The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-12-03
REPORT OF FAILURES GRATIFYING
Improvement in Nearly All Glasses of
Trade.

New York, December 2. -R. 6. Dun &
Co. e weekly review of trade tomorrow
will say:
The report Of failures for the month of
Novac,ber is extremely gratifying because
A. shows a striking improvement both
IN Tho small and In the large failures and
in naarIv ali GLASSES of industry and trade.
Nobody can estimate the gain ier une
iron and steel industry Wnlcn VIII resuiu
from the past weeks transaccions zoo y
steel rails, which are SAID 70 sAooou 49,
600 tons. The makers have laiie9 W asloS
and to complste the consolidation uluer
which a single agency was expeceeu ~
sail all the rails for domestic use OF lol,
export, the western works entered into az
agreement by themselves and uxeo 1nelr
scale of price at $l7 for Pitts0urg, ZIG,
for Chicago ana Sl8 for Colorado oLd enc
Illinois steel works are said to- have lak 3 ;
orders in q single week covering nucn Tue
greater part of next years capacity. But
eastern concerns have not been 1dle am
have taken such large orders that the OUT
put of the year is now expected to exceed
3. O00, 600 of which it is hard to say why IL
has been held SO long st prices whlch
hinder the sale of boots and shoes. while
encouraging extravagant speculation IN
hides. But the market has now declined
-
pound and price of boots and shoes have
gradually yielded during the past two
months and shade more this week.
A special statement this week shows
the prices of boots and shoes for eighteen
years from the books of well known
manufacturing establishments disclosing
in connection with reports made in 1879
by this journal, decline of IS per cent
in price during the twenty years besides
improvement averaging 20 per cent IN
quality of the goods. Shipments In No
vember have bUen smaller than in last
year but continue as large or larger than
in any other year and 10 per cent larger
than in 1892. The disposition to buy often
but in small quantities Is greatly chang
ing the character of the business and to
the benefit of both manufacturer and
trader.
Sales of wool have. been very large in
November, SO, 875, 500 pounds in five
weeks, against "a, 1872, 400 last year and
&c, 1871 1000 in 1892, but they have been
effected by Important concessions III
price. Manufacturers have somewhat
larger orders and ara more hopefui, bu1 2
considerable share of the machinery mist
inevitably remain idle until the material
is cheaper in comparison with the cost OF
wool and goods in other countries. The
rise of cotton.to 500 CENTS which had nc
other basis than an impression that cold
weather and storms late in November
might do much harm, reacted l-l6 cent,
but rose Friday and closed at the top
price, with impr ovement in goods market.
The wheat market has been weaker
with heavy western receipts and has de-
clined / 2 cent.
Atlantic exports have been s,123 056
bushels, flour included, for the week,
against 4,lS7, 632; and Pacific exports Il
lS9, 225 against /, sb7, $50 last year and for
tive weeks the total exports have been 2s,
804, sos bushels against 20, 1872 709 last
wear. Within the same time corn exports
have been IA, 490, 1888 bushels against 49,
S8t, $50 last year and the price has risen
| Ia cent. It is most significant fact
which all interested may keep well IN
mind, that exports OF wheat about equal
the greatest ever known in any crop yeal
thus far, but are accompanied by corn ex
ports also, but slightly exceeded IN the
The possibility that foreign dependence
on American food supplies iu permanent
| " increasing may be worth considering.
| Failures for the week have been 2Si in thu
United States, against aO6 last year, ane
10 in Canada against % last year.