Phoenix weekly herald., 1898-01-20
STATE OF TRADE.
Summary from Bradstreet's1


sumption of work by thousands of in
dustrial employees in the wester
glass industry, a largely reduced vol
| ume of business failures as compares
with corresponding periods in preced
ing years, and a general outlook Ger
| tainly not inferior to any previous
year at this time. Distributive trad
| has naturally been rather slow pend
ing stOck-taking and the return Of
! statesmen to the field. While the vol
ume of dfStributive business is nc
| larger, industrial activity is a specia
feature uncOBhned to any one section
l f''lt s-cecisiiy rctabIe in the west. Re
sumption or work aftser the HOLIDAYS
/ mas been general and encoura ging in
| that section autumn weather in the
| northwest cheeks distribution. but col
| iections are reported good. Sales of
southern iron are large. Louisiana
| sugar crop returns have been very
| satisfactory. Nine-tenths of Florida :
orange crop was gathered before the
| late freeze, and cotton is STEADY on
| good export demand. Wool has oaen-
| ed up actively at some eastern maT1A-
| cts. and lower prices for cotton goods
have stimulate some demand. Wage
reductions at New England cotton
mills have been very generally accept
ed The jewelry trade has been en-
couraged by the small number of fail
ures occurring in that line. Prepara-
tions for an active Alaskan trade are
making on the Pacific Coast, and need
ed rains are reported in California
Prices have shown few important
changes and steadiness is a leading
feature. Naturally enough there is a
slight gain in the number of failures
reported this week over last, the total
aggregating 353 against 297 last week
but heavy falling off from 1897,
in this week of 1896 was 446.
Bank clearings this week of course
reflect annual settlements, but even
with this qualification the total is still
very large, having been exceeded only
four or five time in the history of the
country. The total for the first week
of January aggregates S1,41S,OOO, 900,
Il gain of 1876 per cent over last week,
of 24 per cent. over this week a year
ago. of 10 per cent. over 1896 Spe-
cially telegraphed returns of bank
clearings for the year 1897 to Brad
streets give q total of bank clearingS
at - cities of 500, ,921 ,43:5. .000-a gain
of 11.9 per cent. over 1S96-a larger
total than in any preceding year since
1892
The investment demand for bonds
and stocks has assumed increased ac-
speculative stock market is also active
and higher. with a large accession of |
public buying. The market waited for |
he first two days of the week for the |
of the Union Pacific pay
nentS and of the January settlements. |
These are now accomplished and the |
of ease in the money |
market encouraged large speculative |
to renewed activity on the
,uIl side. The purchase of Il controll- |
ng interest in Sesquehanna & West
.rn by Messrs. Morgan & Co. for the
erie Railroad gives promise of further
liability in the anthra cite combination
NJ 5IiJ y sils;.Fa.il+- stocks are influenc-
d by the active steps taken to main
ain trunkline rate Foreign eX-
hange is strong at 4.S5@4. S5A for de
nand sterling on an increased in
uiry caused by the prospect of resum-
d ease in the money market
Bank failures in 1897 followed the
eneral tendence of business mortality
4 all other lines of business. The re-
utation of the banking community
or conservatism, however. is borne
ut by the relative heavier falling off
/ the number of failures and the re-
uced volume of liabilities of banks
nd trust companies. as compared
18th preceding years THAN in ordinary
circles. The total number
f failures of national, state, savings |
nd private banks and loan and trust
in 1897 was 105, Il little {
lore than half those of 1896 and less
IAN One-ffth those of the panic year 5
S93 Liabilities also showed a heavy | !
illing off. being 60 per cent smaller |
IAN 1896 and 90 per cent smaller 5
ian 1898. The number and liabilities, I
eli irrh 1V Ia 1 Z
S94 The percentage of assets to !
abilities in 1897 was only T6, the Y
nalIeSt reported since BradStreetS | e
cord of bank suspensions was begun L
\ trif1e gain was shown in the @
orld-s visible supply of wheat dur |
lg the month of December, 1897, as c
.ported by telegraph and cable to G
due e tirely to an in
ease in visible stocks in the United
tates east of the Rockies, and attrib- p
table largely to the squeeze of short =
,Ilers at Chicago during that month .
tracing supplies from interior
Oints. Stocks in Europe and aflOat !
II Europe showed a decrease for the :
onth of l 1.4S3. 900 bushels. and those I
q the Pacific Coast of this country :
III off nearly 100000 bushels, which q
as more than cOunterbalanced. how =
-er. by the increase east of the Rocky i
in this country. making the I
at increase for the month in the +
orld's visible stock 2,S31, 600 bushels Z
he visible supply of wheat in this /
,untry on January 1. 1898, was Co. !
$4,000 bushels, 100000 bushels d
mailer than a year ago at this date, /
nd the smallest January 1 stock re +
)rted in this country since 1891. The 4
,tal worlds supply on January l +
to 132, ,434. 600 bushels. a :
lin over July L, 1897, of 100000 /
1shels, but a falling off of 6,729,OOO Y
lshels from January 1, 1891 :
The holidays have exercised their +
zpected effect on export trade IN 7
Ssfff7g cereals. Wheat exports from :
e United States and Canada for the :
-st week in January amounted to
fS1,576 bushels, against 5,495,OO0
lshels last week, -3,10S,00O bushels +
this week a year ago and 3,4I1,000 !,
lshels in the corresponding week in :
'96. Corn exports also show a sensi- T
e diminution, amounting to 4,OS6.OO0 {
Ishels last week. 4,S19,000 bushels in
lis week a year ago and 2,626,000 i
lshels in the corresponding week of q
S96
A TREAT IN MINSTRELSY.