The herald., 1897-01-09
COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS
AS Seen and Reported by Expert
Observers
BUSINESS IS VERY DULL
With Little Trade Except ia Cold Weather
Clothing
The Weeks Total Failures Is one OIL
the Largest Ever Reported IN
United States
Associated Press special Wire

general review OF trade tomorrow VIII
| say With the exception of reports
| from dozen south Atlantic coast and
gulf cities, jobbers at nearly all dis
tributing centers say business is duh
and without new features. Demand has
| improved at Chicago and st. Louis for
hats, hardware, sh.es and drygoods, but
| trade in those lines is fair only. Cold
| weather has stimulated purchases of
| clothing at some points Little general
| recovery from holiday dullness is re-
ported as yet. Exports of wheat (lour in
cluded rs wheaD from both coasts of
the United States this week amounts to
| BIOS 6SS bushels, as compared with ., H.
600 last week, 3471 600 bushels in the
| first week of January, 1896, 2,5S7 900 BUSH
| els in the corresponding week of 1894 and
as contracted with 3,3oS 900 bushels in the
| like period of 1893
| The weeks total of business failures
in the United tSates is ASS. one of the
| largest ever reported. This is contrast
ed with 325 in the last week of 1896, with
i46 in the first week of 1896; 405 in the
corresponding week of 1895 and with asa
in the like portion of 1894 There are Go
l
| this week. compared with 81 last week,
| SO in the first week of January, 1896. and
| a like total in the corresponding week OF
| 1880
! Bradstreet's review of the stock mar.
| ket will say: In point of activity the
| first week of the year has proved dis
| appointment to Wall street. Not only
have transactions continued to be on
very limited scale, but the quality of the
| actual trading has been entirely profess
| sional. To compensate for this. the
| tone has been. on the whole, very strong
| throughout, prices having evinced dis
| position to advance where any little en-
| couragement was presented for so doing,
while bear interests endeavored to test
| the market from time to time and even
| sold stocks to some extent. The i'm
| pressions produced, however small, so
| far as the general list was concerned
| and though the chief incident of the
| week was the reduction of the Delaware
and Hudson dividend rate from to 8
per cent. with a decided decline in that
| stock its influence on the anthracite
| group was limited. The strength of
| the market as whole was attributable
| in the main to belief that the Cuban
agitation at Washington had been worn
out and to the reports from that city
early in the week. indicating the resolu-
| tions regarding the Cuban belligerency
| would not be pressed further in the sem
| ate. Later on there We're rumors that
| further efforts would be made to review
| the question ard to this fact the street"
| is inclined to attribute the hesitation Of
the public to take past in the stock
market and the equally apparent disin-
clnation of the large interests to adopt
any aggressive speculative policy with
| reference to the properties with which
they are financially identified. More or
less stress is laid on the somewhat bet
ter results shown by the latest reports
| of railroad earnings ard the news in
| the southwest that corn is moving free
ly, which an appreciable influence upon
| some of the granger stocks. Europe
has been inactive. and as money rates
in London have failed to weaken with
| the advent of the new year, there is no
! expectation of assistance from that
quarter Foreign exchange is higher,
rise being natural at this time, but
! speculativ the fact has had no par
ticular effect. The bond market is less
active than had been expected in view
of the large payment on January l.,
though the investment demand is suf1i-
cient to keep prices steady.
DUN G. CO.'S REPORT.
r. G. Dun G. Co.'S weekly review of
trade will tomorrow say: The year 1897
begins with clear advantage. The past
year has swept out of the way a great
|
any time of activity would have been
dangerous to business. OF the 15,2S6
commercial and banking failures in 1896
with liabilities of $276, sis, ,749 a large
share represented gripping losses in
previous years or the violence of specu-
| !ative storms in 1895 or the first half of
! 1896, while Thousands more resulted from
the fury of the political tornado last
fall Banking failures amounting to
$50,71S,915 during the year $156 1876 each
and We're 145 per cent larger than in 1885.
| Commercial failures amounted to $22G,-
096. .S34. a little over 81. 600, 600 having been
added the last day of the year. but the
average liabilities, $l4,992 was smaller
than in some years of great prosperity.
The failures of brokerage and "other"
| commercial concernG averaged $5S, AIS
each, increasing 1873 per cent over 1895,
| While manufacturing failures avera gcd
$2S.S0S each, and increased "a per cent,
and trading failures increased 106 per
cent and averaged and $9606 each. over
four-ffths of the increase in trading
failures was in lumber manufacturing,
40 per cent. dry goods 30, wooden manu-
featuring 16, clothing trade 90, shoe
trade 81, leather and shoe manufacture
ers 167, grocery trade 33, machinery 20,
milling III, furniture 80 and printing 81
per cent. While banking failures have
not ceased at the west. apprehension
| about them has almost SubSideG and no
serious influence upon general trade is
| expected. Many sound concerns We're
doubtless caught. by. the epidemic, but
practically all the important failures are
| traced to disregard of law and of bank
ing sense at periods somewhat distant.
it is felt at the west that all business
would be sounder after its purgng and
the return of money to New York has
exceeded shipments to the interior by
81, 900 900 for the week.
Wheat rose to 80 cents on Monday, but
has declined again to S92 cents, with
western shipments a million bushels
smaller than last year, while Atlantic
exports, flour included. We're 2,037 900
bushels against 1887 1886 last year. Tie
trade accounts indicate a great quantity
in farmers hands, enough to permit
more than 100, 100000 exported in the re-
naming six months Prices of wool are
shade lower. In woolen goods the only
change is x cents in clay worsted and
mixtures. and orders are not frequent.
Orders for boots and shoes have almost
ceaaed, except for qualities, which have
been advanced only 21a to cents in
price, but jobbers are buying a little
more as stocks run low. Enormous pur-
chases of billet came with rush. most
of the large concerns contracting for al
they require for months anG' even year
to come, and some of the largest con-
tracts are said to have been about ST.
or even less, but there is as yet no better
demand for structural work. Bars are
| IL. nth al, To 70,