The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-23
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.
TFrom r.. G.. Dun & Co.'S weekly Re-
View."1

l nrSl nliI Oh OStODtf. II WAS poLi Ihth.-
and desirarie that a more quiet period
should give tirne for testing the size and
temper of retail trade and for oistrlDutlh6
part of the enormous quantities bought,
| In textile goods, the rush of orders Went
far beyond all df~stributive demand IN
August, and represented great rcpienisn-
ment Of stocks, and the similar rush ioa o.
goods has been correspondingly great IN
other lines during the past TWO months.
In iron and steel and in boots ana :snoes
there was actual danger of a speculative
imitation of prices such as was seen III
1895, but it has been avoided, apparently
for this season, by the solid sense OF lcaa-
ing men who regard a time OF COMPARE
tive quiet as e~ssentia TO the coming ana
permaneilce of prosperity in their INES.
AS the buying for r-eplenishment is parity
satisfied and diminishes, there is some oe-
| though at the same time the working
| force has farther increased, The wages OF
labor have been in numerous cases al
yanced. especially in all WOODEN mills o.
| Olneyyille, r. L., where the rates of 1885
| have been restored, and the foundation
is laid more broadly every week Tor larger
buying and business hereafter.
1t would be easy TO exaggerate tns
| change which has appeared, because the
| payments through the principal clearing
| houses are indeed smaller, ana yet only
| 20 per cent. smaller than 1892, while 3o.6
| per cent. larger than last year. 1t so hap
| pens that business I'VE years ago mad us
| great fall rush in October, with the al,
ditional activity due to a PreSldentlai
campaign, but the volume of business IS
even now larger in payments than IN any
| past month when it exceeded payments
Of the corresponding months in lS9z
| Earnings of railroads during the first haif
of October have amounted 10 sl4,so5; o9t.
and are 1e.e per cent. larger tiiafi iast
year. and 2,S per cent. larger than 1888,
| and all the classes except the minor west
ern roads report larger earnings than IN
1892. With such substantial evidences OF
the gain in railway business, II is natural
| that the long campaign to put down prices
OF stocks has been followed by an .ad-
vance averaging for railway stocks dur
ing the past week 1.35 cents per snare, ana
for trust stocks sl.31 per share;
The iron industry waits. because posi-
BILE production for the year has been
practically ordered, while neither buyers
nor sellers regard contracts al currsils
prices for next years business as quite
safe. Bessemer pig is a shade weaver
at $40. 40 and Grey Forge at Se.s5 at Pitts
! burg, while billets are hard TO get at any
! works of moderate size. SO much has the
current demand come to exceed produc-
ton. Sales of warrant pig iron at Phila-
! not in fact a decline. New business in
finished products is almost of necessity
smaller, since manufacturing works are
nearly all full for months ahead, the
could not compete at all for three Rookie
Teller vessels requiring $500 tons each.
The demand for bars is the best for a
long time. and contracts for the East
River bridge. for numerous new buildings
| and railway bridges. are still pending,
The coke output has risen 10 l4a,o33 tons
weekly, and is the largest known for
| years. Anthracite coal is sold at $4.l3 in
New York harbor, or 20 cents below the
| circular, and conservative estimates make
the years output 40, 3o0;O0e tons. The only
| noteworthy feature in minor metals IS a
sensational collapse in lead of 80 points,
with sales of 5000 tons.
The severe decline in cotton to 6.12
| cents. from SIS cents Aug. 80, is due to
widespread confidence in large estimates
of yield. 1t is considered that the preya-
lence of fever in Southern cities has much
decreased deliveries, but it also greatly
diminishes Southern speculation, which is
at this season a potent force in sustain
ing prices. A natural consequence OF the
decline in cotton is the fall OF print cloths
| to the lowest point in the history of the
market. 2.21 cents, and cotton goods gem
orally are easy, with limited sales OF
! staples. All WOODEN goods are frm, put
| there is no new business of note for
| spring outside of dress goods. Sales OF
wool have sharply decreased again at
Boston. amounting to only 3,43.00e lbs.
the last week in September, and the week
there was the dullest since Jan. Z. Some
large offerings wre made to realize profits
| before prices fall. but quotations remained
unchanged because even at half a cent
| decline buyers We're not disposed 10 take
The produce market acted with as little
| apparent reason as usual. Although At
lantic exports of wheat were 3,516.6oI
bushels, flour included. and for three
| weeks of October 10. o39. sos bushels, against
| 7,742 PA hast year, with Western receipts
| advanced 2Aa cents. Corn. with smaller
receipts and exports. barely a quarter OF
| last years. declined a small fraction;
Loans on long sterling bills checked goo
| Bank of England rates. A year ago, Wnen
the favorable trade balance was ~ per
cent. smaller. over sao,e0o; oO0 OF excnange
was so accumulated. and was not fully
| l~iouidated until March. Easier money
| here. with higher discounts abroad, may
| create another reserve stock OF credits,
but large receipts of spot cotton bills may
be expected early in November. The
| Treasury surplus gold fund of 1851, OO0, 900.
is the largest since 1890. and banks Of
| eastern cities, holding $50, 00d, 600 more gold
| than currency. attempt to employ it in
| current settlements. Another consignment
| of 81, $50, 600 gold has reached San Fran
| cisco from Australia. Failures in two
weeks Of October have amounted to So
159. 533. against 50. ssl, 900 last year. manu-
featuring s1.4so. 1888. against $3.50, 6S5 last
year. and trading g. lss, 80, against "a. w
pa in the United States, against IA last
wear. and SO in Canada, against GO last
year.
(From Bradstreet's state of Trade.")
While the general trade movement is
| somewhat irregular and there are further
| evidences Of falling off in demand the
| volume of business continues of large pro-
| portions. The extraordinarily heavy
| and steadily increasing production of
| iron is starting up furnaces long out of
| blast. and although consumption is heavy
il ia not improbable that production may
| outrun it in the near future, which con-
stitutes an unfavorable point in the out
look.
Bank clearings throughout the United
| States aggregate 81. BOG, 1893, S84 this week. a
decrease of a fraction of l per cent. from
the total a week ago, a falling off OF
: per cent. as compared with the total
| in the third week of October. 1892, and 8
per cent. less than in the corresponding
| week of 1890, in both of which years the
| volume of cleartngs was exceptionally
! heavy. This weeks bank ~clearings are "a
per cent. larger than in the week a year
| ago. 10 per cent. larger than two years
| ago. 43 per cent. heavier than in the like
week of 1894. 40 per cent. larger than IN
/ the third week of October. 1893, and 7
| ner cent. more thar in the corresponding
| period of 1891. Clearings at only ten out
of seventy-eight cities are smaller than
| in the like week a year ago.
The New York stock market has been
| irregular but generally higher. Public in
terest is limited, but London mas bought
| this week, and large interests are more
active on the bull side. The elections and
| revived talk OF Cuban troubles have been
used rs, bear factors. Continuance OF good
| railroad earnings and a settlement or the
cnmplicztfons about outside gas organiza-
| fions in Chicago have had q good effect.
| Stories of q syndicate TO bid for Union
Pacihc In opposition to the r~eorsani2crs
seem exaggerated. Exchange is lrmer
an fhe Bank of England's evident purpose
ID advance the London money markef.and
uncertainty exists az to the purpose OF
large borrowings ON long sterling bills
| here. Demand on London is i-Iler at