The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-22
The Difficulty in Making Col
lections Has Increased.
CREDITS SCANNED CLOSELY
Business Has Been Greatly Re-
tarded by the Drought.
TRADE CONFINED TO STAPLES
Failures for the Past Week Were Thir-
teen More Than for a Cores
ponding Time During the
Panic of 1893.

FdniC OF 1880.
New York, Aug. PR. g. Dunn &z
Company's Review of Trade tomorrow
viii say:
Political events of the week had no
definite influence upon business pros
poets for the phenomenal variations in
sterling exchange, and the beginning
of imports of gold may be fairly at
tributed to the accumulating excess
of merchandise exports over imports,
to which attention had been repeated
ly called, exports from New York for
the past two weeks having been TWEEN
ty per cent larger and imports here
twenty-one per cent smaller than last
year. The rapid movement of grain
and the unusually early marketing of
cotton, tend strongly to aid the bank
ing syndicate, which has undertaken
to regulate foreign exchange.
Speculation had advanced wheat
over one cent during the week, corn
small fraction, and cotton FIVE
eighths, the principal motive power
being reports of injury to growing
crops. AS before, the unfavorable ac-
counts respecting wheat are in some
measure discredited by the continued
heavy movements from the farms,
western receipts having been 10,697,-
137 bushels in the two weeks against
6,759,363 bushels last year. With
prices eight cents lower than last
year, such q movement cannot be in
terpreted as a sign of deficient yield.
The Atlantic exports for the same
weeks have been, -four included, 4,S92,-
660 bushels against 2,995,233 last year,
and while the increase is encouraging,
it agreeably corresponds with current
foreign countries. The movement of
corn continues to west-e cmfwyp pyy
corn continues heavy, although the
price is still 50 low that one wonders
why the product rs PIT into cars in
stead of into hogs.
The alarm about destruction 20 cot
ton has been most vigorously worked
here and abroad, and has readily raised
the price, although it is yet to be seen
whether the yield has been so far
diminished as to warrant price near
lv a cent higher than year ago.
Some additional heavy failures in
the lumber trade call attention to the
continuing depression which appears
to result, at least in part, from eXpec-
tations entertained by many that the
unlimited increase IN new building
during the past year or two, would be
permanent.
The iron and steel manufacture has
only continued depression to report,
and Bessemer pig has sold at $10.40 at
Pittsburg, while Southern iron is offer
ed at prices equivalent to $40 at New
York and nearly all finished products
are bing sold below the current quota
tions. There is rapid curtailment of
production, the Illinois Steel Company
having only seven of its seventeen fur
races at work, but in spite of this, the
supply of finished products appear to
greatly exceed the demand for them.
The one bright spot is sale of 5000
tons steel rails 10 Japan, for re-ftting
railways in that country, which makes
an aggregate of $4,000 tons exported
during the year.
Nothing encouraging can yet be
said regarding the wooleD manufac-
ture, and the demand for goods, even
at recent reductions in prices, is still
disappointingly small. Sales of wool
at the three chief markets have been
OHIN t.OtosOOO III WCChS
16.S47. 200 last year and 23.361 400 in
the same weeks of 1892. A heavy auc-
ton sale of cotton goods brought
prices which were considered quite en-
couraging and the current demand is
fairly maintained, although the mills
are not inclined to make large con-
tracts for the future, in view of the
rise in raw material. In general the
work in force for the textile branches
does not appear to have increased.