The Portland daily press., 1896-04-18
GOOD WEATHER HELPED.
Stimulates a Demand For Season.
able Merchandise.
BRADSTREET FINDS BUSINESS
IMPROVED PAST WEEK,

IMPROVED PAST WEEK.
Better Demand For Cotton Machinery For
the South Noted-Dyers are Generally
Busy Comparison of Wheat and Grain
Exports Made-PooI Did Not Boom
Expected,
New York, April 17.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say: Favorable weather, ex-
oept in some Northwestern states, stimu-
lated the demand for seasonable merohan-
disc, notably light summer clothing, and
on the whole the week presents dis
tinct gain. This is not so much appar-
ent at the eastern centres, except ut Bal
timore and Pittsburg as in the central
Mississippi river valley. At some North
western cities the movement of merchan-
disc declined. At number in the east
it Is uohannged. while in the southern
cities in most instances, business is
quiet
machinery to go south; eastern cotton
dyers are buster. There is demand
for hard ware, machinery and locomotives.
Preparations are making at most lax o
ports for the opening of navigation, one
of the first effects of which will be to re-
lease 10, 900, 600 bushels of grain in store
at Chicago.
The increased volume of business is
most conspicuous in the west. at St.
Louis, Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha.
Milwaukee and Memphis. Less gain is
shown on the Pacific coast except in
the export lines. Shipments of lumber
from Portland and San Francisco are
conspicuous. Tacoma continues to send
flour, lumber and cotton across the
Pacific and TO South Africa. In indus
trial linessthere is not much gain. There
have been fair orders for Shoes Less is
doing in that direction now. Leather is
weak, even with the production curtailed,
while prices for cottons and woolens are
nominally unchanged. Heavy stocks of
the former hang over the market and
good orders for the latter could probably
be placed below nominal quotations.
SILK manufacturers complain Of the scar
city of orders. Less business is doing in
iron and steel than was expected after
the formation Of the big steel pool, and
the stronger tendency of special forms
of metals, because of the combination of
makers. Tran sactions of iron and steel
are recorded at less than pool prices, but
on the basis of contracts held by the mid
dlemen. This indicates that the number
of mills at the time the pool was formed
had contracted further ahead than was
presumed, and the day for the test of
strength between the pool and the pub
lie is little further in the future.
Mercantile collections generallyIconti
slow. improvement in sales of general
merchandise is relative, as merchants
counts. Marked evidence of better feel
ing is found in the steadiness and upward
tendency of many quotations fur staples.
Thus the prices OF pork, c0ffee, print
cloths, wool, steel blllets, pig iron and
other shapee Of iron and steel are all
norninally unchanged.
Quotations for sugar, wheat flour,
steal plates are higher. Lard is lower
under the pressure of low priced Indian
corn and the supplies of the hogs. Cop
per is lower than was expected, in view
of the many exports, because Of the enor-
nous domestic production.
Tin plates are a fraction off. It is ex-
pected that pool among the makers of
this product will be formed and the
price put up.
Exports of wheat, (hour included as
wheat), from both coasts OF the United
States this week, amount to 2,2O7, 900
bushels, against $685. in the same
week year ago.
The exports in Indian corn amount to
1, O74, 900 this week, against IT'S, 900 in the
same week q year ago. An additional
evidence of the increasing volume of
business is found in the total bank clear
ings this week, which were 1884, 600, 900,
6 per cent more than last week; Sc per
cent more than in the corresponding
week year ago, (when trade already
begun to revive notioeably,) per oent
more than in the second week in April,
1894.
The failures in the United States are
244 this week, against 219 In the corre
spending week Of 1895.