The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-04
THE CONDITION OF TRADE
BRiDSTREETS CITES OUT 4 FAIR
 REPORT ON FINANCES.

Start upward-A Numpef or busihess
 Failures as Usual. New York, Jan 3.--Bradstreets to- momroW will say: The week which end ed 1895 and ushed inl 1896 has been very dull in mercantile circles, as is usual at this point of the year, The volume of business has fallen away sharply, owing to the New Years holiday and to quiet in the trade circles at a time when stock taking and preparing samples for commercial tuavelers are taking the at- tention of jobbers and commission houses. A sackenlng of activity in some of the mportant manufacturing 1 lines is likewise noticeable and it is sig nificant that diagrams from so many ceniters rsport mercantile collections slow or unsatisfactory, the exception be- ing at a few poErits in southern states. Jobbers an leading lines at many centers are confident as to the outlook foY trade ill the near future, although in LEtstal2ces feal9 are expressed of an un- 1 favorable effect, due to inability to se- cure necessary lgisJaltion on financial | questions. Advices from St. Louis are that the total business last year was the largest since 1892, and that the total clearngs there l.J 1895 were the largest on record. The volume of Chicago's l jobbng trade last year was 10 per cent. 1 larger than in the year before, and the manufacturing output from 10 70 U per cent. larger Another gratifying re- | port is from Chattat-boga, that country merchants in the region tributary to 1 that city are on flrmer financial basis ! han in previous years. On the Pacific coast the lumber trade is viang with
 that in wheat, shipments Of lumber from Portland, Ore, to Mexico, Cen trad American and South America nav l ing been heavy and from Tacoma are in 1 excess of all previous records. Gener2l trade at Seattle last years was from ,
 to 25 per cent larger thata' in lS94 san | Fr2ncisco talegraphs that flour mas ad- varced fl cents, that the orange crop | has ben unfavorably affected by frcst and that farmers are anxious for rain. | The prlcet movement has taken a start | upward, atnd for the first time in many
 weeks large majority of staples
 quoted close higher than a week ago. 1 Flour, wheat, corn and Oa:s are all up, 1 as are oats and sugar, both raw ana re- l fined, petroleum, both crude and re- 1 fined, couton, W@ol (the latter from j2
 cent to l cenO and hides, the latter
 havirg stiffened the leather market,
 Quotations for lumh.1 and for coal
 remain firm at the levels of the pre- ,1 l. Ir, print cloths, the increasai price of
 which has not enjoyei relatively the
 advance shown by cot+oh. In addition
 10 @. decline in the price of coffee, pig l iron and steel are off 25@j9 cents per
 fon with quotations still in the buy
 CT favor. The pro spect does not favor
 I relief fro mtha existing weakness n
 che iron market as the production ia
 ahaad of all records with an output of
 about 100000 tons per month and
 stocks are accommodating. Some furn-
 aces may have to smut down scSn to relieve the pressure.
 Exports of wheat ,fiour included as
 wheaD from both coasts of the United { States this week amount to 2,966. 73l { bushels, compared with 3, 142 GOO bush
 els il the week two years ago. F.reign
 shipments of wheat this week are larg-
 CT tLan those for any previous week
 slnce chat ending September 10. 1893.
 Exports of Indian corn this week. which
 amount to 3,227,00O bushels are ex
 ceptionally heavy, being larger than tfose for any previous week since that eEGing February 2l. 1892
 Worlds available wheat stocks Jan
 uary are less bullish than anticipated
 amounting to nearly 17O, 900 900 bushels, about fifteen million bushels less than
 one year ago, twenty millions less than two years ago and twenty-five millions less than three years ago. but more than were held at corresponding dates in years previous to 1893. Stocks of
 wheat east of the Rockies, United States and Canada, increased more rap idly in December than expected, while
 on the Pacific coast the usual falling
 away took place. While stocks of
 wheat afoat for and in Europe on the 1 first are a few bushels smaller than
 month ago, they are more than seven
 millions larger than one year ago, al-
 though less than were reported January 1, the three years next previous tC i January l, 1S9b.
 The December bank clearings are the
 largest than for any month last year,
 but October, and furnish satisfactory closing chapter to the years large gains in bank clearings Total clear tngs at sixty cities for December aggre- gate $5,o26,O56,IST gain over December ! last year of 17.6 per cent, and an in ! crease over December two wears go of 24 per cent, while compared with December three years ago there is a de- crease of 15 per cent. Heaviest gains occur in the middle and in New Eng land states, due partially to speculat- i've activity. Total clearings at 50 cities
 for 1895 aggregate $52, ,S2S 539, ,249, an ir- l crease of 16.S per cent. OCT 1894, a de- crease of only 1 per cent from the
 total in 1893, and a. falling off of If per cent from 1892, the record year in bank clearings.
 As is usual at this season there is
 a considerable increase in the number
 of business failures, the total reported
 being 40S this week. against S7S in the
 week year ago, 4S0 two years ago
 and 3l3 ill the week three years ago.
 Mild weather and the usual Christ
 mas holiday interruptions have hen
 dered general trade throughout the