The San Francisco call., 1899-09-25
A PEEP INSIDE OF PROSPERITY.

LEW persons, even those in active trade, realize
how many things have advanced in price during
the past few months, and particularly during the
past few weeks. Exclusive OF the great staples, the
list embraces all sorts Of articles to writing
paper lead pencils and pins, that it now costs more
money to even order goods than formerly, not to
mention paying for them. Almost everything that the
housewife uses has gone up, the head OF the family
is finding out to his disgust and it costs considerably
more to run the family than it did year ago And
the end is apparently not yet No such rise in COM
odtes has been seen since the civil war; nearly iorty
years ago.
The money market is beginning to show signs OF
strain on account OF this general advance in the
saries OF lie The circulation is being drawn upon to
paw for goods and the New York banks find their
legal reserves shrinking under the DRAIN especially
the interior banks are drawing the New York
banks for cash funds to the crops The Govern
ment has helped the situation by paying the October
bond interest in advance on former similar occa-
siQns and the banks themselves will find other means
q relief so there is no for aarm.~The case is
cited merely to show that prosperity sometimes
causes financial stringency just it threw large
number OF men out of work a fortnight ago be-
cause the shipbuilding works could not get the raw
material to work on, owing to the immense demand
from all over the country. Both are peculiar
il not unique.
The present advance in prices has another curious
feature 1t will be news to many that the manufac-
turer in spite OF the general advance in his wares is
deriving very little benefit from it 1t appears that the
rise in raw products has been sharp that the
facturer has been unable advance his selling prices
for manufactured goods in corresponding ratio, for
while the latter are much higher than for time
they have not kept pace with the increased price Of
raw material and, what is OF equal Importance the
rise in wages This is prominently exhibited in the
wooden trade and many other lines. Thus, while
labor has advanced from Is per cent boots and
shoes have risen only per cent while leather has
gone up 8 per cent. Wool has advanced 1919
per cent but wooen goods only 81 per cent
which in view OF the IoGI5 per cent increase in la
bor gives the manufacturer less benefit than appears
at the first glance Everything put up in tin has ad-
vanced, but the enormous rise in tin combined with
the increase in wages cuts down the packers profits
materially. And so on, down the whole list OF com
Inodities. From this it would appear that the pro-
ducer and wageearner are getting much more out Of
the current prosperity than the manufacturer who
popularity supposed to get the lions share of every
thing.
For the rest the situation exhibits no new features
The weekly commercial reports sing the same unvarv-
ing song OF marked gains in bank clearings decreased
failures great wholesale and jobbng trade in almost
every line OF goods, everish activity in all branches
Of the iron and steel trades and their subdivisions
with prices for merchandise Of all descriptions mount
ing sIyward OF the cighty-three American cities
and towns reporting bank cearings only eight
showed decrease last week, while the average gain
all over the country was 43 per cent and every large
city except Omaha recorded a gain over 1903 The
failures were I47 against IS2 in the same week last
year
The conditions OIL this coast are merely reflex
Of the wonderful prosperity general throughout the
other parts OF the country They familiar to all
who keep in touch with trade conditions and have
been recounted time and again. Suffice it to say
thar business is better in California to-day than for
great many years and that there are no complaints
from any quarter.