Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-03-14
RAILROAD EARNINGS
In February Lead Any Month
for Past Three Years.
No Marked Change Shown in the
Condition Of General Trade.
Bank cIearings Show Falling OF and Fail.
ures Small Increase.

morrow. Will say: The only cOnspiCuOusIy
favorable feature of the general business
| situation found in Bradstreets of Feb
ruary, is the gross railway earnings
| throughout the country. The receipts of
1876 companies, last month, was larger.
with IA single exception, than in any pre-
ceding month for more than three years.
the February total, 1896, being S34, 4S4, =
600. a gain over the total of last year of
nearly IA per cent
In January of this year, the gross earn
ings we're about II per cent larger than a
year ago, and In February, 1855, they de.
| creased 2.3 per cent. from that total in
1891. These results were dne in part to
the favorable weather conditions in Feb
ruary, and the large grain traffic infusion
| of one more business day.
The heaviest gains in the gross earn
ings, last month, were reported by the
Grangers, Pacifics and Southern lines in
the order named; with from - to go per
cent. larger totals than in February Of
last year The smallest increase is re-
ported by the coal roads. Other groups
| report increases ranging from 3 per
cent. for Eastern roads, to 10 per cent fer
Soufhwcsterns.
The trunk line increase is nearly per
| cent, and the central Westerns. rs per
cent. More than three.fourths of all the
companies reporting show gains CONF a-td
with February totals OF year agu,nn %
| companies show February increases, this
year, in excess of $50, 900 each.
| For two months the total gross earnings
| OF railways rsferred TO amount to S72, Ell.
900 in 1886, or 1873 per cent. more than
the first two months Of 1895. The in
| crease for the entire calendar year of 1895
over 1894. was only 5.2 per cent.
| General trade shows DO marked changes
| The distribution of merchandise is most
| activc for dry goods hardware. shoes and
| millinery, paints, oils and heavy cherni-
| Gals, but have been unsatisfactory Job
| barS report spring trade to be of waiting
character, due to belated snow storms and
| unusually cold weather.
Collections, with few exceptions, are
i no better, ard in many instances are less
| satisfactory, which tends to rc,ard the
movement of merchandise Building
operations ut some Eastern parts are not
| as active as anticipated. Dealers In shoes
in the South and West report trade slow,
! though Eastern makers admit orders to
be slowly increasing.
| dustry is unsatisfactory, with slack de-
| mand and heavy stocks. Production is
| restricted, and further shutdown is
talked Of Prints and gingbams are most
active. Transactions in the raw wool is
limited, the market being very dull, with
| less business than any previous time since
| Jan. l.
| Iron and steel are as quiet as in proceed
ty,ry he in,
| favorably situated. Orders for steel at
Chicago have decreased, and the price is
barely steady. The demand for pig iron
Is the slowest since Jan. l. Quotations at
the Eastern markets are nominally I'M
| changed, but could probably be shaded on
| new business. No agreement has been
| reached on ore products or 1896 delivery
The production of pig iron was restricted
| about 40, 600 tons during February, but
the stocks increased nearly 20, 600 tons In
| the face OF it.
From all this the general trade situa-
| ton throughout the country may be re-
| garded as less satisfactory at the middle
OF March, 1896, than was anticipated
| Even the prices of staples have refused to
make and maintain advances.
| Among the decreases in quotations are
| those for flour, wheat, Indian corn, oats,
| lard. print cloths steel and pig iron. The
prices of wool, leather coal, pork and
sugar are nominally unchanged. Coffee
is higher, not being based upon the domes-
tic conditions affecting the demand. The
| improvement in the actual demand for
| cotton at home and abroad is back of it's
advance. Petroleum is higher, as are lead
and nails at Western centres. where the
demand has improved
| At the South, Augusta iobbsrs in shoes
| and dry goods report satisfactory spring
sales, and Atlanta larger volume OF bust
| ness than in the corresponding week of
| last year. New Orleans jotbers regard
| the prospect as good for trade, with steady
| weather. while at other points, particu.
| larly Texas, the trade movement is
| moderate and collections are unsatisfac-
| tory.
| The least favorable reports concerning
the collections are from the West and
Northwest. kilograms from the state of
| Washington explain that the reports of
damage to fruit and grain by frost have
been exaggerated. Tacoma has received
large quantities of cotton fer export
The total exports of wheat (flour in
cluded as wheat) from both coasts of the
| United States during the six business
days ending March -, smonnt to ., i0i,
000 bushels against 2,i91, goo IN the cor
responding week OF last year. Total ex-
ports of Indian corn in the came week
amount to 1.I0S,00 compared with 1872,
| 600 in the like week of last year
The weeks bank cleatihgs aggregate
| 1913, coo, 800, or Il per cent. smaller than
week ago, and 5 per cent. larger than
! the second week Of March, 1895.
Failures in the United States number
2S2 for the six business days ending March
| II. compared with 262 in the correspond
ing week. one year ago.