The age-herald., 1898-01-29
Cotton Up a Sixteenth-WOOl Manuiae- z turOrS Doing We'll
DESPITE THE EASTERN STRIKES
Wheat Has Been Conspicuous, Rising 5 Cents Orders for Finished Iron Products-342 Failures Reported Against 335
 Same Time Last Year.

weekly review of trade will say tomor- row:
 The first month of the new year brought rather more increase in business, but less improvement in prices than was expected. With payments through clearing horaes ably thel argest ever known in any month, with railroad earnings 11.2 per cent larger than the best of past years, the fact that prices are very low only shows more clear sold. Nor is there any disposition to re- fuse orders, even at present prices; in- deed the competition of manufacturers seeking orders alone prevents rise. Most of them have all they can manage, many working night and day, and one great steel concern running on Sunday, but the works not yet filled with orders are seek ing contracts at as low prices as have ever been made, indicating that even these are not entirely unprofitable.
 Settlement of Wages
 The settlement of wages on a 10 per cent advance April for 200 900 coal miners of the central region, with other changes, will tend toward larger demand for pro- ducts of all kinds, though also toward some in crease in cost of manufacture.
 Wheat has been conspicuous, rising 5 cents for the week.
 Western receipts have been 10,109 ,503 bushels in four weeks. against 6.O45,7 TIP last year. but Atlantic exports have been 12,- 3,S3S bushels in four weeks, against T. 1O3674 last year, and Pacific exports, with out Tacoma, for the week, 4,015,5S3 bushels, against 3.454,995 last year.
 So heavy an outgo with wheat over $1 per bushel and with corn exports for the four weeks equalling the extraordinary movement of last year, discloses the strength of foreign demand even better than current accounts of disappointing shipments from Argentina and poor pros- poets in Russia.
 Cotton Goes Up a Sixteenth
 Cotton has risen sixteenth notwith- standing the strikes in eastern mills and the official report of a decrease of 10.5 per cent. in British exports of cotton goods last year. Receipts still run so far beyond those following the largest crop on rec ord that estimates once deemed extrav- agant are commonly accepted.
 The cotton manufacturer is in more df- ficulty than any other, not merely be- cause prices do not much improve, nor as yet the demand for goods, though both are helped by the closing of many mills. and workers have considered too little the rapidly growing production at the south.
 The woolen manufacturer is doing well fine worsted goods having opened at an advance of 20 per cent over last year, and the large mills are constantly buying wool, even at current prices, which implies great confidence in the future, presumably based on larger orders than are publicly reported. One Providence mill appears to have taken 250,000 pounds worsted wool during the week.
 Orders for Finished Product .s The iron manufacture Is getting larger orders for finished products, which crowd many works almost beyond their capacity although some others are still in the mar ket and keeping prices down.
 Pig iron is steady, except that Bessemer at 'Pittsburg is 10 cents lower, the output last year being officially reported as S. 652,6S0 tons and the consumption in this country, unsold stocks considered, 9,625, ,SS3 tons against 9,6o1504 tons in the largest previous year, which was 1895.
 10 Falures for the week have been S42 for the United States against 335 last year. and S4 in Canada against 57 last year.
 What Bradstreet Says
 New York, Jan. 2S.-Bradstreet's finan- cial review tomorrow will say:
 Although the market was temporarily disturbed at the beginning of the week by exaggerated reports as to the purpose of dispatching the man-of-war Maine to Havana, it soon recovered from the effects of this scare, an in the past few days developed remarkable strength and &C., tivity. London bought stocks here to considerable extent on Wednesday, though it was a seller subsequently of a part of it's purchases, while throughout the week there has been large amount of both investment and speculative buying for public account, the commission houses be- ing active factors in the transactions Professional interests of the smaller type. while at first inclined to act on the bear side, were forced to cover, and found it an improbable course to fight the ad- vance, more especially as the market from
 
 of the activity and support of powerful in- terests on the bull side. This was es- pecially noticeable in the Vanderbilt stocks, which group has been the central feature of the weeks speculation. The movement in them was accompanied by reports re- ferred to elsewhere, in regard to the pos- sible merges of some other roads of the system as well as to the creation of new securities and their exchange for old ones on advantageous terms It was also stated that increased dividends in Lake Shore and New York Central were prom ised and in spite of their indefinite char acter these reports have excited the inter- est of the street. The Industrtials have been less prominent in the trading. Sugar being comparatively neglected. and while the local traction securities were the ob-