The age-herald., 1898-05-21
BUSINESS IS INCREASING
Nation Moving Along Steadily in All Its
 Industrial Lines.
GOVERNMENT ORDERS VERY LARGE
Notwithstanding Greatest Output of Iron Ever Known, the Demand for Bessemef Pig Has Caused Slight Advance.
 Export of Armor Plate.

New York May 20.-R. G. Dun & Co.'s weekly review of trade will say tomorrow:
 Growing accustomed to war possibilities which are notably far from probabilities of evil, and finding the nation moving along steadily in its industries, people are grasp Ing the idea that 1t Is throwing away some months of active and profitable life to wait until war clouds have passed Western prosperity has so greatly overbalanced tim idity of eastern capital that actual business done increases; railroad earnings promise better for May than month ago for April. and payments through clearing houses for the week of May show a gain of 36 per cent. over last year, and 75 per cent over 1892, while over month ago the increase was 33.6, and compared with 1892 there was a decrease of 7.2 per cent. Several large contracts kept back for some weeks be- cause of hostilities have now been placed and instead of works closing or reducing forces, returns show the starting of some works long idle. Government work occu- pies many establishments, but it counts for little compared with other demands
 The key of the situation is the prosperity of the west which altogether unprecedented marketing of breadstuffs has caused, with the prospect of good crops to come. The prospects and actual receipts of wheat, amounting to 5,SI6716 bushels for the week against 2,439,1 169 last year with advices also in other grain and cattle have produced a demand for rails, cars, car materials, fencing, agricultural implements, boots and shoes, and all textile goods, which was not anticipated in the east.
 Exports of Wheat
 Exports of the wheat do not diminish, but In three weeks from Atlantic ports four included have been ,255,5S0 bushels, against 4,77S,7S2 last year, and from Pacific ports 1,73S,123 bushels against 6l0,637 last year.
 The price of wheat fell Az cents on Sat urday, rose cents on Tuesday and closed 51a cents higher for the week.
 In iron, notwithstanding the greatest out put ever known, the demand has caused some advance in Bessemer pig, with only slight decline in the price of gray forge at Pittsburg, but full quotations are ob- tained at Chicago and Philadelphia In bars and sheets the markets are dull, strongly sustained by demands for car building. tin plate manufacture and other uses. In plates and structural forms all the works are fully employed and gen erally crowded for months ahead.
 The export demand for armor plate in spite of higher ocean freights Is not yet arrested. Tin is sustained at 14.4 cents by large consumption, and lake copper In spie of American production amounting to 22,- 9O9 tons for the month, 10 per cent. larger than last year, with a slight decrease in the production of foreign mines.
 The Textile Works
 The textile works doing rather bet ter, even the cotton mills in spite of their over-production for some lines of large i'm portance have recently started again, and print cloths are a sixteenth higher. Nu merous woolen mills have been pushed to new activity by government orders, and prices for few grades of goods are bet ter with stronger tone in the market gen. erally While sales of wool small G. 33S 300 pounds for the three weeks past, against 2796S, 700 pounds last year, the man. ufacturers have ample stocks
 Failures for the week have been 250 in the United States against 2iS last year, and 20 in Canada against S7 last year.