Omaha daily bee., 1896-10-11
CONDITION OF OMAHA'S TRADE
General Business Situation Shows Very Few
Important Changes.
BANK CLEARINGS SMALLER THAN LAST YEAR
Merchants In All branches of Trade
Follow Unnd-to-Nouth Policy
south Omaha Doing Good
Buslaess In Live stock.

So long as the general business situation
remains practically unchanged as has been
the case for some weeks past, there IS
very little of interest to say on the subject,
at least very little that Is Of sufficient
Importance to attract public attention.
Business IN this locality, and, 80 far as can
be learned, in every other locality, Is In
a waiting mood Hesitancy Is the pro-
nourccd feature here and everywhere in
tho United states, and how long it will
continue The dominant influence remains
to be seen Many believe that after the
election is over with and the questions In
volvcd are settled I'm the right way there
will be a speedy revival in all branches OF
business and that trade will be aroused
from the lethargy that has held it inactive
for so long n time Others loss hopeful can
see nothing, even under the most favorable
circumstances, better than gradual inn
provcmcnt that may require year or more
before a complete recovery Is tIectcd.
Whatever the future may have In store
the present is certainly far from pleasing
In every line OF business 1t Is tho same,
wholesale as we'll as retail DO not think
for moment that you have monopoly
on hard times" said an old travelling man
who was I'm the city the past week. Il
have been on the road for thirty years, my
business carrying me into every state in
the union ana | never saw the time when
business was 80 uniformly dun as 1t Is
now In Bangor, Me, trade was simply
dead; in Philadelphia 1t was the worst 1
ever saw; in Cleveland for the first time
since | have been on the road | failed to
get AN order, ana in Chicago every one was
complaining, and in omaha find the situ-
alton no worse than in every other section
OF the country"
Interviews with leading jobbers bring out
the fact that most Omaha houses are doing
as much business as they expected at this
season, but compared with previous years
the total volume of sales is small. Most
every house can point out one or two
dlXs In "A wppl whom the orders hupppupd
to come I'm little moro freely than Gus
tomary and when the whole force oc-
cupled in taking care of the business In
hand but no house pretends to be very
busy six days In the week. The feeling of
frost In the air has given little stimulus
to the demand for seasDnablc goods. but
as yet there has been no weather i'm this
locality suiiicienty severe to provoke tree
buying OF cold weather merchandise in
Inc New York Dry Goods Record says
that with goods cheap In "A comparative
sense and yet so few merchants willing to
take them except in homeopathic quanti-
ties Is the most wonderful exhibit of the
trade situation. want OF confidence ls
plainly the secret of the condition of trade
that prevails. Manufacturers appear to be
recovering some of their lost confidence and
from different sections comes the word that
tho mills are being started again.
LIVE STOCK INDUSTRY
At South Omaha the situation as regards
the live stock and packing house industries
Is fairly satisfactory. Since the first Of the
as compared with the corresponding period
OF last year, amounting to 1850 hogs and
95,7lS sheep. but a loss of 1884 cattle. The
decrease In cattle arrivals Is due no doubt
In large part, to the close selling of breed
ing cattle that followed Immediately upon
the crop failure of 1891, and, furthermore, to
the limited number of range cattle taken
back into the country last fall.
The demand for all kinds of live stock
has been very good for some time past and
values IN consequence have been high a;
this point, as compared with other markets.
The very excellent consuming demand for
all kinds of hog products continues. and
sold up to the higest point touched since
the middle of May. Still prices are very
low, hogs having sold the past week I5fi Sc
per hundred lower than a year ago. 81 S0m
100 lower than two years ago and 81 SOd
$50 lower than three years ago. In other
one-half what they brought I'm 1898
Tho growth OF the sheep business at
South Omaha has been phenomenal as the
stock yards people had no sooner made
sheep than they commenced coming freely
cattle are going out into the country
whole situation is promising
COAL NOT LIKELY TO ADVANCE.
The announcement made few days age
that the railroads would restore the freight
rate ON anthracite coal has been followed
by the Information that the eastern mine
owners have decided that IT would be un-
wise to advance PRICES another notch this
month, and ii is believed in most quarters
that the last advance of the year has been
recorded Mine owners appear to have
come TO their present decision i'm the belief
that past advances were about all the trade
would stand without leading to unusual
economies. In the west there has been a
very general inclination to substitute other
Omaha soft coal has taken the place OF
hard, certain kinds of coking coal giving
good satisfaction even in hard coal fur.