Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1896-03-25
The BUSINESS PRospecr.
Probable Erfcct of the Coming Prc~i-
dcntiai Election.


DENTAL Election.
No change of tariff being expected
antil after the presidential election,
some of the probable consequences call
for notice. II is better for business
men and producers that undesirable
changes should not come UNION them
without warning. IL they should start
out IN another campaign OF ihnpetuous
buying. rs they did last summer. the
result might be 10 many unfortunate.
For there is some reason now To ex-
pect year of uncertainty and gen
orally unsatisfactory markets. a
presidential election of itself usually
causes dullncss and uncertainty i'm bust
ness, but this year IL is liable to bc COM
plicated with foreign questions of some
delicacy. Preparations for farm work
give promise of full crops of cotton and
wheat. but il will be about six months
before the actual movement OF crops, il
satisfactory in size, will begin to slim
ulate business. Meanwhile stocks on
hand will he depressed in price accord
Ing to the brightness of prospects for
the coming yield, and this will tend to
hinder improvement i'm prices of cotton
Thrre Is reason To expect that the in
dustries will bc subjected to foreign
competition rs severe as they have met
during the last year. Imports in Feb
ruary have been fully AS large as last
year. In 1905 WOODEN goods invoiced Mt
6o,31o,30l were imported, and the ac-
tual value was probably more than S75,-
100000. Adding the duties not evaded,
these imports would displacc about n
third of the entire product of Ameri-
can WOODEN mills when well employed,
but in cloths and dress goods the pro-
portion ~ much greater, apparently
about ninc-siNtcenths. In some impor-
tant branches more than five-eighths OF
the consumption has been captured by
foreign competitors. Meanwhile the
wool growers saw i'm 1895 no less than
24s,oso,317 pounds of foreign wool inn
ported To displace their product. This
was about half the greatest quantity
ever consumed in American mills in
any year. even when best employed.
but IL Is unplcasantly obvious that the
mills have not been fully employed
during the last IL months. If they have
consumed MS much IN 400, o0O, 900
pounds, over 60 per cent. of IL from
abroad, the stock of domestic wool un-
sold, which was largely taken Mt rising
prices when it was hoped that duties
would bee imposed, must be unusually
heavy. Depression in prices would seem
not improbable, and the states like
Montana, Utah, California, Oregon, Col
orndo, Texns and others. which produce
most of the American wool, have TO
settle with their senator's.
Imports of cotton goods in 1895 were
invoiced Mt $35, 101 1872, and doubtless
were worth much more. Imports of
earthenware amounted to $1O,524, COS,
the total value of clay and pottery pro-
duced, according to the census, having
been about $22,0O0,000. Imports of
gloves were invoiced ut S7,453, 800, and
worth very much more, the product of
the manufacture, according to the CEN
sus, having been about $40, 0OO, 900. Silk
goods imported were invoiced mt $31,
| 65S,6 $3.50, and the product of the manu-
facture in 1890 was about SS7, O0O, 900
From these few items it may be in
ferred how seriously in some important
branches the employment of American
workers has been interrupted by the
preference carefully given I'm demo
cratic Legislation to the foreign works
and their products.-N. Y. Tribune.