Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1897-01-02
WAS A DEPRESSING FEATURE
Bank Failures During the Week Had
a Bad Effect on Business.
Holiday Trade Not as Satisfactory AZ
Anticipated---The Volume OF
Business i'm All Branches
Was Not Large.
New York. Dec. 2s.-R. G. Dun & Co.'S

Nevv York. Dec. 26.-R. G. Dun & Co.'S
Weekly Review of trade SAID:
The failure of two important banks,
,ba sacond I'm size of business at en-
cage and the oldest at st. Paui' Win
so,ne others dependent on them, closes
not ia vorably a month which PROMISED
to end with only moderate commerclal
disasters. 1t does not lessen the erect
of these failures that one was caused
hy enormous loans in aid or an electrlc
railway and other concerns, and that
tho other appears to haye resulted from
heavy ventures In unsaleable real es-
,ata since several thousand business
mon and d.positors are for the time EN-
ba rra ssed as much as the SPECTATORS
that caused the trouble. the
Is the reverse of hopeful. although it
comes when many markets are well
supplied and when no serious erect III
business Is to be apprehended.
Other important events of the week
are he failure of the billet and rail
pools TO find a basis for agreement, n
the somewhat general sonar Oh
hands or the reduction or wages IN the
shoe manufacture. The holiday traoe
has been fair but generally in articles
of medium grade.
The fall in steel billets from over szo
to about SIG at Pittsburg, and in steel
rails from s2s net at the mills to $2o, less
brokers' commissions. produces 90 great
q change in other prices and conditions
Of business that the meeting held mere
this week, for the purpose or reVlVhs
pools and fixing prices, influenced OPP
erations throughout the country. BUT
no agreement was reached and mean
while contracts have been made COW
ering the wants of most producers Tor
three months, and some for the whole
year 1897, and 1t is said that some large
contracts have been made at 3lo, at
Pittsburg, and $3.50 at h east. Bes-
semer pig has declined to $1l.l5 and gray
forge to 1856 at Pittsburg, while bar
and other finished products remain I'M
changed, though 100, 900 bundles OF cot
ton ties have been contracted for at 6O
cents per bundle. The production Of
coke increases rapidly $3.50 ovens being
in blast, with an output of 97,l55 tons
for the week. Scarcely n business
has peer lone in the minor metals, and
$ll.37 is quoted for lake copper, $l2.eo
for tin and $3.05 for lead.
In cotton manufacture there Is a fur
Their decline in some staple goods ana
takings by northern spinners are disap-
pointingly light. Print cloths accumu-
late and do not advance. Raw cotton
comes forward just as it did in other
years, when official and other stories OF
injury resulted in great crops. Sales of
wool are restricted by the general con-
v.ction that prices asked by interior
holders cannot be realized, and there Is
a considerable disposition to unload
speculative purchases at seaboard mar
kets. Most manufacturers have more
wool than they have orders, and others
meet as yet no satisfactory demand Tor
goods. Sales Of wool ere only 1858, 900
pounds at the three chief markets,
against 1924, 300 for the same week last
year.
Wheat has grown a little stronger in
spite Of the disturbance OF the Chicago
market. Exports have been 1,47l,443
bushels, -four included as wheat, for
five days, and 1892, 5S7 for four weeks.
against 1927, 1853 for the same weeks last
year, while from Pacific ports the In
crease has been large. Western receipts
are still small, amounting to S,455, 63l
bushels in three weeks OF the MONTH,
against IA, 344, S59 last year.
The volume of business, all branches
considered, is not large. Payment
through clearing houses have been FOR
the week % per cent less than last year,
n for the month thus far he daily
average Is 9.S per cent less than last
year.
The aggregate Of gross earnings of all
railroads in the United States, reporting
for the first half of December or a part
thereof, is $l2, OF .l26, a decrease of As
per cent compared with last year.
OF sections of the country In which
representative roads have reported,
western roads, including the grangers,
make the most favorable showing.
Traffic on all roads has been far from
satisfactory for several months, and as
yet there is little indication of improve
ment, but the heavy losses in gross
earnings reported by many roads is not
entirely due to loss of traffic.