The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-27
BUSINESS is STILL VERY BAD.
No MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN
GENERAL TRADE YET.


The Adoption of n Gold Plank by the
ST. Louis Convention the Only Fac
tor That Has Improved the Under
tone of Business-NO General Re
yivaI Expected Until After the
EIection-StrenEth of the silver
hensfOn.
New York, June 26.-Bradstreets to-
morrow will say: THE more hopeful feel
ing in trade circles within the past ten
days. explained as due to the adoption of
a gold plank at ST. Louis. has been given
undue weight. Interviews with merchants
in staple lines at twenty-five OF the more
important distributing centers show that.
aside from the increase in the strength in
the wool in the hands of interior holders
(rehected at Boston and Philadelphia),
and improved demand for hardware at
Providence, for clothing and shoes at Bal
timore, shoes and dry goods at Memphis,
and in similar lines at St. Louis. there
has been no Improvement in trade. At
Chicago there is a more hopeful senti-
ment but no increase in business, A can
vass of leading jobbers at important cities
eral trade until after the election. and at
some points no real Improvement is ex-
pected until next year. There were 2lS
business failures reported throughout the
United States this week, a striking de-
crease as compared with a week ago,
when the total was 265. One year ago the
weeks total was 2l5.
1.-The volume of general trade is no
larger than last week; in some lines it
is smaller, notably at Pittsburg and Kan
sas City. Midsummer dullness character
ICES operations at almost all points. Rel
atively the greatest activity has been
among eastern dry goods Jobbers, who
have sacrificed prices to reduce heavy
stocks Of cotton goods. Restricted pro-
duction OF print cloths at Fail River is
likely to be followed by similar action
at Providence and at Augusta. New Eng
land rubber manufacturers are curtail-
ing production, and the situation and
outlook in the iron and steel industries
is less satisfactory, with prospective cut
in the price of Bessemer pig iron, and
the probability of the billet combination
reducing quotations and lower prices for
coke. In addition there are reduced prices
for leaf tobacco, petroleum and cotton,
for wheat, wheat flour, oats, pork, lard
sugar and coffee.
New York, June 26.-R. G. Dun & Co
will say tomorrow in their weekly review
of trade: The failures for the week
have been PIT in the United states,
against 256 last year, and "A in Canada
against % last year.
THE monetary outlook is not yet clear
TO some. The strength shown In recent
conventions by advocates of silver coin
age and expectations that all the ele-
ments favoring that policy may yet be
concentrated. incline business to a wait
ing attitude. The uncertainty retards
improvement, Notwithstanding the more
tary action of the St. Louis convention
VIII be sustained by the people. But
many mills have waited as long as they
can with safety, ana signatures have. been
given by enough cotton mills of Fall
River to ensure a temporary stoppage.
1t is stated, the nature of which is now
under discussion IN conference with the
Providence manufacturers. Meanwhile
the Pacific of Lawrence and the Aaum
keag of Salem have closed for time and
practically all the southern cotton mills
will be represented at a meeting on Mon
day with the same object. Wooden mills
are acting without concert, but fourteen
are mentioned In dispatches as having
closed this week. There is no similar
movement in other industries, though the
period of summer closing is at hand at
many of them, and important controveT-
sizes as to the wages of iron puddlers
and other hands make it likely that the
annual stoppage in that industry may
last longer than usual
1.-The great combinations which, the
Iron Age wisely reasons, tend to cause low
prices hereafter still control the markets
both for material and finished products of
iron and steel though it is reported that
lower prices will soon be made for coke,
owing to better utilization of bye-products
and for nails, owing to the heavy decrease
in consumption The billet pool rensrts no
large sale, but middlemen continue to I'M
dcrsell it, The demand for finished pro-
ducts is very light and while quotations
average a shade lower, most of them are
cut to secure business. Bessemer pig is a
Shade lower at SIPS al Pittsburg.
1.-The textile manufacturers, as has
been said. are generally devising curtail-
ment of productions and the only change
in prices is downward"