The San Francisco call., 1898-03-28
OUR COMMERCIAL STATUS.

TT HE feeling in trade again unsettled last
 week, owing purely to the scare. As usual,
 Wall street was feverish and irregular and stocks responded the moment to both favorable and unfavorable rumors from Washington, showing extreme senSitiveness of securities to current condi tons. Press reports state that the public entirely out of the market and the larger holders are also taking comparatively little interest though foreigners are sellers to some extent. Industrial operations however, have not been perceptibly affected and mer chandsing is going usual. There is strin- gency in the money market. The bank clearings of the country per larger than last year. and the failures 30 per cent smaller hence, author ity tersely puts 1t, it IS difficult take dismal views when the nation is surpassng all previous commercial records. The inflow of gold from Europe amounts to over $34,oooyooo since the movement began, and the end is apparently not yet The exports of wheat from the Atlantic Coast last week 2,I6oooo bushels, against I272ooo for the week last year. and the most fattering reports regarding the distributive trade being received from the West and Northwest The only two staples which really dull wool and cotton, while to offset this we have an iron trade which IS simply booming. The activity in this line IS unprecedented the mills all over the country being rushed with orders. At Chicago, for instance, enormous de mand for new cars and farming tools and implements is reported, with a structural demand exceeding that of any previous year by So per cent. There is, how ever, unfavorabe feature to all this, nasmuch as decreases in prices are numerous than for time past though they chiefly in articles of pecu laon rather than those of regular consumptlve trade
 The local markets almost devoid of feature General trade is good shown by the bank clear ings of San Francisco which 30 per cent larger last week than for the week last year The close Of the week distinguished by advance in wheat and barley, the former rising in sympathy with higher Eastern and foreign markets. and the latter owing to the dry weather. There fine shower on Friday in the Salinas and San Joaquin valleys but 1t was less than inch, hence it hardly enough, but was infinitely better than noth- ing and made the farmers feel brighter. The most unfavorabe feature at the IS the widespread damage to several kinds of fruit, notably apricots and peaches by the longcontinued cold weather. It is conceded that the apricot crop Of the State will be practically nil this year. and the peach crop will be too light for the usual large output of canned and dried fruit Prunes have not suffered as much the others up to the present writing, and the pears apples and grapes remain untouched yet. The hay crop looks poorly and buyers already in the field bidding SIS for oat hay, which IS about 100 per cent better than the usual opening price of this de- scription The farmers generally refusing to sell at this figure but 1t is all guesswork both sides It is admitted by all however, that this important staple will open far above its usual figure.
 The question of feed has become serious one It has caused the shifting of cattle from point to another has led to the withdrawal of all extra horses from ordinary business and has sent in larger supplies of hogs to this market for sale besides affecting butchers prices more less. In fact it is cutting in many directions.
 Tn spite of all these drawbacks, however, the dition of trade is better than at this time last year The increase in the volume of business is well illus trated by the overland shipments of produce and merchandise from California during February, which were 41,65o tons, against 17,582 tons in February 1897.