The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-05-30
DUN'S COMMERCIAL REVIEW.

The business World Refuses to Go Into a
Panic. but Is Looking Hopefully Forward
TO the Realization of Assured Political
acknowledgements OF Orders and Con-
tracts Deferred Eecacne They Can BE
More Safely Given Later.
New YORK, May 23.--R.. G. Dun &
Co., in their weekly review of trade
this morning, say:
Failures fo- the week have been 22i
III the United States, ayainSt 201 last
year, and y in Canada, against % last
year.
There is nothing like reaction in
business, though the volume is small.
The stock market refuses to obey or
ders for a panic. Manufacturers are
not gaining, on the whole. but very
few are losing. Railroad stocks aver
age a shade higher than Il week
ago, and there is abundant evidence
that men of money are watching
Ior the right moment to buy at the
bottom, certain hat good crops and
definite political prospects will bring
improvement in the fall. Men of all
parties have faith that the American
HNOPhS 1 III lltC LIZ III way 10 llIlI-
tain the sOundness OF their currency.
There Is no longerthe threatened dan.
ger that both houses of congress will
go wrong, and the success of sound
money men in both parties as far west
as South Dakota IS most significant.
The business world has the best of
~reasonsfor or refusing to go into a panic,
and II looks hnnAfnl1r fOrp-arI - 1,S
mite improvement as Don as political
uncertainties are out of the way.
The waiting conditions which seems
to some people nothing better than
stagnation, still continues. But there
is u difference. Thousands Of orders
and contracts r. merely deferred be-
cause they can be more safely given
a little later.
There is nothing exciting in the
speculative market for exportable pro-
ducts, and the stories about damage to
wheat have been numerous, but the
general belief regarding the future
supply is fairly reflected in the decline
of 1.62 cents per bushel.
Cotton speculation lifted the price a
fraction FOR a day or two, but it de-
clined again, and such movements are
always easy at this season, when
stocks can be easily controlled. The
European and American supplies with
commercial stocks still exceed maxi.
mum consumption for the crop year,
and the promise for the coming crop
is decidedly good.
II the output of pig iron were al
ways a reliable barometer of business
conditions, as some suppose, the re-
turns of furnaces in blast May /, ac-
cording to the Iron Age-iSS, 3I9 tons,
against lS7.45l April would be con-
vlncing. But the increase Of stocks
unsold since January l has been 2i3,-
9l5 tons, ana this deducted from the
output of furnaces, leaves 2,g1G,3tS
tons for four months, which is GER
tainly in excess of the actual consump-
ton, because the stocks of the great
steel companies are not included in
the statement. Since the steel billet
pool was formed these stocks have
doubtless increased largely.
There is scarcely am improvement
IN the demand for finished products,
though the bar association has become
strong enough to enable makers of
steel bars to get Il slightly higher
price.
The demand for nails is SO light that
a reduction OF price is expected; the
demand for structural work is less
urgent, but yet orders are encourag-
ing i'll number, although new contracts
are for small quantities. Bessemer
pig is Il shade lower, and the ablest OBJ
servers of the iron market notice that
there is a glaring incongruity between
pig at Sl2.5O bilIets at S2O.25 and steel
rails at SIS.
The boos and shoe manufacturers
h~ave~quite the best of it at present,
and the factories are nearly all en-
pluyed at full time, some Of them hav-
ing orders for some months ahead. A
advance in wOmen's grain shoes
IS the only change yet made in
prices, but a general advance is
expected because the market for
leather is much stronger IN tone.
though unchanged in quotations.