Birmingham state herald., 1897-05-08
WEEKLY REVIEW OF TRADE Average Sales for April East of
 the Rockies
WAS BUT VERY LITTLE OFF
Failures Show a Decrease for the Week. Crop Prospects Better-Furnaces Drop
 ping 0ut-Mahufactured Iron Also Of.

New York, May 7.-R. G. Dunn & Co.'S weekly review of trade tomorrow will say: Yearly all will be astonished to learn that actual sales in April by leading houses in each line of business in the principle cities east of the Rocky noun tains averaged only about 10 per cent. less than in April. 1892, the year of larg- est business hitherto and were 6.1 per cent. more than in the same month last year. Yet this is the summary of 357 reports each actual sales of leading mer- chants in line of business in one of thd fourteen cities. They are especially en- couraging in view of the great fall of prices within the five years and with the exceptional floods and other retardlng in- fiuences this year. While speculative business is in nearly all lines small, and does not swell clearing house returns as in previous years the volume of legiu- mate trade shows mo corresponding de- crease and the fact is one of the highest importance in all business calculations. Moreover returns of failures for April by branches of business given only by the mercantile agency, shows decrease in number, amount and average of lia- bilities in almost every branch of trade and in nearly all branches of manufac- ture except cotton, although failures of the New Bedford mills for S7, ,990, BOA make the total defaulter liabilities for the month 40 per cent. larger than last year, 50 per cent larger than in 1895, and 32 per cent. larger than in 1894. The value of reports tracing failures to particular lines of business is impressvely illus trated.
 Crop prospects are a little better for cotton because of the passing of the floods and the increase of the acreage elsewhere and for spring wheat because the customary accounts of injury to win P larger sowing of spring wheat than us- ual. Western receipts continue larger than last year, 2,34S, ,605 bushels against 2,208,872 and Atlantic exports also in- crease amounting to 1,4S6,4S7 bushels, flour included, against 1,040,167 last year. The weeks exports of corn 2,725,043 bush els are smaller than in other recent weeks The wheat market declined 2 cents until Tuesday and then rose 1ls cents.
 7.75 cents, but it has lost sixteenth and the consumption in manufacture does not appear to be increasing.
 The demond for cotton goods has not met expectations. and neither the pro longed curtailment of production by many mills, the large distribution of goods since November nor the great auc- ton sales have yet sufficed to reduce the surplus of goods. Print cloths are again lower at 2.44c., the lowest point ever rSdcneu lb previous years, anu lHOuSH some kinds of goods have found sufi- cient demand to advance prices lit-1e, the expectation of better prices and larger consumption in future still seems to push the mills to exceed present wanhs. The same is true of wool manu- faoture in many branches for orders and sales thus far do not call for as large production as appears, though it is yet much below the maximum, but the in- creasing demand has been encouraging. Sales of wool at prices firm, but no longer rising fall much below recent rec ords, indicating thai spectators are growing less sure of early profits in view of the enormous supplies on hand. At the three chief markets there were s., 025,200 pounds, of which 5,744600 pounds were foreign, and in five weeks the sales have been 49,737S50 pounds, against 23,- S27100 pounds in the sa me weeks of 1892, when the mills were well employed.
 The anticipation of better prices and great increase in demand pushed produc- tons of steel so far that four furnaces in eastern Pennsylvania and others in the Pttsburg region and Ohio have stop ped. Bessemer pig at Pittsburg has de- clined to $40 and gray forgs to $8.40. Pressure To sell billets lower than $1i, tank steel plates have sold below 1 cent, and common bars at 90 cents per 100 pounds with black sheets in light de- mand at $1.S0 for No. 27 Yet the struct- ural works are well employed on old or ders, with others coming in, one of 12,000 tons for the Montreal bridge and others at the east and Chicago. Rail works are all busy on orders taken months ago, though there are efforts to revive the pool. One contract for 10000 tons of steel plate is reported, and some of the tin plate works are sold ahead for a year. The visible supply of tins has increa sed 5000 tons in April, and the price is a shade lower, at 1925 cents. Heavy sslss of lake copper are believed to cover some large consumers for most of the year.
 Failures for the week have been 321 in the Uni,ed States. against 23S last year, and 36 in Canada, against "A last year.
 BRADsTRBETS REVIEW.
 New York. May 7.-Bradstreet's tomor- row will say: Favorable business feat ures this week include the continued de- cline of water in flooded districts of the Mississippi river valley in a portion of which planting has begun, better de- mand for staples a Baltimore, St. Louis, Omaha, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Sioux Falls, larger sales of iron ore to western furnaces and revival of activity among country merchants in some central west ern states. Favorable trade features include the further decline of prices for Bessemer pig iron and steel billets, with production of pig iron in excess of con- sumption and the prospect favorable for blowing out number of stacks. Cool
  trade and complaints are received from wholesale dealers in shoes, clothing and dry goods. Low temperature has re- starded the growth of cotton and corn in Texas and in Kentucky the leaf tobacco crop will be short. The lake trade out look is not satisfactory, the movement of building materials is slow, mercan- tile collections show no improvement and the spring trade in general continues disappointing.
 Exports of wheat from both coasts of the United States and Canada this week (four ncludeG amount to 1,799,322 bush els as compared with 1,555, 900 bushels last week, 1,SS2,000 bushels in the week year ago, 2,S05,000 bushels two years ago, D. S15,0OO busels three years ago, and as contrasted with 2712,000 bushels in the like week of 1893.
 Exports of Indian corn amount to B. 277S1 bushels in this week, compared with 3,657, 900 bushels last week, 1,S11, 900 .hush eis in the week a wear ago q23 0Q0