The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-01-06
THE FAILURES FELT.
Chicago and st. Paul smashcs Felt in Busi.
ness Circles


II. q. Dun and Co.'S, weekly review Of
trade says:
The failure OF two important banks. the
second In size of business at Chicago and
the oldest at st. Paul. with some others de-
pendent upon them. closes not fayorably n
month which promised to end with only
moderate commercial disasters. II does not
lessen the effect OF these failures that one
was caused by enormous loans IN un electric
railway and other concerns, and that the
other appears to have resulted from heavy
ventures In unsuitable real estate. Since
several thousand business men and deposit
tors are, for the time, embarrassed as much
ms the spectators that caused the trouble,
the breakdown is the reverse OF n hopeful
present, although II comes when markets
are well supplied and when no serious Of
feet In business Is TO be npprehended. Other
important events Of the week are the failure
Of the billet and rail pools to find basis for
agreement. and the somewhat extensive dis
charge OF hands or reduction in the shoe
manufacture. The holiday trade has been
fair, but generally In articles OF medium
grade.
The fall in steel billets from over gao to
about si6 at Pittsburg, and In steel rails
from 525 net for mills TO S25, less brokers
commissions, produces so great a change In
other prices and conditions OF business that
the meeting held last week for the purpose
OF reviving pools and fixing prices, in
nuenced quotations throughout the country.
But no agreement was reached, and mean
while contracts have been made covering
tho wants of most producers for three
months, and some for the whole year
1897, md 1t is said that such large
contracts have been made at 1890
at Pittsburgh and $3.50 at the East
In the cotton manufacture there is further
decline In some staple goods. and takings by
northern spinners are disappolntly light.
Print clothes Accumulate and do not advance.
Raw cotton comes forward just as 1t did tin
other years, when official and other stories
OF injury ended In great crops. Sales OF wool
are restricted by the general conviction that
prices asked by interior holders cannot bc
realized, and there Is considerable disposi-
tion to unload speculative purchases nj sea-
board markets. Most manufacturers have
more wool than they have orders and Others
meet as yet no satisfactory demand for
goods. Sales of wool were only 2,363,O00
pounds for the three chief markets. against
1924, 200 pounds for the same week last year.
Wheat has grown little stronger In spite OF
the disturbance of the Chicago market.
Failures for the week have been 2gT In the
United States against 322 last year, aud "A in
Canada, against 30 last year.
The aggregate Of gross earnings OF all rail-
ronds In the United States reporting for the
first half OF December, or pnrt thereof, is
Sl2,Ol7, 1875, n decrease OF AS per cent com
pared with last year and OF 1 4 per cent COM
pared with the corresponding time OF 1892.
the latest period of ordinary business pros
perity with which comparisons can now be
made. OF sections OF the country In which
representative roads have reported, western
roads, including the grangers, make the
most favorable sho wing. Southern and
southwestern roads report a small loss. In
the other groups reports are ms yet incom-
plete. All classes OF roads report decrease
conn ar11 with both years with which COM
parison is made. Traffic on ali roads has
been far from satisfactory for several months
and as yet there is littlo indication Of i'm
provcment, but the heavy losses In gross
earnings reported by many roads is not en-
tirely due to loss OF traffic. The falling of
in traffic has been In the high class freights
and the loss in gross earnings Is consequent
ly relative larger than the loss in trafflc.