The record-union., 1898-05-14
Predictions of European Wiseacrss
Fail to MateriaIize.
Notion That Panic Must Follow Outbreak Of
War Not Borne Out.
General Business Continues to Gain
in Almost All Lines, the Only
Hindrance to Industry Being
Due to Waiting of Buyers Who
Looked for Lower Prices.

Looked for Lower Prices.
NEW YORK, May 13.-R. G. Dun &
Co.'S Weekly Review of Trade" to-
morrow will say:
Hostilities have lasted long enough
to kill many predictions, but few Amer
leans. The European notion that the
United States would begin by having
bad half-hour; the theorist notion that
| everybody knows great panic must
follow the outbreak of war; the COM
mercial buyers notion that everybody
would be ready to sell everything cheap
| if war came; the notion that it would
pay to hoard money until the emer-
gency had passed, have all be made
| laughable laready. The only panic was
when money lenders were wondering
what impossibilities the future might
have in store for them. The only him
drance to industry has been due to
waiting of buyers who looked for lower
prices.
Nothing disheartening can be seen in
the industrial situation, except the clos
ing of some cotton mills, owing to over
production and the fall of print cloths
to 1S7c. Cotton has not risen above
637c, and many stories of reduced acre
age are current, as year ago, but they
do not weigh much in view of the act
ual receipts of 10, 100000 bales.
The sales of wool have been only
4,O05, 600 pounds at the chief markets
for two weeks against 4,530, 400
pounds last year, and 11,216, 750 pounds
in 1892, but prices are somewhat more
firm, and there is more demand for
goods apart from the large Govern
ment orders.
The demand for boots and shoes, hav-
ing passed all records in recent months,
has abated, and yet many orders are
coming forward, and just at the point
where there is general change from
one season to another. Leather is rls-
| ing. with no active demand. and hides
at Chicago have advanced about
per cent. in spite of the fact that cat
! tie slaughtered at the four chief West
ern markets this year are considerably
more than in any other year except IN
/ 1891 and 1894
The output of pigiron, 243.44O tons
weekly, May 1st, against 233,3S9 Aprli
1st, show practically no change, except
ing the increase of $50 tons weekly in
cardinal iron Deducting the unsold
stocks. which increased in April 2o.-
516 tons, the apparent consumption IN
that month was 80, $50 tons daily,
against 32,359 tons daily during the
previous four months. This general
expectation of expanding demand hoids
prices steady for all finished products OF
iron and steel, and at considerably less
of Bessemer pig; it is 10c higher at
Pittsburg, with other quotations there'
at Chicago and at Philadelphia praetl-
cally unchanged. Government orders
are heavy, and yet cover but little OF
the consumption, though they go far 10
cause the overcrowding of ship yards
and plate mills, but higher prices for
which have brought enormous oemanu
for agricultural implements ana also
for locomtives and cars, While very
MANY buildings in Western towns, ana
orders for many railroad and otner
bridges for canal Improvement at
Chicago and for 25,00O tons steel rails
at the East make up heavy volume.
Money is easier since the policy OF
contraction has ceased, and only 9I'
! 700 900 went to the interior during the
week. while the new loans OF the chlei
banks averaged 45 per cent. OF the To-
tai to commercial interests, as agalns'
25 per cent one week ago, ana 10 per
cent. two weeks ago, with rates hucil
Hover than were quite recently refuseo
The Government is paying gold over the
counter largely, because it needs notes
more than coin.
Failures for the second week of May
have been S2,97S,9SO, against S3,99o,-
S94 last year, and S4,13S,271 in 1896;
mountaineering. 81, Al, ,215, against
81. .945. $50 last year. Failures for the
week have beeen 246 in the United
States. against 264 last year, and "A III
Canada, against 81 last year.
NEW YORK, May 13.-Bradstreet
Tomorrow will say: Business gains
rather than loses in attractiveness as
1 snring advances. While the favorable
situation in cereals is the mainsprine
of the Improvement manifesting ltsell
in many sections of the country, there
are other causes combining therewitf
to make the outlook for buyers for tne
current season a fiattering one. Fol
lowing the rapid advances in the prices
of wheat, which apparently eliminated
for the time being early in the current
week in quotation for cash wheat un-
eoualed with one single exception, ane
that only for very short period o1
time. for twenty-five years past, there
has come a lull, and the reaction from
the abnormally high prices caused BY
the squeeze in the May delivery, which
however. has left prices far above quo
tations for at least ten years back. Tel
| eeraphic and cable advices to Brad
streets only accentuate the alreadS
well-known bullish nature OF the lmme'
date wheat situation, while on the
other hand, owing to the generally ad
mitted good crop situation, particularly
in this and other countries, the outloof
appears to favor somewhat lower price:
than those now ruling for next seasons
yield, although above the average ot
those ruling for the past six years.
With the quieting down of interes
in wheat there has come a partial shift.
ing of speculative interest to othel
grains, particularly corn and oats, ane
many classes of provisions, with ad
vances in nearly all those lines.
A rather more confident feeling seem:
to oervade the iron trade, which Is re
fected in fractional advances for lead
ing makes of iron and steeel. Feature:
of the week are very heavy sales O
pig-iron at many markets. but 1t /:
again claimed that stocks have begun
to accumulate at some points as a re
suit of the continued enormous produc
ton, which is placed at 100000 ton:
per month.
Perhaps one Of the most interesting
features of the week, and one especial.
acceptable because of the hitherto yer,
depressed conditions prevailing, is tn,
. reported slight Improvement in inquiry