Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1896-01-18
BRADSTREET'S.
Favorable Features in the Revival Of
Iron and Steel Prices.
Improvement Shown in Dry Goods-Other Fea.
turc's Of Weekly Bulletin.

i
New York, Jan l7.-Bradstreets to
morrow will say: While the general trade
has not shown widespread tendency to
revive from the holiday depression, there
are favorable features In the revival in
| iron and steel prices and continued heavy
cereal exports. Except at Baltimore, New
Orleans, Buffalo and IN certain lines at
Chicago, st. Louis, ST. Paul and Mime
apolis, jobbers In staple lines report bust
ness slow. Travellers are on the road and
returns are irregular, in only few in
stances Indicating the usual volume of or
ders for the spring delivery.
Relatively, the greatest improvement is
shown in the request for dry goods cloth
| ing, hats and shoes. Prints and ginRhams
are only fairly active, with the mills at
| work in spite of the reduced demand. In
| Rhode Island, wooden goods manufac-
turers in some instances are keeping ma
chinery employed at loss rather than
have it idle. Cotton goods makers report
having shaded prices of some goods on
baud, and hold quotations firm on orders
for future del V ~, the advance in raw
cotton being above parity with that of
| products.
Raw wool is stronger although the
volume Of business is small, bidding at
London sales having put the price of
| choice ileeccs up per cent. While hides
are nominally firm ut unchanged prices
the offerings of leather are freer and the
quotations are weakened On account Of cir
! cumstances which have shown themselves
| in the Wholesale price for shoes The ship
meats of shoes from six New England
manufacturing centers. last week,
amounted 10 so, 400 eases, against Sc, 900
cases in the like week, last year
Chicago banks report great deal Of
money tied up in Iowa in Indian corn.
Merchants IN that state arc therefore not
selling as many goods as expected Coun
try collections are correspoudinRly slow
Kansas City advices are that in southern
Kansas a great deal &C Indian corn is be
ing fed to live stock. Tacoma telegraphs
that a large quantity of cotton and cotton
goods is arriving on the way to the Orient,
and orders are received from England for
cedar doors. There has been several days
rain in California. The prospcct for con
| tinuance causes rejoicing.
The feature of the week is the advance
in iron and steel and the revival of the en-
enlargement at the outlook Btssclnor pig
/
pen ton at Pittsburg, and 81 - at Chicago,
with the outlook for further advance
The interests controlling the production of
coke and Lake Superior iron ore, having
determined that the prices Of those pro
ducts shall not react to the level Of 1919.
| The producers of Besscmer pig and hilIets
in tie face Of he restricted output Of fur
mace and mill since the first OF the year.
! II, 4. IL
in week, find themselves able to advance
prices.
Other advances include those for to-
bacco, due TO occurrences in Cuba wheat,
based on the continued free exports pork
and lard, on the advance in cattle, and
hogs. The prices of such staples as wheat,
| flour, sugar, coffee coal lumber, hides and
print cloths are practically unchanged,
thuse for leather and shoes, as expected,
are lower as is the price Of cotton. petro-
leum, Indian corn, oats, copper, lead.
The last two are based on the competition
between producers.
The exports of wheat flour included us
whcat} from both coasts of the United
States amounted to 3.202, 900 bushels.
compared with 3, 1854, 600 in the week
year ago.
The bank clearings totals begin to
record decline in the volume of general
trade which has made itself apparent now
for more than month The cearngs
throughout the United States, this week,
were 81 060 600, 900, nearly 4 per cent
less than last week, s. ) per cent less than
the bird week of January, 1895 ) per
cent more than the corresponding week
of 1894, q per cent. less than the like
week of 1898. a period in which the vol
| ume of business was very heavy.
The failures in the United States for
the week number 412, compared with 37S
for the week, last year