The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-22
COLLECTIONS ARE GOOD
MERCHANTS AND MANUFACTURERS
ARE WELL PLEASED.
Great Improvement i'm All Lines of
Local Business Reported
Heavy Fruit Crops.

From the best information obtainable
merchants and manufacturers are having
much better success in their collections than
at any time in the last three years. TRAY
cling statesmen are almost unanimous in
their reports of the Improvement in busi-
ness and of the greater ease in making
collections. In the last three months some
long-standing bills have been Hquida ted.
Farmers who have been very dltaory in
this direction have sold their last years
crops to good advantage, and have paid
their grocer and general merchandise store,
and the retail merchants, in turn, pay their
bills to the wholesale houses. Three diff
ferent wholesale grocery firms state that
their business the first eight months of this
year has been 80 to 40 per cent. in excess
OF that of the corresponding months of 1897,
and that their collections are highly salts
factory.
Two of the wholesale millinery houses re-
port their business this year as large be-
yond expectations, and not in many years
have their collections been more satisfac-
tory. The wholesale dry goods houses the
early part of the year, held their own with
1887, and now their business is considerably
in excess of that of August 1897 AS to
collections. they say there is little room
for complaint. Dealers in leather, saddlery
and harness say their business for four
months past has been handsomely in ex-
cess Of last year. and their collections have
never been more satisfactory One of the
firms said that their losses this year thus
far would not exceed per cent. of their
sales. while last year they exceeded per
cent The iron and hardware men state
that their trade has been so per cent. bet
ter this spring and summer than in 1897, and
they have no grounds for complaint over
the manner bills have been paid by their
retail customers. Manufacturers of chem
icals, patent medicines, etc., of which there
are two very large establishments in the
city, report their trade as very satisfactory
and their collections encouraging
The seed merchants have had an excellent
trade since early spring, and their collec-
tons have been exceptionally satisfactory
Representatives of harvest Implements
threshers, engines. ETC., find their sales this
season have exceeded all former years,
business coming just about harvest time
Most of the concerns could have sold more
had they the threshers and engines on hand,
so prosperous have been the times with
farmers over this State. The large number
which paid more cash at the time of the
purchase is a noticeable feature.
Up to two weeks ago commission mer-
chants experienced the most satisfactory
business in many years, and collections
have been and are now very satisfactory
but the crops of fruit and vegetables are
so abundant that the last two weeks the
market has been overstocked, and prices
dropped so low that it has been necessary
to handle immense quantities of stuff to
make margins. Manufacturers, as a rule,
speak Of their collections as being much
more satisfactory than for some time and
the per cent. of their losses through bad
debts unusually small. The manufacturers
Of articles from iron are the busiest and
make the most satisfactory report of their
collections, much larger per cent. of their
sold for cash. The general tenor of the
remarks of the merchants and manufacture
ers is that the business situation has great
~ improved in the last few months, and the
outlook for the future is unusually prom
oir1s