The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-02-20
TRADE IMPROVED.
Bradstreets Much More Cheerful
This Week.
BIG BOOM IN THE STEEL RAIL
BUSINESS.

Exports of indian Corn Largest on Record
for Similar Period-Incrcase in Rail-
way Earnings Shown-Increase in
Number of Failures Throughout the
Country.
tomorrow will say: General trade shows
more improvement the feature of which
are the advances for the bessemer pig
iron, steel billsts, steel rails, some grade
of wool, raw sugar, Indian corn, pork
and lard and print cloths. with an up
ward tendency for leather, together with
re-opsning nf number of metal and tex
tile industrial establishments within a
week, and an Improvement in the recent
railway earnings.
The demand for rails since the break
in quotations has resulted in sales OF
nearly one million tons, of which 100, 600
tons are for export. Not the least signif-
can't outcome is the demonstration of the
ability of the Amer ican steel makers to
successfully compete III the markets of
Uu0 WUTlu. 116T0 rs u D0tlcI OCmohu IoL
dry goods, clothing, shoes, paint,
lumber, architectural iron. Material in-
crease in the req uest for general merchan-
disc are more conspicuous at Chicago, St.
Louis and New York than elsewhere.
The mercantile collections continue slow.
The mild weather hHd an unfavorable
effect on business in some portions of the
country by checking the demand for
heavy winter goods and has served to
stimulate the demand for spring goods In
other sections.
Among the more important staples for
which prices decreased are wheat, -four,
what, oats, coffee, cotton, rosin and tur-
pentine. The unexpected weakness in
wheat and wheat flour prices forms the
trade and general public in the Official
reports Of the domestic wheat crop last
year. 1t is now possible the unofficial
400, 900, 900 bushels estimate of domestic
crop Will have to bs increased.
Judging from the recent bull caloula-
tions, we are now exporting wheat which
will be needed at home before July 1.
The exports of wheat (fiour included us
wheat) from both coasts of the United
OUduoS, A40AAl0As ANs osy anu A'os Ooilhy ~
B., this week aggregate 2, 120 395 bushels,
compared with 8,149,000 in the CORE
spending week of 1886. The exports of
Indian corn this week are the largest on
record for like period, amounting to
6, AL, 420 bushels compared with 8. 925, 600
in the week year ago.
The holiday on February IL while not
general had an influence on transactions
at New York, Chicago, Boston and
Philadelphia and the bank clearings for
the six business days, ending with Feb
ruary is, amount to only 1892. "a, 600,
decrease of Sc per cent compared with
last week and nearly 10 per cent COM
pared with the third week OF February,
1896.
The tendency of the current gross rail-
way earnings is to increase, and a ma
jority of the reports of railroad earnings
for the second week of February show in-
creasss. The gross and net earnings for
1895, are in sharp contrast with those FOR
1895.
While promising we'll the depressed
trade and political excitumenI mad an
Infavora bile influence. II is encouraging
to note that the deer easss from corre-
spending totals in 1895. a year cf sx-
ceptionslly favorable railway earnings,
are small, both gross and net.
The total failures throughout the
county increased. mum bering 1926 this
week, compared with S76 in the third
week of February, 1895. There were 1877