The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1896-12-29
A REVIEW OF TRADE.
r. @. Dun g. Company's Weekly
Business Report.
THE HOLIDAY SEASON ENDED

Two Big Hank Failures 10 Not lessen the
Confidence of tia i..op' ui the Bust
ness Outlook Is n : = l- Ever Pros.
poets of Good Time, e.,. .,ar Failures
For the Week.
NEW YORK, Dec : R. G.. Dun &
Company weekly If trade says;
The failure of two in ortant hanks, the
second in size of business at Chicago,
and the oldest at s.. Paul, with some
others dependent On t'eu, closes not
favorably a month h.cl promised to
end with only moderate commercial!
disasters. 1t docs not lessen the effect
of these failures that one was caused by
enormous loans III aid of an electric
railway and other concerns, and that
the other appears to ave resulted from
heavy ventures III dh,alable real estate.
y Since several thousand business men
and depositorS are Tor the Tune embar-
raised as much as spectators that
caused the trouble, the breakdown is
the reverse of hopeful at present, al
though it comes When money markets
are well supplied and when no serious
effect in business is to Ue apprehended
Other important eve & of the week are
the failure of the b.uet and rail pools to
find basis for agreement and the
somewhat general discharge of hands
or reduction of WAGES i'll the shoe man
ufacture. The holiday trade has been
fair, but generally Ill articles OF medium
grade.
The fall in steel billets from over $40
to about $l6 at Pit sburg and in steel
rails from $2S net for mills to S25, less
brokers commissions, produces so great
a change in other prices and conditions
of business that the meeting held here
this week for the purpose of reviving
pools and fixing prices influenced opera
tons throughout the country. But no
agreement was reached, and meanwhile
contracts have been made covering the
wants of most producers for three
months and some for the whole year
1897, and it is said that such large con-
tracts have been made at Sl5 at Pitts
burg and at ST. 30 at the east Besse-
mer pig has declined to 81 10, and grey
forge to 1866 at PittSburg. while bar
and other finished products remain un-
changed, though 100000 bundles of cot
ton ties have been contracted for at 80
cents per bundle
The production of coke increases rap
idly. 9 $50 ovens being i'll blast, with an
output of 91,l55 tons for the week.
Scarcely any business has been done
in the minor metals, and Sl137 is quot
ed for lake copper, 1880 for tin and 800
for lead.
In the cotton manufacture there is
further decline in some staple goods
and takings by northern spinners are
disappointingiy light Print cloths ac-
cumulate and do not advance. Raw
cotton comes forward just as it did in
other years, when official and other
stories of injury ended in great crops
Sales of wool are restricted by the gem
eral conviction that prices asked by in
terioV holders can not be realized, and
there is considerable disposition to I'M
load speculative purchases at seaboard
markets. Most manufacturers have
more wool than they have orders, and
Others meet as yet no satisfactory de-
mand for goods Sales of wool W ere
only Z, 100000 pounds at the three chief
markets, against 5,924, 800 for the same
week last year.
Wheat has grown little stronger in
spite of the disturbance of the Chicago
market. Exports have been l,471 ,443
bushels, flour included, for five days,
and 8,392, 5S7 for four weeks, against
S,527, $50 for the same weeks last year,
while from Pacific ports the increase
has been large. Western receipts are
still small, amounting to s, 400, 63l bush
els i'll three weeks of the month"; against
ID 344S59 last wear The volume of
business, advances considered, is not
large. Payments through clearing
houses have been for the week % per
cent less than last year and for the
month thus far the daily average is 9.S
per cent less than last year, and 20.8
per cent less than in 1892.
Failures for the week have been 297
i'll the United States, against 1923 last
year, and Al i'll Canada, against 40 last
year.