The herald., 1896-12-05
Local, Eastern and Foreign
Commercial Dealings
WALL STREET SPECULATION
Retail Merchants Of Toronto Organize
for Reformation
The Tomato Pack of 1se6-Russian Gold
Accumulations-The Bursting of the
Nail Pool-Local Market Changes.

The Retail Merchants association of
Canada a Toronto organization, has start
ed out to reform things with vengeance
in the Dominion. This is its ambitious
program:
81. TO safeguard the interests of retail
mercants of the various departments of
trade throughout the Dominion. 2. To en-
deavor to enlist the cooperation of all
manufacturers and wholesale jobbers in
securing Just and equitable prices on all
classes of staple and standard merchan-
disc. 8. To prevent the selling of staple
merchandise at less than cost price for ad
vertising purposes. as it brings no benefit
to legitimate merchandising and destroys
the value of labor. 4. To regulate the dis
posal of bankrupt stocks. 3. To promote
legislation in the direction of securing an
efficient insolvent act, improvements in
municipal laws as to peddling and other IL
censes. 6. Legislation in the direction of
improved postal regulations. Z. Legislation
in the direction of the abolition of the d-
vision court. or the reduction in the fee for
the collection of debts therein s. To have
copies of all Dominion. provincial and civic
acts that relate to trade. submitted for our
consideration before becoming law. o. A
more rigid enforcement of the provisions
of the aoulteration act, also for the ap1end-
ment of the same wherein deficient 10. To
promote proper equalization of taxation
and insurance rates. II. To promote
closer relationship in good fellowship
among retailers, and to encourage greater
interchange of commerce.
The pack of alb tomatoes in 1896 is re-
ported the lowest for six years, and over
two-thirds of the eastern pack is said to
Rave been already sold without reaching an
amount equal to one-third of the usual
grocery distribution. The pack of 1896 is
estimated at 2.6sO000 cases. against 3.S44, $50
cases in 1895; 66S6.9 $40 cases in 1894; A. 635, 1888
z ir11
cases in 1891 and 3 1911 cases In 1890.
Russia continues to increase her enormous
gold reserve. now estimated to exceed $500 =
900, 900. and this demand Is now said to be
the chief drain on English and French gold
supplies. far exceeding shipments to the
Ihlted states. 1t is now declared by the
Londoh Chronicles st. Petersburg corre-
spondent that the Russian government will
attempt to establish specie redemption on
a gold basis. although the agrarian mem
Ders or the imperial council strongly oppose
it,. There is. however, great doubt in the
minds OF thinking men as to the real object
oil Russia in thus accommodating half billion
OF gold. and in view of her great transcOn-
tinental railroad building with her gigantic
operations at Pacific ports. and the mass
ing OF troops near the Manchurian penin-
su.a, ;, ,.;,, there is good reason to anticipate
striking developments in less peaceful d.
rections.-St. Paul Trade Journal
Hardware dealers will doubtlessly learn
trust was recently outwitted by some clever
New York hardware jobbers. The facts in
me case are highly uncomplimentary to
Cent-a-keg Parks and his associates, and
SHOWS the nail trust up in its true light as a
rapacious barnace on the nail consum ers
OF this country.
Some time back the nail trust found Itself
threatened with over-production In other
words, hardware jobbers and dealers for
some strange. nuaccountable reason very
likely pure muishness, were not bllyinR
n vNsf., tI,.H
had figured out they would. Cent-a-Keg
Parks and the other leaders of the trust
We're afraid to have too many unsold nails
lying around for fear prices would be too
apt TO seek their nominal level. and so
large shipments of American nails were
made to Liverpool some time last summer
ana sold at prevailing rates there. Some
enterprising New York hardware jobbers
saw their chance. bought these nails,
brought them back across Tie Atlantic
and laid them down at about 65c per kSg
below combination figures. Maybe Cent
a-keg Parks was not hot at finding him
self thus outgeneraled. But we doubt If
he Will be half as warm undeNthe collar as
the hardware trade of this country will he
on learning that the nail trust have sold
nails at price in Liverpool so much below
the price in this country that freight
charges across the Atlantic in two direc-
tions. Liverpool hardware jobbers' com
mission, New York jobbers' profits. costs
or exchange, etc. can all be taken out and
the goods still laid down in New York mar
ket at 65c per keg below trust prices And
yet there are people in the trade who haya
taken us to task for maintaining. that the
nan trust could not long maintain its pres
ent position.-American Artisan