The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-03-13
WIDESPREAD CONFIDENCE.
Business Outlook Continues tl
Improve.
BRADSTREETS NOTES ENCOURAG-
ING FEATURES OF WEEK.

Continued Activity in Industrial Lines
Based on Expanding Consumptive De-
mand--Steady Prices for Staples, In.
creased Railroad Earnings, Confidence
| that Volume VIII Expand Constitute
| the List.
New York, March 13.-Bradstreets to-
morrow will say: Continued activity In
various industrial lines, based on ex-
steady prices for staples further improve
ment sin railway earnings, widespread
confidence that the volume of business
will expand materially In the near fu-
ture, constitute the trade features of the
week.
There is better inquiry of shoes, hats
and clothing, light hardware. agricul-
tural implements, West and Southwest.
Jobbers at Chicago and ST. Louis report
fairly steady request by mail order and
visiting buyers. Offerings of cotton
goods have been in excess of the demand
Wool continues active. and firm in price.
The Central West and Northwest report
distribution of general merchandise in
terfel ed with by the floods and wash
outs.
The bank clearinRs pointsto temper
ary check to the tendency to increase
noted earlier in the year. The week q
total is 1926, COO. 600. being 8 per cent less
than last week, and per cent less than
the second weeksof March, 1896.
Prices have been fairly steady, the
noteworthy decrease being for tea. SUI
gar, coffee, lard and wheat. Quotations
are practically unchanged for wheat
-four. pork, oats petroleum sand print
cloths. Those for cotton, Indian corn,
shoes, leather, tobacco, rosin are higher.
The drop in the price of wheat in the
face of the governments remarkably
bullish report on the stocks of wheat in
the farmers hands, indicates continued
lack Of faith in the agricultural depart
ment, and the out-givings as to the size
of crops and stocks of The same.
The government report of wheat stocks
in famers' hands March 1, backed by
it's wheat crop report for 1895, and ac-
oepted estimates for reserves July l. 1896,
indicate that less than 80, 000,0 coo bushels
of wheat remain in the country, will be
and Invisible, and available for export
prior to July /, 1897, and for reserves on
that date.
The exports of wheat from both coasts
of the United States this week (f1our in
cIuded as wheat) are ony ], 559l, 482 BUSH
els against 2, ,401, 600 in the week a year
ago and form the smallest weeks total
since the last week Of April. 1896. The
exports of Indian corn continue heavy,
amounting to 6, 100000 bushels against
/, 708, 900 in the week year ago.
The later January net railway earnings
are more favorable than those recently
reported. The total earnings of 81
systems, represen tative of American rail
way operations are S35, 097, $50 gross, and
$40, 1884, 390 net. decrease respectively of
SO and So per cent from the January to-
tails of year ago.
The February gross railway earnings
tend to improve, although comparisons
with that month In 1895 still favor last
year. Compared with the February two
years previous the showing Is more salts
factory. The total earnings of 116 rail-
reads for February of this year aggregate
$34. 1885,, 901, decrease of seven tenths Of
one per cent from the total for February,
1896 The carr ings of one hundred roads
slow all increase last month over the to-
tai for February, 1895, of 1874 per cent.
This is.a better showing than January
of any month since September. The
Coalers' Trunk lines and Northwestern
roads all show gains in February over
year ago, whereas in January not one
group of American roads showed an in
crease.
Tho failures contiue to decrease the
total for the week, being 227, against 282
in the week a year ago.