The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-05-08
BUSINESS BETTER
Dun & Co. Report MerchandiS e
Sales for April
Within 10 Per Cent of the Best
April Ever Known.
COTTON GOODS DOWN
To the Lowest Point Ever
Reached in This Country.
A Marked Decrease in the Fail
ures During the Month.

New York, May s.-R. G. Dun & Cos
weekly review of trade says:
Nearly all will be astonished to learn
that the actual sales in April by lead
fng houses in each line of business in
the principal cities east of the Rocky
mountains average only about 10 per
cent less than in April. 1892, the year
of the largest business hitherto, and
were 81 per cent more than in the same
month last year. Yet this Is the sum
mary of 357 reports, each covering act
ual sales of leading merchants in a line
of business in IA cities.
They are especially encouraging in
view Of the great fall of prices within
the five years, and with exceptional
floods and other retarding influences
this year. While speculative business
in nearly all lines is small and does not
swell clearing house returns as in prev
iOus years, the volume of legitimate
trade shows no corresponding decrease
and the fact is one of the highest inn
Moreover, returns of failures for April
by branches of business given only by
the mercantile agency show decrease in
number, amount and average of liabil-
tiles in almost every branch of trade
and in nearly all branches of manu-
facture, except cotton, although fail
ureS of five New Bedford mills for 81,
$50, 734 make the total defaulted liabil-
than last year, go per cent larger than
in 1895 and 80 per cent larger than 1894.
The value of reports tracing failures
to particular lines of business is i'm
pressively Illustrated.
Crop prospects are little better for
cotton because of the passing of the
floods and the increase of acreage else
where and for spring wheat because
the customary accounts of injury to
winter wheat begin to appear and
stimulate larger sowing of spring wheat
as usual.
than last year, 2,348 sos bushels against
2,20S,972, and Atlantic exports also in
creased, amounting to 1,498, 107 bushels
year.
The weeks export of corn, 2.725, DAB
bushels, is smaller than in other re-
cent weeks. The wheat market declin-
ed cents until Tuesday, and then rose
112c. Liverpool speculatiOns lifted cot
ton to 775, but it has lost a sixteenth
and the consumption in manufacture
does not appear to be increasing.
The demand for cotton goods has not
met expectations and neither the pro-
lOnged curtailment of protection by
many mills, the large distribution of
goods since November, nor the great
auction sales has yet sufficed to reduce
the surplus of goods. Print cloths are
again lower at PA, the lowest point ev-
er cached in previous years, and then
some kinds of goods have found sufh-
cient demand to advance prices a little,
the expectation of better prices and
larger consumption in future still seems
to push the mills to exceed present
wants.
The same is true of the wool manu-
factuTe in many branches for orders
and sales thus far do not call for as
large production as appears, though it
is much below the maximum but the
increasing demand is encouraging.
Sales of wool, at prices firm but no
longer rising, fall much below recent
records, indicating that spectators are
growing less sure of early profits in
view of the enormous supplies on hand
At the three chief markets there were
S,O25 200 pounds, of which 5,744 800 were
foreign, and in five weeks, the sales
have been 40, 1877, $50 pounds, against 23,-
327 100 in the same weeks of 1892 when
the mills were well employed.
The anticipation of better prices and
great increase in demand pushed pro-
duction 50 far in iron and steel manu-
facture that our furnaces in eastern
Pennsylvania and other regions of
Ohio have stopped Bessemer pig at
Pittsburg has declined to- $40 and
Grey Forge to $8.4O, pressure to sell
billets lowers them to $14, tank steel
plates have sold below 1c and common
bars at 80 cents per 100 pounds, with
black sheets in light demand at 81 so
for No. q. Yet the structural works
are well employed on old orders with
others coming in, one of 10000 tons for
the Montreal bridge and others at the
east and at Chicago. The rail works
are all busy on orders taken months
ago, though there are efforts to revive
the pool One contract for TO- 600 tons
steel plates is reported, and some of the
tin plate works are sold ahead for the
year.
The visible supply of tin has fncreas-
ed 1000 tons in April and the price is a
shade lower at $13.25. The heavy sales
of lake copper are believed to cover
some large consumers for most Of the
year.
Failures for the week have been 221
in the United States against 23S last
year and SO in Canada against "A last
year.
BRADSTREET'S
I31.a 4 str.aotss enr-.