The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-01-09
WEEKLY TRADE REVIEWS.
Bradstrect and Dun on the Prevail
ing Conditions.
APPREHENSION HAS ABOUT SuBSlnED
Bank Failures Traced to Disregard
of Law and Banking Sense MT
Distant Periods.

new fork, JehiluAry h-H. ". Dur's
weekly report OF trade will tomorrow say:
The year 1897 begins wSh one clear adj
vantage; the past year has swept out of
the way a great number OF unsound con-
Germs which In any time of activity would
have been dangerous to business. OF the
Il CSC commercial and banking failures IN
1896 with liabilities of s276 si5,7ia a large
share represented crippled losses in pre-
vious years or violence of the speculative
storm of 1896, or the first half of 1896.
wnie thousands more resulted from the
violence of mo political excitement of lass
fad. The banking iafiutes amounted 10
SoV, ilS.9i5 during me year, and averaged
$2Sb, lot each, and were las per cent larger
than IL 1875, COMMERCIAL failures amount
cd to $40 us.1 S,i. little over 81, UJu 80 hav-
ing been added by The last day Of the
year. but the average OF liabilities 0liy92)
was smaller than IN some years OF great
prosperity.
The failures of brokerage and other COM
merciai concerns averaged s5s.5lS each. iii-
crossing 1873 per cent over 1885. while man.
ufacturing failures averaged S2s6,suS each
and increased "a per cent, and trading fail
ures Increased Is per cent, and averaged
oniy Sa606 each. over four-htths OF the
increase in manufacturing tbnd trading
failures was In rho lumber manufacturing
II per cent dry goods, 10 per cent WOODEN
IL per cent in clothing, 20 per cent In shoe
trade, 81 per cent In leather and shoe mali
ufaciuring, 10 in milling. anu " in print
Ing. In ten other branches the increase
was moderate in amount and in five with
the unplassiiied manutac tuning and trad
ing failures the liabilities were smaller
| than in 1895.
| While banking failures have not ceased
at the West. apprehension about them
| has almost wholly subsidized and no Sc
| rious influence on general trade IN now ex-
| pected. Many sound concerns We're doubt
! les caught by the epdem.c, but pracyIo-
ally all the important failures are traced to
! ulsfesaru of law ANA OF banking sense I'd
porious somewhat distant. 1t is felt at
| A. tsstl t.. "A .
| after purglng and the return OF money ia
! New York has exceeded some to the in.
terror business.
Wheat rose 10 % cents on Monday, but
/ de- ~ lsaln to S9tsc with the Western
receipts. 100000 bushels syaallcr than last
$780,. "ne4e ssIanuc tXponts ulour includ
last year. The Trade Indicates "A groaI
quantity IN farmers hands enough to per.
mi. more than 1oo,0oo,00o hushcls TO be ex
ported in the remaining six months.
Cotton started up a ahaic, but receipts
from plantations are sui 100 large ioi
low estimates. and the cond. ton OF thu
cotton mills foreshalows curta.imon
rather than large consumption. The mar
k0, for goods is extremely slow. and man,
print cloths. Indicate similar surplus o
other goods. The logic is bad. but II
many branches the mills have doubtles
man9faeLpred goods. anticipating, de
proposed to relieve the market by scllln,
quantities of print cloths abroad or b!
loVNlIiS up z,uuOJ pieces unli me mar
kct improves. The only change in quota
tons is i4c reduction in some blcachet
goods.
! Prices of wool are shade lower Il
WOODEN goods the only change is reduc
ton of 7lac in clay Worstci and mixture
and orders are not more frequent. Order
for boots and shoes have almost ceased
; except for few qualities. which hav
been advanced only 2iac to 5c in price. bu
jobbers are buying Il httle more as stock
run low. Leather IL stiff and "A shad
stronger for high. Enormous purchases q
large concerns contracted for all they RI
qu.red for months and even n year {
come, and some of the largest contract
are said to have been about SO or eve
less, but there II as yet no better deman
for structural work. Bars are weak, mai,
have declined ITO LAO for wire and l.30 TO
cut, and little is doing in rails as poss
BILE buyers think So Is TOO high with bill
let's at SIS per ton Nevertheless II grel
trade is expected when relative price
become settled
The aggregate OF gross earnings OF a
the railroads in the United States report
ing for December or a part of the mont
Is s36 i3 $50, a decrease of - per cent
compared with last year. aud of SO pc
cent compared with the corresponding tim
In 1892. The latter reports make u NOR
favorable showing than any OF the ear.iie
returns for the mon,h. For She fourt
week roads reporting show a consederabl
increase In gross earnings The increas
| iS not confined to any one section, bu
nearly all the large systems report larG
gain in the fourth week. Compared wit
1892 roads reporting for the month sho,
reduced earnings, the greares. loss bein
on Changers and other Western roads. a
whole the return SO far made for Dc
cember compared much more favorabl
than preceding years than the first com
plete report for November.