Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-01-20
THE BUSINESS SITUATION.

Braistreet's, in its review Of buai-
ness conditions for laat wees, says:
Dlst'ibutipe trRda Romano rather
quiet, mild weather throughout the
country tending to cheek distribution
OF winter goods. prices generally re-
main steady or tend upward, except for
some grtdos of iron, and orders for
spring trade, wuera received, are Ell
courheing Industrial activity is most
manifest nt the West, where the do
Inand for irGn is very large. feature
of the week vas the placing of an order
by ono railroad for 100000 tpus of stnel
rails, with smaller nmera, aggtegating
in tho neishtorhood OF "a, 600 tons
more. Pig iron production is now at
IN unprecedented rHts, tho furrRca
capacity being eatimGtid at |, 600, COO
tons a month. Prices and stocks begin
to show the influence OF this immenss
production. At the South mauufactur
ing activity IL a feature, sales OF iron
being very heavy. a good expert de-
mand for cotton and grain al steady
prices is feature. At tho East q
number OF strikes against wages re-
ductions arc reported or expected in
luo EDbtuu iUuubtTJ' t1uNit NuUlbH
mills, working on heavy men's wear
goods, are refusing orders, thsir Cd
pacity heing fully booked. Anthracite
coal production, ii is hOpefil in that
trade, will be restricted sufficiently to
allow of the advance Of 20 to 40 cents
per ton heing maintained. Weather
has been disappointing at the North
west, but an improvement in the de-
mand developed at some centres as the
week advanced. The ruuh TO q laska
has already begun ON the Pacific cuaat
Freight charters are reported over.
Export trade continues large, gain
of eight PER cent on the total eXptrf Of
breadstuifs, cotton. mineral oils, clrtle
and hogs and provisions being sin%n
both for December and tho calendar
year. Bank clearings Indicate a heavy
volume Of general business throughout
the country. aggregating for the wetk
81, 442, 600, 600, an increase over last
week OF l. 6 per cent: again over this
week a year ago OF 81 per cent; over
1896 of Sc per cent, and over 1894 OF Of
per cent. Compared with this week OF
1892, period of very large business,
the gain is 2 per cent. AZ was eS-
pscted weekly failures are slightly
smaller in number, amounting to 32;
this week. against 1913 last week, Az
in this week OF 1897, ALP in 1896, 37S in
1895 and 404 in 1894. "
RIG. Dun & Co. u Review makes this
report: 1.-THE year has opened with G
very satisfactory prospect. 1t ia all the
better that there is no wild excitement
in the speculative markets, and while
stocks advance a little, grain yields Q
little. The payments through prircira
clearing houses Notwithstanding u de-
crease att New York, owing to Leaf
activity in stocks, are 80 per cent
larger than in 1892, and 10. per cent
larger outside New York. Earnings ot
all railroads in tine United States re-
porting for December, S43, 364, 2I9, in
dictate substantially the same rate o.
increase, exceeding last YEARS. by TO-;
per cent, and the earnings of 1892 fol
the same roads by l.. 3 per cent. Since
1892 was, on the whole, tho most pros
porous year thus far. comparisons in
dictate, Notwithstanding the lowes
prices ever known, that the volume O.
business ia larger, and, in spite of somt
cutting OF rates, the earnings of rail
roads are larger than in the best yea
of past history. A most encouraging
feature is the report of foreign trade,
the principal exports amounting tt
SSS, ORG, $50 for the month of December,
against sSl. 62S, S65 last year. whom tn,
aggregate of all exports was SILT, 600,
600 The increase promises an ever
larger excess of exports over imports fol
the month than was expected, and il
spite of a decrease of s., 600, GOO il
cotton, nearly all due to fall in prices
and some decrease in oil for Q similar
reason, the increase in provisions ant
in breadstuffs has caused an increase
which, for the calendar year, ia S5l,
GOO, 600. New York exports in Januar,
thus far are smaller than last year,
while imports are also smaller, but al
this season larger proportion of thu
exports goes to other cities. The iror
furnaces in blast January Let report al
output of 226, Cos tons weekly, agains
JOG, O2i weekly December 1st, with al
increase of IL, 4S1 tons in the unsolt
stocks held by furnaces. While thi,
shows a consumption 521, psr cen
larger than year ago, there would b,
diacouraging indications of consump
tion, hut for the fact that several fur
naees wore stopped for the holidays
and these with several others have
started since January 1st, while tn,
demand for finished products does mo-
diminish. The wooden manufacturers
have been buying WOOL largely, and fol
reusons not publicly explained. The
cotton manufacturers, heavily over
loaded by excessive production, find nc
increase in demand, and no gain ir
prices. The boot and shoe manufacture
shipped more cases from the East dur.
ing two weeks of January than ever BIZ.
fore, but it is receiving few new oruers,
although in brogans and women's light
goods the orders are enough to run ths
factories for same time. The money
market is altogether favorable to New
York, net receipts from the interior
having been about So, 600, 000."
ParochiaI School for sacred nearh Church,
A parochial school building is to be
erncted on the property of the Sacred