The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-15

| New York, Oct. AR. G.. DUN & Co. s
weekly review of trade will say tomor-
row: With actual payments through
clearing houses IL per cent larger than in
the same week of 1892 it cannot be said
that business is in any sense falling off,
and yet many are complaining because
the amount realized as profit is smaller
| than was formerly realized in good times.
I In almost every branch of business trade
| is now transacted on narrower margin
! of profit than in any other time OF fair
prosperity. There is a great change and
perhaps a permanent one in the percent
age of profits derivable from trade and
manufacture, as well as in the profits
obtainable by transporters. Progressive
civilization calls for lower range OF
profits and of prices, as the volume OF
business transacted Increases, in order
to make possible Improvement in the con-
dition of the. working millions:
Wheat business is moro active, with
prices about ? cents higher for spot and
nearly 3 cents for December options.
Very heavy purchases have been made
Elected in the official record of shipment,
but the exports from both coasts, flour in
cluded, have been 4, no bushels, against
1885, 15 for the same week last year. 1t
is especially interesting that in spite of
the general disposition of farmers TO hold
back their wheat, the western receipts
have been for the week much larger than
last year. and for two weeks ~, 1875, 4so
bushels against Ii, e96 .554 last year
While little attention is now paid to the
official reports. they Seem to roreshaoow
a larger return for the crops than has
been made in any previous year. Inc
price of corn has advanced about cents,
though the receipts are just now larger
than year ago.
The price of spot cotton is a sixteenth
lower than week ago, and the January
option has also lost a few points, while
there is a weaker market for goods. This
is partly due to the official admission
that the prices of prime cloths, now a
sixteenth below 2 cents, cannot be sus-
tanned without a selling agency, which is
now proposed. Although the production
at Fall River is in excess of demand the
difficulty in prices is probably largely
due to the belief that big yield of cotton
must reduce the price of the material.
While some wooden mills have started
operation during the week, quite as many
have stopped. Although wool is about
10 per cent lower than 1t was February
!. the manufacturers are not buying and
the market is remarkably dull, with sales
during the past two weeks of only 6,11S1O0
pounds at the three chief markets, against
"a 331 500 last year and 1896 800 in 1886 and
Is. 70S, 500 in 1892. The general feeling is
that the price of the material must de-
cline before the manufacture can much
increase its sales. Orders for goods have
been little better and few mills have
resumed operation. but there is as yet no
such demand as is necessary to sustain
current prices of wool.
The iron manufacture again reports a
small increase in weekly output, 2l5,6So
against 2l3,0iS a month ago, and with the
decrease in quantity of unsold stocks on
hand outside the great steel companies,
the apparent consumption for the month
of September was 9S3 S04 tons. against
$780, sos in August. There are quite heavy
eastern orders for foundry iron, fully sup
porting prices, and at Chicago prices of
local iron are strong, with less disposition
to sell southern pig at reduced quotations.
The orders for finished products include
a very heavy demand for plates. especially
for shipyards, several of, considerable
magnitude for structural works covering
about 5000 tons and an unusually heavy
demand for bars. In pipes Pittsburg has
been able to place orders for 80 miles of
ter-inch pipe and other orders for 100
miles are practically closed.
Failures for the week were 205 in the
United States against 223 last year end %
in Canada against 36 last wear. = -