The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1896-12-12
It Is Quiet, But Holiday
Goods Are In Demand.
Unreasonable Weather Causes a
Delay in Orders.
An Expected Falling Off In Bank Clearings
With 38l Business Failures This Week.

New Yorl., Dec. 12.-Bradstreet's to
day says: There has been no improve
ment in general trade this week, except
in holiday specialties. At Augusta,
Louisville. Nashville. Charleston, Chat
tanooga, Cincinnati and Memphis the
condition Of business Is unchanged. Like
reports come from Cleveland, from
Providence, Chicago, Omaha and Duluth,
where activity is confined to the retail
demand for holiday goods and requests
for staples continue moderate. The
situation at Milwaukee. Galveston and
Birmingham Is characterized as disap-
pointing, but at st. Paul and Minneapolis
there Is more active demand for drugs.
groceries, shoes and hats, and at jack
sonville, Savannah, Atlanta and New
Orleans for staple goods. Distribution
Of merchandise in Texas has been
checked by those who have held back
cotton, awaiting higher prices. Unsea-
sonable weather has again delayed de-
mand for winter goods, and the approach
Of the period for stock taking will pro-
long the season Of dullness well into next
month.
The tendency of prices is more con-
spicuously downward, noticeably for
bessemer pig iron, steel billets, rails.
hides, leather, flour. wheat, corn, oats.
lard, cotton and petroleum. Compare
lively steady quotations are reported for
raw wool, print cloths, lumber, pork and
sugar. Coffee is higher Many who
have been extremely bullish as to wheat
prices regard the reaction as likely, not
withstanding the outlook for greater
frmness and higher quotations during
the latter than the first half Of the cur
rent cereal year.
The collapse or impending dissolution
Of iron and steel pooN or combinations
encourages belief that prices for those
metals will range lover. This causes
buyers to withhold or RS. The demand
for leather and morocco has fallen off,
and a number Of factories have been
closed. Dry goods are depressed by the
large stocks Of print cloths in the hands
of manufacturers, and, although some
New England wooden mills are well sup
piled with orders. there is no revival in
woolen manufacturing. Some makers
are waiting for the dry goods market to
start up.
November gross railroad earnings. as
expected, are the poorest for over two
years, total November earnings OF 115
crease Of 10 per cent from 1895, when
there was a gain Of So per cent over No
vember, 1894.
The falling off is heaviest in the gran
ger and central western roads and light
est in the southwestern group. Only
one fifth Of all the roads reporting show
gains. Only one Pacific company re-
ports an increase, and only two out of
"a central western roads shows an in
crease. Total earnings of 113 companies
for ii months of the calendar year ag-
gregate $408,615, ,841, gain of 1.9 per cent
over a year ago, following an increase in
1896 over 1894 of 4.S per cent The gran
gers, trunk lines. coal, southern and Pa
cific roads are still ahead of last year,
while the central western and south
western groups earnings are smaller
than in 1895. Bank clearings show the
expected falling off, amounting to 81, $685.
10000, or 10 per cent less than in the
preceding week, and per cent less than
in the second week of December, 1895.
Compared with the corresponding week
in 1894. the gain is about per cent, but
1t is about 16 per cent when comparison
il made with the like week in 1893. Con-
trasted with the corresponding period
in 1892 when the volume of business was
large, this weeks decrease amounts to
"a per cent Decreases are also shown
when comparisons are made with similar
weeks In 1891 and 1890.
There are 381 business failures reported
In the United States this week, another
increase, as compared with the average
In recent weeks; % more than last week,
IS more than in the like week one year
ago, but two less than in the second week
of December, 1894, although A more than
in the corresponding period of 1893. AS
compared with the like week in 1892, the
increased number OF failures this week
is 49,