The Portland daily press., 1897-02-12
STEEL POOL COLLAPSE.
Followed By Big Sale Of Steel
Rails.
WORK FOR MILLS FOR MONTHS
TO COME PROMISED.

Cloth Market Also Show Improvement
Big Purchase of Wool Abroad-Move-
mont of Prices on the Whole Favor
able-Railroad Earnings.
New York, February 11.-Bradstreet
on Saturday will say; The more favor
able features of the business week in
clnde sales of 800, O0o tons of steel.. rails on
the collapse Of the pool. which promises
work for the mills for mouths to come;
the advance in the price Of print cloth
following sale Of 750. 900 pieces from the
accumulated stocks and the starting up
OF number of important metal and
other industrial ablishments through
ont the Eastern and Middle States.
The recent reduction in the price of
steel billsts of IS ton, while rails were
reduced only to So, foreshadowed another
cut in the rail prices or breaking up Of
the pool. The latter finds the prices from
IS to 90 lower than last week. One effect
will be to stimulate the exports of rails
and the demand for domestic beasemer,
pig iron and ore. and the consumption Of
iron and steel generally. There is a
moderate increase in the demand for pig
iron at Pittsburg and purchases have
been made by the ST. Louis stove makers.
Considerable activity is reported in
hemlock leather for which the price is
higher. The American purchases Of
wool at the late London sale amount to
45, 600 bales. the heaviest at any one such
sale since the speculative buying there by
Americans ior to the going into effect
of the Mckinley tariff.
Memphis reports revived interest In
shoes and clothing, and Birmingham a
moderate increase in the volume of trade
as spring approaches. Louisville collec-
tions have improved and orders for spring
goods at St. Louis have increased. The
Chicago dry goods jobbers report only
moderate gain. At st. Paul, the sales of
dry goods, shoes. groceries, hardware,
drugs and millinery are most encourag-
ing for any week thus far this year.
Among the important western and GEN.
tral western cities, trade remains quiet
and unchanged, with little prospect for
early Improvement. Omaha reports bust
ness dull and at Galveston, where the
distribution of merchandise Is fairly
active. The reverse is now true. Trade
is dull and unsatisfactory at Cleveland,
Charleston and collections are falling be-
hind.
The movement of prices is, on the
whole. favorable, gains in addition to
those for print cloths, leather and besse-
mer pig iron. being reported for turpen-
tine, lead, zinc and sugar. Firm or un-
changed prices are announced for -four.
wheat, pork, lard, coffee, petroleum,
copper, steel billets, while in addition to
the prices for steel rails are those for
Indian corn, oats and cotton.
The January gross railway earnings re-
| tiect quister trade in that month than
| in January, 1896, while showing the
effect of reduced grain tonnage and
severe storms in the Northwest
| Every group of American roads shows
| falling off from January a year ago.
The increases in January are few and
small, the largest being only slightly in
excess of $50, 900, while seventeen systems
show decreases in excess of that amount.
| The heaviest decreases from January q
year ago, are reported by the Pacific and
granger groups. the smallest losses are by
southwestern and southern roads. The
total earnings OF ia railroads for Janu-
ary, aggrsgatsES3, $50, 1877, falling off Of
6.8 per cent from year ago. compared
with decrease of per cent in Decem-
| ber from December, 1895. and 10 per cent
in November from tine total in that
month the year before. The January
earnings Of 1896 increased 11.3 per cent
over January 1895. The Mexican roads
gained 1873 per cent in January over a
year ago.
rh. .xnort of vvboat Hour includad as