Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-06-06
BRADSTREET AND DUN.
business Conditions of the Country
During the Pasr Week

NEW YORK. June 5.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say: General trade continues
depressed I'm almost all lines Demand is
smaller than a week ago. and the request
for and offerings OF commercial paper
have decreased. Mercantile collections
continue complained of, and the tendency
Of prices particularly Of cereals. sugar.
coffee, pork products, cotton, and cotton
goods. and iron and steel continues down
Wa.l
At the South. the more favorable fea-
lures are the rain which visited South
Carolina. Georgia. and Alabama with
benefit TO the crops. about one sixth in
crease I'm the cotton acreage OF Texas,
higher prices for TOsin, and a larger vol
ume OF business az Nashville. Charleston,
and Baltimore. Nebraska's crop prospects
were never better. There is a moderate in
crease in the demand for dry-gOods at
Chicago. but business there generally is
Disappointing. The check 10 trade at ST.
Louis Is IN part the result OF delays in
the distribution of merchandise on ac-
count Of the late storm. UnseasOnably
cool weather and rain have interfered with
retail trade I'm the territory tributary 10
Kansas city.
The May bank cleaings Of 1895 are heavi-
~ reduced, rejecting the quietncss in
trade and speculation They show not
only a heavy falling off from May year
ago. but are smaller than the April total,
something which has occurred only twice
In thirteen years The total clearings at
sixty-nine cities for May aggregate $i2lS.-
10000. a decrease Of 10 per cent. from May
a year ago, and Of IA per cent. from April
this year.
The total number Of business failures
throughout the United States this week.
as reported 10 Bradstrects, Is 236, COM
pared with 2T last week. and 236 in the
first week OF June. 1885.
The makers Of cotton goods for export
are doing relatively the best business.
depress prices. Much woOllen-gOods ma
chinery continues idle and the sales OF
woOliens for fall delivery have not held up
as expected. Shoes continue firm. and fac
tories report large number Of orders on
hand which strengthens leather and
hides. Iron and steel prices in some in
stances are maintained by the strength
Of pools Either consumers are resisting
the demands OF commerce BY holding or
ders or nearby wants for staple makes
Of iron and steel have been oyerestimated.
Production tends to decrease.
Messrs. r. G. Dun & co. will say to-
morrow in their weekly review Of trade:
The failures for the week We're 23f IN
the United States, against 1875 last year,
and p in Canada. against p last year.
IL is highly suggestive that with as lit
tie help as there Is now from new bust
ness, the markets are so nearly maintain
ed The opinion gains ground that more
active business IS TO be expected after the
conventions have been held. and the safe
" ana sulucleNcy OF crops nave Dceu as
sured. The decline in wheat and cotton
has helped marketing the surplus, so that
exports have been more liberal
The hardest problem OF the day Is
whether iron and steel prices can be
maintained as they have been during the
past week. The nail associations have
failed thus far 10 win over competitors
who undersell them. and are able to man
ufacture 1900 kegs against every 10000
by concerns I'm the combination. The bar
association asks for iron more than the
selling price OF steel bars. Open-hearth
billets are more freely sold at Pittsburg
below the price asked for Bessemer. and
middle men are still selling Bessemer bill
lets about 81 below the price fixed by the
pool Naturally, the doubt regarding
maintenance OF prices greatly checks the
demand for the present, but the belief
that a much larger demand Is certain and
will not long be delayed Is the one thing
which prevents considerable decline.
The textile manufacturers are waiting.
with some cotton goods reduced still fur
ther i'm price and ginghams to the lowest
point ever known, while no increase APP
pears in the demand. The sales OF wool
still fall below half the quantity required
for a full consumption, and prices have
further declined.