The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-05
Business booming i'm Nearly All Lee
All Previous Records.
SPECTATORS ALONE SCARED
BY "YELLOW" JOURNAL FAKES AND
THE SPECTRE OF WAR.
Bank CIearinGS and Exports Heavy
and Industries Pushed to supply De-
handspring Trade Brisk.

NEW YORK, March d-R. G. Dun &
Co.'S weekly review of trade will say in it's
issue tomorrow: Stories of the most reck-
less sort, disproved promptly, and many of
them before they were told affected specu-
lation in stocks much last week. and at
times this week, but they have not dis
turbed the industries and the trade of the
country at ALL There is confidence that the
authorities are doing what is proper to pro-
vide for public defense and business is NOV
ing on with the assurance that it will not
be seriously disturbed The grain, cotton,
meat products and petroleum markets have
been strong, with gradual increases in the
demand for manufactured products.
Failures in February have been smaller
than in any other month, except three, of
the previous fifty-two months, with re-
markable decrease in the failures for $780,
coo and over, though in number and
amount the smaller failures show less
change than might have been expected, in
dicating that in good times or bad, a large
proportion is due to causes apart from the
general condition of business. The ratio of
defaulted liabilities to payments through
the clearing houses is but $1.71 per 1,OO0 a
lower ratio than has appeared in the first
quarter of any year, except 1880 and 1881, of
the past twenty-three years The best evil
dence of general Improvement is the fact
that payments through clearing houses for
the past week have been rs per cent larger
than in 1892 and outside New York, with
it's speculative interests 176 per cent. Com
pared with last year the gain has been 56.2
per cent. for the week, and 1913 per cent
for February.
Production of pig iron is the greatest ever
known, some furnaces having started in
the past month. but Bessemer billets are
so scarce at Chicago that some works are
embarrassed, and heavy purchases at Pitts
burg, including one of $4,000 tons, have
stiffened the price. so that Bessemer pig
and local coke at Chicago are stronger than
since Nov. /, with gray forge unchanged
at PittSburg. Foundry at the East is slight
ly lower. basic pig having been offered i'll q
sharp competition at about $40, though
Southern makers in Alabama and Tonnes
see, excepting two, have agreed on a plan
of sales through commission. The demand
for finished products covers work far ahead
in plates, structural forms, sheets, in pipe
since the advance in oil, and in rails. with
a Chicago sale for q Canada road to Alaska
but bar is weak. with increasing use of
steel, and tin plates are quoted at $2.S5,
against 81 for the same quality of foreign.
Tin is stronger at 14.2c, and lake copper at
11S7c
The strike in the cotton mills does not
spread, but helps to a slightly better de-
nand for some goods, while in woolens the
business is slow in some of the finer quail
ties, which have been much advanced in
price, and in these and other grades as well,
cancellations have often exceeded recorders,
indicating less distribution than was ex-
pected at the advanced prices. Wool has
yielded a little, the average of one hundred
quotations by Coates Bros. for domestic be-
ing 20.23c, against 20.83c Feb l, and while
yielding is thus far mainly in inferior
qualities stocks at least three years old
are pressed for sale.
Wheat has grown stronger, exports con-
tinuing at a rate which threatens eXhaus-
ton of supply, if trade reports of farmers
stocks are correct. From Atlantic ports g,
426 240 bushels went out, flour included,
against /, 1868, 4l6 bushels last year, and from
Pacific ports SS4,993 bushels against 479,959
bushels last year The price has risen one
cent, but it is possible that the estimates of
last years stocks, though 5000O,OOO bushels
in excess of government estimates, may
prove too small Corn has declined only
one quarter of a cent, with exports of H.
74S,S43 bushels, against 5,22l, 7S5 bushels last
year.
Failures for the week have been 25l in the
United States, against 246 last year, and 81
in Canada, against SO last year.