The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1898-02-02
TRADE REPORT.
An Increase Of Business Shown, But No I'm.
proyement in Prices

II. q. Dun a. Co.'S weekly review OF
trade reports for last week:
The first month of the new year has
brought rather more increase In bust
ness, but less Improvement In prices
than was expected. with payments
through clearing houses 7.3 per cent.
larger than In 1892, and probably the
largest ever known In any month. with
railroad earnings ii.2 per cent. larger
than the best Of past years. the fact
thdt prices are very low only shows
clearly the Increase in quantities OF
products sold Nor Is there any dlspo-
sition 10 refuse orders, even at present
prices; indeed. the competition Of man
ufacturers seeking orders alone pre-
vents q rise. Most OF them have NIL
they can manage. many working night
ana day and one great steel concern
running on Sunday. but the works not
yet filled with orders are seeking con-
tracts at as low prices ms have ever
been made, indicating that even these
ar" not entirely Improbable. The set
temcnt or wages on 10 per cent. ad-
vance April I, for 100000 coal miners
OF the central region. with other
changes, viii tend toward larger de-
| mand for products of all kinds though
also toward some Increase In cost Of
manufacture
Wheat has. been conspicuous, rising
cents for the week with 5M cents for
May options. Western receipts have
| been 10,009,O53 bushels in four weeks,
| against 6,Oi5,7i2 bushels last year. but
Atlantic exports have been 12003,S28
| bushels In four weeks, against 71O3,074
bushels last year, and Pacific exports,
without Tacoma. for the week. 4,015,-
| 5S3 bushels. against 3.454.a95 bushels
| last year. So heavy an outgo with
! wheat over 81 per bushel and with corn
| exports for the four weeks equaling
the extraordinary movement OF last
year. .dlscloses the strength OF foreign
| demand even better than current ac-
counts OF disappointing shipments from
Argentina, and poor prospects In Rus
| Sia. Cotton has risen sixteenth, not
withstanding the strikes In eastern
| mills, and the official report OF de-
crease OF 10.5 per cent. in British ex-
| ports OF cotton goods last year.
| The cotton manufacture is In more
| difficulty than any other. not merely
| because prices do not much improve,
nor as yet the demand for goods.
| though both are helped by the closing
Of many mills. but largely because the
| manufacturers and workers have con-
sidered too little the rapidly growing
| production at the South. The wooden
| manufacture Is doing well. fine worsted
| goods having opened at an advance OF
20 per cent. over last year and the large
mills are constantly buying wool, even
| Mt current high prices. which implies
1
| ably based on larger orders than are
publicly reported. Such purchases Of
wool have been frequent OF late, even
| by mills supposed to be supplied far
ahead, and one Providence mill ap-
| pears to have taken 250000 pounds
worsted wool at Wheeling this week.
The iron manufacture Is getting larger
| orders for finished products, which
crowd many works almost beyond their
capacity. although some others are still
in the market keeping prices down. Pig
iron is steady. except that bessemer at
Plttsburg Is 10 cents lower. the output
last year being officially reported as
9,652,6S0 tons, and the consumption in
this country. unsold stocks considered.
9.625.3S3 tons. against 9.60l, ,504 tons In
the largest previous year. which was
1895. and 1894, ,932 tons In 1892.
Failures for the week have been 342
in the United States. against 331 last
year. and "a in Canada, against ~ last
| year.