at
prices low beyond all precedent.
There is fair demand for boots and
shoes, though not enough to prevent
gradual exhaustion of orders untitled,
bat the only change in prices has been
a slight advance in some qualities.
Leather is weaker with very narrow
demand, and quotations average a shade
lower. as do prices of hides.
Large purchases of lake ore by the
principal consumers; contracts Secur-
ing control of low phosphorus ore and
lower rates to Chicago for Connells-
vile coke in order to compete with
Pocahontas coke are the main features
in the iron industry; but a revival of
demand is yet deferred. Structural
prospects are good, but in other
branches the demand is less active.
and Bessemer pig is weak at S13 AT
Pittsburgh.
The volume of domestic business
shown by clearings has been S154, 900,
900 daily in April, against S153, OOO, 900
last wear S136, 900, 900 in 1894, SlS1, 900.
900 in 1893 and SlSS, 900, 900 in 1892.
These figures show a greater shrink
age tnan appeared in recent months
and indicate that improvement is slow.