Daily Kennebec journal., 1896-05-09
BRADSTREET'S REPORT.
Bad Weather and 0yerstocks Have Combined
to Keep Business Dull.

New York. May S.--Bradstreet's tomor-
row. will say: The relatively unfavorabie
ton. this week. include unseasonably cool
weather, which at some centers has
checked trade. the continued surplus
stocks Of cottons which depress prices
the duilness and idle machinery in the
%oolen goods industry; the falling of in
the demand Tor lumber at St. Louis and
Minneapolis. the continued duilness in
iron and steel. where. although the mills
and furnaces are fairly active. there is a
cont uucd absence of new orders. Chicago
Jobb.rs report tho weeks business might
factory, transactions in clothing are
smaller than In the like period of a year
ago. and the leather market weaker.
owirE 20 q lack Of demand. Light hard
war Is relatively more active.
The favorable side of the picture in
cludss a marked increase in the total
staples for which quotations have ad
Nanocd. almost uniform and unexpected
improved prospects for cereal and cotton
croIhi and the reflection Of more con-
tldent feeling As to the autumns business
~ au improved demand throughout the
territory supplied by St. Louis, Kansas
waul;ee. Duluth and Sioux Falls.
The least faVora bic crop is from Okla
hoIn1. where wheat Is in need of rain.
from Washington. where wheat has been
hurt by too much wet weather In Texas,
further improvement in the cotton crop
outlook has stimulated iohbers to antici-
Chattanooga is the commercial center. is
enjoying the results of the extension of
the truck gardening industry. Savan-
nah's roSin and turpcntine receipts and
shipments are quite active. The outlook
for wheat in eastern oregon is bright.
and the ike is true OF Kansas Nebraska
The more important staples for which
prices are higher. are cotton. print cloths
Indian corn, oats. lard and coffee, while
the quotations for pork. coal and lumber
remain practically unchanged. The sale
of wool is reported at Boston at the
lowest price on record. from which il
reached. Wheat flour, wheat, sugar
irons are likewise shaded in price.
The revival of the demand for lumber
from China. South America and South
Africa is showing itself up and down
the Pacific coast. San Francisco feeling
the first cargo of tea of the season is
awaited at Tacoma. where cotton and
flour Is ready to supply the return cargo.
Bank clearings for the week aggregate
81, ,l2.i ooo. 900, or Is per cent. more than last
week. only scven-tenths of / per cent.
larger than the first week of May, 1895.
and - per cent. larger than the corre-
spending week of 1884.
The exports of wheat (wheat flour in
cluded as wheaD from both coasts of
the United States. this week amount to
.ss2,@o bushels, compared with 2S05 900 in
the first week of May 1895. The stocks
of wheat and flour afioat for and in Eu-
ioItt MAY 1. we're equivalent 10 ft.ti .UH
bushels. the smallest total so held and in
transit on like date for eight years. be-
ing 23.6SoO0 less than a year ago. The
worlds available wheat stocks. May l.
l3l.Sl6,ooo bushels, We're almost as small
as July l. 1895. and much smaller than
July |. 1894 or 1893. The present prospect
is for 4 smaller quantity of available
wheat TO be carried over on July next
than for years.
The preliminary examination by Brad
street of the annual consumption of
wheat per capita in the United States
and Canada. has resulted in showing an
annual average consumption of wheat
per capita in the United States of about
3.3s bushels per capita, opposed 10 the
heretofore accepted rate of i.66 bushels
There 26l business failures reported
throughout the United States. this week
compared with 22i in the week. a year
ago.