Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-09-10
KEEPS 1T UP.
Trade Shows Continuous and
Gratifying Activity.
HOPEFUL TONE IN ALL BRANCHES
Business Houses in the Northwest
Working Northumberland
Collections improvement
August Business Known.

New York, Sept. 4.-Bradstreet's says
of business conditions:
Previous activity in all lines of trade is
maintained. There is q better tone to
demand from jobbers and the volume Of
business in wool, leather. clothing, hats,
groceries and light hardware has in
creased. There is better request for
wooden and cotton goods, tewelry and rub
Der goods and for boots and shoes. Some
wholesale merchants at western centers
report the largest volume of August trade
on record. There has been an increased
consumption OF cotton by southern mills.
Western iron and steel mills have orders
to keep them busy until January l. In the
central western states the bituminous coal
strike has had further depressing effect
upon the general industrial situation. AT
the northwest some commercial houses
have had to work overtime to meet the de-
mand for goods, and the warm weather
is reported to have practically assured the
Indian corn crop. On the Pacific coast
| ability to secure crews for vessels Mer-
camille collections have greatly improved
| in some sections. Last weeks general and
unprecedented expansion Of prices for
staples is continued, wool, cotton and
| wooden fabrics, hides. leather. white pine
lumber. sashes and doors. iron and steel
bars. billets and rods. wire nails. barbed
wire and southern foundry iron, wheat,
corn, lard and sugar having advanced and
| higher prices being expected for boots and
| shoes. Lower prices are recorded for cot
ton. wheat flour and coffee, while those
for oats. pork, print cloths, petroleum and
coal are unchanged.
As Viewed by Dun.
R. G. Dun &, Co., in their weekly re-
view of trade, say:
Failures in August were in number not
no In hr1f
In amount of liabilities 70.s per cent.
smaller. July and August show lower
average of liabilities per failure than has
| ever been known in any year or even In a
quarter of the 20 years r. g. Dun & Co.
have kept quarterly records. The improve
ment Is also well distributed, extending to
nearly every important branch of business,
but in clothing, jewelry and unclassif1ed
trading only two months of the past forty
seven have shown smaller failures-in gen.
| eral stores and furniture only 8; in gro
ceries. hats and iron manufacture only
4; in hat and chemical manufactures only
| 5, and in clothing manufacture only G
months Of the AZ. The ratio of defaulted
| liabilities to payments at clearing houses
| has been smaller in July and August than
| in any other month since early in 1898
August was the first month in which the
| daily average of settlements through clear
| ings houses exceeded materially that Of the
1 corresponding month of 1892, the excess
| az tIle pTluClpdl cltleS DelIlS 1E.S per cent
| Nor Is this due, as might be supposed, to
| activity In stock speculation, for the stock
exchange clearing house now disposes OF
| very large share of transactions so that
they affect bank exchanges far less than
five years ago. The volume of business
here has been distinctly larger in specu-
lative lines than 1t was then, and In textile
| goods phenomenally larger, though slack.
ening this week. buyers having nearly com.
pleted their initial purchases. With an ex-
| traordinary movement in grain. heavy real
| estate and building transactions and in.
creased business In iron products, the
month was clearly the best business Au.
gust ever known.
Wheat and Corn.
Wheat continued its reaction until 1,
had fallen cents more, but then rose
cents with the first revival Of foreign buy.
ing. Western receipts are very large
though not quite as large as year ago
but Atlantic exports, flour included, rose
| to 5,534,75S bushels for the week. against
2,175.453 last year. The estimates which
command confidence still indicate YIELD
Of 55O,0OO, 900 to $50, 900 600 bushels white,
wheat. turning out so much beyond expec
tations as to balance much of the loss II
spring wheat. Foreign accounts do no
improve, and unless much more deceptive
than usual the demand for America.
wheat will far exceed the quantity which
can be spared. Continued large export.
of corn and buying for export show still
more clearly the extent of deficiencies
abroad. Western receipts for the weel
were 10.065,410 bushels, against $3.50, S1s las
year. and such movement at this season
implies great export demand not yet re-
Elected in outgo.
Iron Industry Gains.
THE improvement in the iron and stee
industry gains momentum. and further
advance in prices makes As per cent. from
the lowest average, August -. The de-
| mand increases for sheets and plates, es
pecially for bridge and ship building, In
GLIDING 10000 tons at Philadelphia To-
structural work, of which 1t is said tina
10000 tons have been placed at Chicago, IL
bars and especially in wire and wire nails
and all have advanced an average of 81 pei
ton. Southern and western dealers hav,
united to advance prices of pig rs cents
Bessemer ct Pittsburgh has risen 10 cents
and eastern markets are stronger. The de
mand for cars is pressing and work fo
railways increases. The flrsh shipment o
steel rails from this country to Australia
was of 1900 tons by the Lackawanna com
pany
Boot and shoe shipments, not quite
per cent. smaller than last year in Angus
nor 4 per cent. smaller than In 1895, wer,
~ per cent. smaller than in 1894 but wer
a little larger than in 1892. Buying is still
mostly for immediate needs. but is suffl
Client to keep works well employed.
Failures for the past week have bee,
1e1 in the United States. against 1884 las
year, and rs against 81 in Canada