The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-23
THE OUTLOOK FOR BUSINESS.
A COMPARATIVE But NATURAL
QUIET IN TRANSACTIONS.

Wages Have Been Advanced and the
Foundation Laid More Broadly for
Larger Business In Future 4
slack In the Iron Industry, Be
cause VOIuminOus Orders Have Al
ready Been Placed - Demand for
Bars Is the Best In Years-Rise In
the Output of Coke-SaIes of Wool
Have Decreased-Wheat Advances
21zc-FaiIures for the Week - 4.
Bradstreet's Review.
New York, Oct. PR G. Dun & Co.'S
Weekly Review of Trade will say In It's
issue tomorrow: After the heaviest
buying ever known In many branches dur
ing September and the first half Of Octo-
tober 1t was both natural and desirable
that a more quiet period should give time
for testing the size and temper of retail
trade, and for distributing the enormous
quantities bought in textile goods The
rush of orders went far beyond all dis
tributive demand in August, and repre-
scented great replenishment of stocks, and
the similar rush for goods has been CORE
spondingly great in other lines during the
past two months. In iron and steel, and
In boots and shoes there was actual dan
ger of a speculative Imitation of prices
such as was seen in 1895, but 1t has disap-
peared apparently for this season, by the
solid sense of leading men who regard
time of comparative quiet as essential to
the coming and permanency of prosperity
in their lines. AS the buying for replen-
there is some decrease in the volume of
transactions, though at the same time
the working force has further increased,
the wages of labor have been in numer-
Gus cases advanced, and the foundation
laid more broadly every week for larger
buying and business hereafter. The iron
industry waits, because possible produce
ton for the year has been practically
ordered, while neither buyers nor sellers
regard contracts at current prices for next
years business as quite safe. Bessemer
Dig is a shade weaker al 800, and grey
forge at $3.50 at Pittsburg, while billets
are hard to get at any price owing to the
stoppage of only two works of moderate
size, so much has the current demand
come to exceed production. Sales of war
rant pig iron at Philadelphia 25c below.
is 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 plate
mills a the west are so full that they could
not compete at all for three Rockefeller
vessels requiring $500 tons each. The de-
mand for bars is the best for long time,
and contracts for the East River bridge,
for numerous new buildings and railway
bridges, are still pending. The coke out
put has risen to 1903 tons weekly, and
is the largest known for years. Anthra-
cite coal is sold at $i.15 in New York har-
Dor or 20 cents below the circular, and
conservative estimates make the output
1880 600 tons. The only noteworthy feat
ure In minor metals is a sensational col
lapse in lead of 30 points, with sales of
5000 tons.
The severe decline in cotton to 6.12c from
S25c Aug. 80, is due to widespread conf
dence in large estimates in yield. A natural
consequence is the fall in print cloths 10
the lowest point in the history of the
market, 2.37c and cotton goods generally
are easy, with limited sales of staples. All
wooden goods are firm, but 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 3,043O0O pounds against over 100000
pounds the last week in September, and
the week there was the dullest since Jan.
T. Some large offerings were maze TO re-
alize profits before prices fall, but quota
tons remained unchanged because even
at half cent decline buyers were not dis
posed to take hold.
The produce market acted with as lit
tie apparent reason as usual. Although
Atlantic exports of wheat were 1876, COZ
bushels, flour included, and for three weeks
Of October, 10,O39 90S bushels, against 1872
ga last year, with western receipts not
half a million bushels larger, the price ad-
vanced 2lA cents. Corn with smaller re-
ceipts and exports barely quarter of last
year, declined a small fraction.
Failures for the week were 224 in the
United States, against ga last year, and SO
in Canada against 60 last year.
New York Oct. 2.-Bradstreets to-mor-
row will say: while the general trade
movement is somewhat irregular and there
are further evidences of falling off in de-
mand, the volume of business continues
of large proportions. The speculation in
wool has ceased and the demand for the
staple is less than for weeks past. Cotton
goods are duh on the weakness of raw
cotton, and jobbers report dry goods slow
er than a week ago. Interior merchants in
| the central west have not distributed fall
stocks as promptly as expected, and many
| jobbers a western centers find that they
over-estimated the consumptive demand
when securing fan goods. Unseasonably
warm weather has interfered with the
movement of heavy goods at the west, but
rains In Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska
! have improved the agricultural outlook.
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