The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-03-21
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

HFrom Bradstreet's state OF Trade.s')
General trade throughout The United States
Tor the iirst quarter af 1926 Il Disappointing
When the improvement in Industrial and com
Iaefcsal lines between March ana Sepfernbey.
1872. Is recalled, occurring, as il did twa'
years AFTER the panic IL lsaa, reason would
seem 10. have been hchind the confidence thss
the current calendar year would bring i gems
eral revival. But The racst favorable reports
at this time are chose which declare Tho ves=
ume Of business only equal to- In Il few IN
stances in excess OF. the like total one year
ago.
The fact that interior merchants are buying
more Freely in Missouri. Kansas. Okiahoma
and parts Of Nebraska, where the snow and
RAIN have prepared the soil Tor the crops,
constitutes almost the one favorable announce
fnent for the week. In almost all other parta
OF the country. east of the Mississippi. stormy
business and still further restrict mercantile
collections. which have now been exception
ally slow form ore than a month. The winters
jobbsng business in staple lines. with few
exceptions. was unsatisfactory, as has been
that for the coming spring. The prolonged
falling ofvin demand in the Iron and steel,
no sign of early improvement. As a con-
sequence, hides, leather and shoes are all
weaker-in some Instances lower. Gingalams
and print cloths have sold for less money
within the week: the demand for Americas
wooden goods remain In marked contrast to
the active request for like goods Of foreign
make. and quotations for some grades of iron
are lower than last week. without prospect
for immediate Improvement Wholesale trade
IN mems wear. lncicd1Eg clothing, is de
pressed by heavy stocks carried over. and
low quotations for domestic wool have semi
some abroad.
While distribution of merchandise at the
northwest Is not as active as a few weeks
ago. it is IL larger volume than a year ago.
Country bankers in that and in regions further
south nave been Withdraw wing chicago bal
ances. but northwestern jobbers continue con-
fdent of the revival Of the country demand.
General business at the south remains I'M
changed. and at Portland and Tacoma. on the
Pacific pl1of QlS0 Z Some tmnrntPmRnf Is re-
ported at Seattle. and lumber mills in the
State of Washington are expected to advance
In ADDITION to reactions IN quotations noted.
prices for wheat -four. wheat, pork ard lard
are lower, while those for Indian corn, sugar,
both raw and refined, cotton, and for crude
and refined petroleum are higher. The con-
tinued advance in the price for cotton, in the
face of reductions in quotations for manu-
featured products thereof, during a fortnight.
indicates that expectations of a large new
crop of cotton have been permitted to unduly
attract attention from the comparative short
age of present supplies.
The more moderate volume of general trade
Is reflected In bank c~learings. the weeks
total. 1910. 0G0. 900, continuing the recent ten
dency to get below the billlon-doliar mark.
There x, nevertheless, an increase In aggre-
gate clearinEs amounting to 3.5 per cent. over
last week, 20 per cent. compared with the
third week of March, 1895, and as eontrasted
with the corresponding total in 1894. 3.S pei
cent. The weeks cleariEgs totals are 20 per
cent. smaller than in the like week in 1898,
10 per cent smaller than 1892, and 5 per cent
smaller than in the corresponding week in
1871.
There IS a sharp decline in total exports of
wheat flour included as wheaD from both
coasts of the United States this week, the
total amounting to only 1882. 600 busta,s.
against 2.4e1. 900 bushels last week, 2, 1855. 900
bushels in the week one year ago, :, 34S 600
bushels in the third week of March, 1894, and
Z. 7e6. 600 bushels in the like week of 1899.
wheat with wheat -four included since the
last week of July, 1895. Exports of Indian
corn this week amount to 1,s92. 900 bushels.
against los 900 bushels last week, 4S6. 900
bushels in the week one year ago. Lie. 900
bushels two years ago, and so4. 900 bushels
three years Ego.
prices weak under professional selling. in
duced by unfavorabe views of general trade
conditions. Europe takes no interest. the
Anglo-French complications about Europe
limiting 1.-THE London market. The frmness
OF money here and narrow conditions in re-
gard to mercantile accommodations have q
dsterren eect on 10th speculation and invest
ment. Activity is confined mainly to manipu-
lated industrial shares. The Northern Pacific
reorganization plan has caused selling Of the
connpany's stock to avoid. the heavy assess-
ment. The plan, backed as 1t is by large
financial interests, and the assents of ma
J~orities of all the securities affected, is CON
is@dull and weak at 4.s7lk04s7% for sight
feature.
From r. G. Dun & Co.'s weekly Re-
view.'9
Movement toward better things in stfll the
exception. There is better business in shoes
and small industries, and there has been a
squeezing of short sellers In cotton. But the
general tendency of Industries and prices is
not encouraging, and those who were most
hopeful a month ago are still waiting, not
SO. hopefully. for the expected recovery. Causes
of continued depression are not wanting. Bad
weather has cut off much business, especially
in country districts. Some failures of con-
sequence have caused especial caution. For
eisn controversies are accepted as the ex-
PLANTATION Of some selling in London of AmerI-
can securities. Congress still does nothing,
as before. But the root Of tine business is that
in many departments men bought more and
produced more, when prices were mounting
and everybody was rushing to buy last year.
than they have yet been able to sell. That
the buying was of a nature TO anticipate
actual consumption many months, they were
fully warned, but they had more hope than
observation, and went on piling up goods.
Some are engaged today in the same hopeful
anticipation of a demand which has not yet
appeared
The anxieities about the currency have gone
out of sight. and though Treasury receipts
do not equal its Expenditures, there is no loss
Of gold by export. and not much loss of re-
serve. Merchandise exports In two weeks of
March have been 8 per cent. larger than last
year, while imports were unusually small last
week, and for two weeks IA per cent. less than
last year. Distractions to recovery are not
to be sought primarily in the investment or
rhe money market, but in the Industrial re-
action after the unnatural expansion of de-
mand and prices last year.
There are too many who are not willing to
let last years prices and hopes be buried with
1895. It is a striking fact that the only great
industry which is now rapidly gaining in
business is the one in which prices have been
generally cut down to last years lowest
figures, and the boot and shoe makers had a
reason for hesitation in the price of leather,
which still averages s per cent. higher than
a year ago, though hides are 10 per cent.
lower. having again declined the past week
about 3 per cent. If the manufacturers get
narrow profits or none. they are at least doing
a business which will keep most OF the works