The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-14
INDUSTRIAL SITUATION
MANY GLOOMY PREDICTIONS FAIL
AND TRADE PROMISING.
Iron business Heavy and Textile
Trade Depressed-WeekIy Reports
of Dun & Co. and Bradstreet.

NEW YORK, May 13.-R. 6. Dun & Co. S
weekly review of trade tomorrow will say:
Hostiilties have lasted long enough te' kill
many predictions, if but few Americans.
The European notion that the United States
would begin by having a bad half hour,
the theorists notion that everybody knows
a great panic must follow the outbreak of
war; the commercial 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 emergency
had passed, have all been made laughable
already The only panic was when money
lenders were wondering what deadly i'm
possibilities the unknown might have in
store for them. The only hindance of in
dustry has been due to waiting of buyers
who looked for lower prices. Nothing dis
heartening can be seen in the industrial
situation except the closing of some cotton
mills owing to overproduction and the fail
Of print cloths to 1a cents. Cotton has not
risen above 6.37 cents, and many stories of
reduced acreage are current, as a year ago,
but they do not weigh much in view of the
actual receipts of 10,50OOOo bales. The sales
of wool have been only 4,oO5O00 pounds at
the three chief markets for two weeks,
against 1859, 400 last year and IL 216,7 $50 in
and there is more demand for goods apart
from the large government orders The de-
mand for boots and shoes, having passed
all records in recent months has abated,
and yet many orders are coming forward,
and just at The point where there is gem
eral change from one season to another the
actual receipts are per cent. larger than
last year and IL per cent. larger than In
1892 though smaller than in other years.
Leather is rising, with no active demand,
and hides at Chicago have advanced about
a 20 n hD fn hnf ~ a
slaughtered at the four chief Western mar
ketS this year are considerably more than
in any other year excepting 1898 and 1894.
The output of pig iron, 234 1853 tons week.
~ May l, against 233, 339 April l. shows prac-
tically no change excepting the increase of
$50 tons weekly in charcoal iron. Deducting
the unsold stocks, which increased in April
23,5l6 tons, the apparent consumption in that
month was 3d. coo tons daily, against 80 ,220
general expectation of expanding demand
holds prices steady for all finished products
of iron and steel, and with considerable
sales of 3essemer pig, it is 10 cents higher
at Pittsburg. with other quotations there,
at Chicago and at Philadelphia practically
unchanged. Government orders are heavy,
and yet cover but little of the consumption,
though they go far to cause the overcrowd-
ing of ship yards and plate mills, but high
enormous demand for agricultural impie-
ments and also for locomotives and cars,
while very many buildings in Western
towns and orders for many railroad and
other bridges, for canal improvements at
Chicago and for 5000 tons of steel rails at
the East make up heavy volume. Money
is easier since the policy of contraction has
ceased. and only $1,7O0.000 went to the in
terror during the week, while the new loans
of the chief banks average 40 per cent. of
the total to commercial interests. against
% per cent. one week and Is per cent. two
weeks ago, with rates much lower than
were quite recently refused. The govern
ment is paying gold over the counter large
ly because Ii needs notes more than coin,
and 81. 900 in gold have been ordered dur
ing the week, $2,5000 coo from Australia. max
ing SIS. $50 ordered, of which about A1,-
C00.0C0 has yet to come.
Failures for the first week of May have
been $297S.9S0, against 1896 sS94 last year and
&,l3S.21 in 1896; manufacturing 81. All, 275,
against Sl.S49536 last year, and trading ST.,
472.721, against $l2S9.S5 last yeaS. Failures
for the week have been 246 in the United
States, against pa last year. and twenty
four in Canada, against thirty-one last
year.