Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-01-23
TRADE IS BRISK, PINE BLUFFS JANUARY TRADE IS THE BEST WITHIN
 ITS HISTORY.
That Is What Our Wholesale Deal CTS Have to Say of Present
 Conditions.

Pine Bluffs wholesale trade is bet ter this month than it has ever been in the history of the city. That is what the manager of one of our larg- est wholesale houses had to say to a GRAPHIC reporter this morning. Trade is brisk, he continued; 'ft is not only brisk, but very good"
 A prominent cotton buyer, who was standing near by and overheard what was said, at this juncture joined in the conversation and ex- patiated thusly
 "Yes, sir; business is good. The United States are now in a better fix than ever before. The bal ance of trade is :n our favor; we are this year exporting wheat to Notwithstanding that was never known before and we have at present over $146, GOO, 900 in the government treasury. The cotton crop has also been marketed, and there is less cotton unpicked and on the market in this January than was ever known in this country"
 What the ges tleman has just told you," continued the cotton man enthusiastically, taking the reporter by the lappel of the coat, lis true. And it is also true of every whole saIe house in the city. The country merchants are buying liberally and trade is fourishing. Here and there is an occasional bank failure, but these are due to local conditions, dishonesty or mismanagement. The South is especially prosperous, and what you ought to do, continued the cotton man, pointing his index finger in the face of the reporter, is to boom things. Boom things and talk less in your paper about failures and hard times, and we will have a more prosperous communi- ty."
 After leaving the enthusiastic cotton man the reporter hied him self to the banks to ascertain if con ditions are as prosperous as repre- sented. One of our bank Presidents said
 "Yes, sir; business is very good, and, from bankers standpoint, very satisfactory. We have nothing to complain of.
 But the retail men are not so en- thusiastic over the situation. They report business very dull in their lines, due largely to the recent heavy rains which have brought up the bayous and overfowed the low lands, and thereby kept the country i people from coming to town, and heavy purchases just before Christi mas. Therefore, trade could hardly be expected to be good in the retail line just at present.
 The printing business in the job line is also good just at present. In talking about the present conditions to GRAPHIC reporter this morning, Mr T. J. Wilson, Manager of the Adams Wilson Printing Company, sad:
 Yes; business is exceptionally good in our line this month. In fact, our company will do the Iarg est volume of business this month ever done in the history of job print ing business in this town. We have two good contracts on hand, one from Little Rock and one from Cam den, and the volume of local busi- ness in commercial printing has also been good this month. We have been running an increased force and working part of the time both day and night since the first of the month. You see, we have facilities for printing unsurpassed by any ex- elusive printing establishment in the State, and we are now doing work here and bringing work to town that was never done in Pine Bluff before.
 
 And so, all around this morning, the GRAPHIC reporter heard encour- aging news, except among the re- tail men, whose time will soon come.
 Such re ports of good trade should be truly gratifying to all Pine Bluff ians who love their town and have faith in it's future.