The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-04-18
THE SOUTH VERY QUIET
Increased Volume of Business Most Con.
picuous In the Largest Western Cities.
EVIDENCES OF AN INCREASING VOLUME.
In Industrial Lines There ts Not Much
Gnin-Fair Orders for Shoes, but
Leather in swenk-Demand for Cot.
ton Machinery I'm the South-Thc
East Wants Locomotives.

| New York, April 17.-Bradstreet's to-
morrow will say:
| Favorable weather, except in some
| Northwestern States has stimulated q
| demand for seasonabIe merchandise, no.
| tably light summer clothing. On the
| whole, the week presents n distinct gain.
| T'nis Is not so much apparent at East
ern centres, except Baltimore and Pitts
| burg, as In the central Mississippi river
valley. At some Northwestern cities.
the movement of merchandise has de-
clined, but at number II Is unchanged,
while Southern cities In most instances
report business quiet, and in others less
| favorable.
There Is a better demand for cotton
machinery to go South. Eastern cotton
dyers are buster. and there is a de-
mand for hardware, machinery and loco
| motives.
Increased volume of business is most
| conspicuos West. at st. Louis, Chicago,
| Kansas City, Omaha Milwaukee. and
Memphis. Less gain is shown on the
Pacific coast except in export lines
| In industrial lines there Is not much
| gain. There have been fair orders for
! shoes. but less Is doing in that direction
| now and leather Is weak. While prices
| Tor cottons and woollens 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 manu-
| tacturefs complain of q scarcity OF or
! ders. Less business is done in iron and
| steel than expected after the formation
| OF the big steel pool. Transactions in
| IRON and steel have been recorded I
less than pool prices, but on the basis
| OF contracts held by middlemen This
| indicates that a number Of mills at the
| time the pool was formed had contracted
| a..
| the day for the test of strength between
the pool and the public is a little further
| ahead.
| Additional evidence of an increa sing
volume of business is found In the total
oi bank clear!ngs this week, SS4, 600 COO
per cent. more than last week. SO per
cent more than in the CORRESPONDING
week one year ago
Dun q Co.'s View OFT.
Failures for the past week have been
-" in the United States, against PAL
last year. and sc in Canada, against "a
! last year
The sudden change from cold weather
10 summer heat tested the prevalent
ldea that good weather only was needed
10 bring general Improvement of bust
| ness. Everywhere there has been more
retail buying. and in some branches
better demand at wholesale. and at the
works has resumed. but not as vet In
most lines. There Is no abatement of
the almost universal disposition to deal
win unusual conservatism, and not ia
anticipate future wants, and this has
been especially conspicuous where com
Dlnations have been formed or prices
advanced.
To many interested in iron ore. coke
and steel billets. Bessemer pig and yari-
Gus forms of steel. 1t may be disappoint-
| ing that the forming OF combination
ana hXing of prices have not started
again the rush to buy ahead of needs
which made last year so memorial ble.
but II is not easy to forget the lesson
which the past year taught Instead of
| increasing purchases. however ON the
whole they have slackened. though a
little better in tank plates at the East
and sheets at Chicago. Bessemer pig
and gray forge are a shade lower at
Pittsburg. as is the average of all iron
ana steel quotations. and obstacles
to some attempted combinations have
not yet been overcome. The greatest
consumers OF lake ore have not hastened
to make contracts at advanced prices.
and the output of coke Is stationary.
| The boot and shoe makers have put
some quotations shade 10 Her since
| leather has been below the average of
one year ago The Northern and north
western demand is backward. though
lilc 'oouln mas DOuSnt freely. The SILK
Association states that forty per cent.
of the machinery and hands in the coun-
try are now idle, partly because Of in
creasing japanese competition.
Several more woollen mills have shut
down. and some have reduced wages 10
per cent. while many are working only
| half time, but recent advances by ap-
praisers not only disclose heavy under
valuations in the past. but tend 10 check
| autufe imports. The demand for goods
does not improve. Somewhat more de-
mand for staple co,tons has been arous
| ed by bargain prices. hut the closing of
many mills for time is urged as neces
sary
Partly because OF low prices, which are
| again the lowest ever known the volume
| of business represented by clearing
house exchanges, 90 per cent. larger
| than last year, is 20.4 per cent. smaller
than in April. 1893. Railroad earnings
for April thus far show gain of only 2.6
per cent. over last year. March imports
were s3,al2,4 ,455 smaller and exports slo.
lO7 larger than last year and the
| excess of exports was s9,1I4,Ol5.
|
| Music. Music.