The news & observer., 1897-03-13

BUT MILLS KEEP CLOSING
BUT THE FAIL UaEs AR FEVER

New York, March Bradstreets to-
| morrow will say:
Continued activity in various industrial
| lines, based on an expanding consump-
tive demand, fairly steady pr4ces for sta
| pies further improvement IN railway
earnings and widespread confidence that
the volume of business will expand ma
terially in the near future, constitute
| trade features of the week, spring de-
| mand has begun to show itself with re-
| tailers. There is better inquiry for
shoes, hats and clothing and for light
hardware and agricultural implements,
| West and Southwest.
| Industrial revival has been offset in in
stances by the closing of factories and
mills, and in others by continued opera
tion dependent upon paying reduced
| wages.
Offerings of cotton goods have been
in excess of demand. Notwithstanding the
| curtailment of output. Wool continues
active and firm in price, but manufactur-
ers are buying sparingly i'm addition to
requirements to meet present contracts.
The Central West and Northwest report
that the distribution of general merchan-
BISt as lnltI1EICu with ny fpVuS d1ih
washouts.
Prices have been fairly steady, note
worthy decreases being those for tea, SUI
gar, coffee, lard and wheat. The drop
in the prices of wheat, in the fact of the
governments remarkably bulhsh report
on stocks of wheat in farmers hands,
indicates continued lack of faith in agri-
cultural department. out-givings as TO
IL, ,s. -
Business failures continue to decrease
the total for the week being 227, against
262 last week, 2S2 in the week a year ago.
262 in the week two years ago and as
compared with 231 IN the like week of
1894. In the corresponding period in
1898, when trade was of large volume the
total was 221.
DUN & cos REVIEW.
New York, March Pr. G.. Dun &
Co.'S weekly review of trade tomorrow
will say:
1t is a curious illustration of human
nature, this continued diseouragement,
even while the increase Of productive in
dustries and the legitimate business stead
ily grows. No genuine or lasting i'm
provement could come otherwise than
slowly and step by step, after such a
depression of the past four years have
witnessed, and the most hopeful feature
of the situation is that the gain is so
nearly devoid Of elements which involve
unsoundness and probable reaction. The
| first step toward prosperity is to get the
wheels started and the hands employed
and the number Of works which resumed
| or increased force during the past week
| seems greater than in any other week
since November. While the start has
| been secured in many cases by contract
at extreme low prices, involving some
reduction of wages, the hands are earning
more even so and aid more the general
. recovery, than if not working at ALL and
thus far important strikes have been
avoided in many cases, though some are
still threatened.
The money markets continued especial
" favorable to industrial recovery, and
there is no such speculative epidemic as
to lock an excessive share of available
capital The annual statements of wheat
in farmers hands March LIST has not in
the least stimulated speculation. Those
commonly considered worthy of attention
Indicate that farmers and commercial
supplies together, 196, ,000,0 to 206,000,-
600 bushels, exceed the output estimate
of home demand 130,00o,000 bushels to
July /, by much more than the quantity
likely TO be wanted for export in view
of the continued outgo of corn, amounting
for the past two weeks to 6,S94, 1888 bush
els, against / 1,591, ,475 last year. Wheat
exports from Atlantic ports in two weeks
have been 2,431,747 bushels against 3
921 ,09T last year, and although Western
receipts are but 3,451 1863 bushels for the
past two weeks, against 4,367 1892 last
year, they are still so large for the season
as to discredit alarms about speedy ex-
haustion of the supply.
The price has declined 312 cents for
the week, and corn is also fraction
lower.
Cotton is not active, though q sixteenth
higher for the curtailment of consnmp-
ton by many mills does not yet help
prices in the least, nor the suspension of
print cloth reports, and dealers so gener-
ally hold hack orders for other goods that