The herald., 1897-03-27
MARKET STANDS THE STRAIN
DESPITE FLOOD DAMAGE AND
WARS ALARM
Even the Antitrust Decision FAILS
to Produce the semblance OF
Panicky Feeling
Associated Press Special Wire.

&. co.'s weekly review of trade tomorro"
viii saw. Rarely have markets sus-
,o;ned such surprises as they have re-
oa,ved of late with so little loss. For
e;gn conditions and London alarms inc
collapse of the iron ore complna'loii' 'ii0
destructive floods in the MISSISSIPPI val
lev and the decision OF the supreme
court against railway associations nave
been used to the utmost, nut not even
in railroads has the result been import
mt We're all associations OF rallroaus
70 cease. it would yet be in the power
Of capital controlling important nnes
20 stop serious rate cutting IL 1t chose'
with confidence that better times anu
larger business are coming men "io
less disposed every day to throw away
good investments, and the very tac'
that prices of products are low Is re-
rarded as a guarantee against iiluen
further decline. In all the industriais'
also. the number of mills ana shops anu
hands at work gradually increases. Inc
srain markets have lost without reason
ave gain they made without reason the
,,,.ayious week. Wheat supplies are run
,,ino ont but nobody believes that tnefe
is coming a famine before June, WheI
tha harvesting of the southern Wneae
crop will begin. Western receipts "eis
over a third smaller than last year anu
for four weeks have been Ioll,44v pusn-
els. against II, ,SS4 206 last year, put tne
better prospect for the crop OF Winter
.ybeat has more weight. Atlantic eX-
,a,ts f1our included. were nearly as
large for the week as last year, ana TOT
four weeks have been 5,099.QSS bushels
AGAINST 5,506 220 last year. But corn eA
norts have been II, ,76S. .574 bushels,asa
d 977 COG last year. When Europe puys
in corn the equivalent of 6,400,0O0 bush-
els of wheat at less than 60 cents, the
price of wheat is not easily advanced
above so cents. Final disposition VI 'i'',
lake iron ore pool has been expected ever
since the Carnegie Rockefeller deal, ana
insures low prizes for ore the coming
wear. though perhaps not lower tnan
iSe5 Mesaba facilities for production
have vastly increased, and all tne srea.
steel-making concerns have secured
mines of their own, while means u
TRANSFORMATION have greatly enlarged
With assurance of cheap ore, hesitation
about various products should diminish.
the demand is steadily increasing. Bars
are still demoralized and at the lowest
point. but for plates, sheets, wire rods
and wire nails the demand is growing
larger, The demand for rails continues
strong enough to hold prices. although
some for speculative purchases are Of
fered below the present prices OF mllis'
Tin is a shade lower with larger arr
walls. though the distribution has been
c3nsidera Bile, and lead is decidedly
stronger at 3f7 cents, but copper is weak
at 11.75 cents. Increases in coke produc-
tions appear and more is assured by
the purchase of works by the Cambria
company and while quotations are un-
changed outsiders are Offering furnace
at 81. 20 per ton. Speculation in WOOL mas
recorded larger sales for four weeks
than ever before, 46,605,3oO pounds,
against 21,sS4,576 in the same weeks of
1892. Much more than half is for spec
uiation: nothing like the full capacity
of the mills Is employed. The wool mar
ket is steady increasing, but cautions
lv. as it is too early to anticipate re-
suits from changes which may be maze
in duties. On,
Failures for the week have been 2sl
in the United States against 259 last
year. and so in Canada against 80 last
year.
BRADSTREET'S REPORTS
Bradstreet's general review of trade
tomorrow will say While the week Is
not without favorable features, unfa-
yorable influences have been more nu-
merous. Leading money markets show
no Improvements. Mercantile collec-
tions continue as slow as heretofore, and
the volume of funds offered is in excess
of demands for discounts. The ten
dency of investments to improve has
temporarily disappeared under the in
fiuence of the supreme courts anti
trust decision. which apparently
threatens arrangements for the main
tenance OF railway rates. as we'll as rail-
way trades union activity so far as ii
may affect interstate commerce.
The tendency of prices is downward
quotations being lower for wheat, In
dian corn, oats. coffee. cotton and for
pig iron and steel billets, on the outlook
for lower-priced ore. Staples for which
prices are higher include wool, raw
sugar, wheat flour, petroleum, linseed
oil and turpentine. Open sales of COP
per recently at privately cut quotations
are due to disappointment in the de-
mand. Stormy weather, high water,
floods in the Ohio, Mississippi and Mis-
souri, river valleys and in the country
drained by their tributaries, have inter-
fered with interior trade. and, in addi-
ton to loss of life, have damaged coun-
try roads, houses. farms, bridges, tele-
graph lines and railway tracks. The
gradual increase in the number of indus
trial strikes is the outcome of move
ment to secure higher wages and in in
stances moderate advances have been
obtained. Recent activity in raw wool
continues, and the prospect for an in
creased tariff on imported woolens
causes many merchants to purchase
American goods more freely. The move
ment of cotton ie not up to expectations
and in some lines is disappointing. The
improvement in trade is confined to dry
goods, hardware, leather, agricultural
implements and shoes. Exports OF
wheat (f1our included as wheaD from
both coasts of the United States and
from st. John, N b., this week amount
to 1,749, ,419 bushels compared with / 629,-
600 bushels last week and l ,744 900 bush
els in the week year ago. The rate Of
commercial mortality continues on the
decline, shown in recent weeks the total
number of business failures throughout
the United States being 221 this week,
compared with 231 last week and 2I6 in
the like week in 1896. There are 40 bust
ness failures reported from the Domin-
ion of Canada this week, compared with
46 last week and A in the week a year
ago
Bradstreets review of the stock mar
ket will say:
'There has been one speculative, fac
tor in this weeks market-the decision
of the supreme court in the Transmits
souri, Freight association case. The
news was unexpected as well as unset
tling in its effect. When it came out,
about noon Monday, the strength of the
Vanderbilt securities and of Chicago
gas and some others was giving a bull
ish tone to the entire market, in spite