The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-10-12
TRADE REVIEW.
Situation in BusinesH Circles as It
Appears to the Dun and Brad
street Agencies.

New York, Oct S.-Bradstreet's says:
with the exception Of some parts Of the
south where heavy storms and yellow fever
with resulting Guarantines check dis
tribution very large business appears to
be doing, though complaints of narrow
margin of profit are well-ngh unanimous.
While the bank clearings OF September
point to slightly smaller business done
the country over than one year ago, this
weeks figures point. to a fair gain over
last year, and therefore over all previous
records for this week Of the year. The
volume of distribution as whole is we'll
up to or above that reported year ago
in most sections, and therefore far in ad-
vance Of recent preceding annual periods.
AS for some time past, most activity Is
perceptible in the west and northwest and
on the Pacific coast, particularly a. Puget
sound and Columbia river points. 1t has
been a carnival and fall celebration period
at number Of western cities this week
and a resulting large distribution, both
retail and wholesale, IL reported. At lead
ing eastern markets recently favorable re-
ports are fully maintained, with business
in textiles, particularly cotton and woolen
goods, least favorably situated.
"Signs are not wanting that the spread
of yellow fever in some sections of the
sharply checked trade in the lower Mis-
sissippi valley. while heavy storms on the
South Atlantic coast have operated to ar
rest distribution and reduced the rice crop.
The general industrial situation is very
favorable one. Marked activity continues
to be a feature of the iron and steel trade,
but the immense rate of production al pres
ent in the absence of immediate new de-
mands, has caused shading of some few
grades of pig iron and steel billets. Move
ments in an upward direction, however,
are reported from the west. The situation
as to prices generally is one of sustained
strength, wheat being prominent in this
respect, while the most important reduc-
tion is that growing out of the refined sugar
war;"
R. G. Dun & Co. in their weekly review
of trade say: THE iron industry still
gains so rapidly that an unhealthy boom
would seem to be In progress but for the pc
culiar conditions. In spite of the combina-
tion Of valley producers, who now propose
joint selling agency at Pittsburgh, sales
run little below their fixed figures, 5000
being quoted at Pittsburgh and 1925 for
gray forge, while southern and local iron
are ste.dv at Chicago and anthracite is not
stronger at Philadelphia. But the con-
suming demand is remarkably heavy and
large contracts this week cover 5000 tons
structural iron at Chicago, 5000 tons for
Boston, 1000 tons ship plates at Cleveland
and heavy demand for bars, the PennSyl-
vania railroad requiring $500 cars and the
Northwestern 1900.
Wheat has been declining a little, with
foreign reports somewhat more favorable
as to European crops. All reports still in
dicate that farmers are quite generally
holding back their crop in the hope Of
higher prices, and collections at the west
are almost everywhere retarded on that
account, and yet the western receipts
amount to 10,5S9,S59 bushels. against $780,
| 72O for the same week last year. Nor is the
corn crop any obstruction, for while 2.531,-
0O2 bushels were exported during the week.
against 1,S55,G67 last year, the movement
does not indicate large supplies in the in
terror. But nobody can tell as yet how
much grain Europe will require during the
| coming year.
Failures for the week have been 1863
in the United States, against 212 last year,
and % in Canada, against 20 last year"