The San Francisco call., 1899-05-13
DUNs WEEKLY REVIEW OF TRADE

NEW YORK, May pr. G. Dun & Co in
their weekly review of trade will say:
To speak truly of business this week one
must free the mind of stocks, for a severe
decline in manufacturing stocks has created
an impression that 1t has relation to
productive industry, but 1t has none There
was no change in the money market worth
mentioning and the volume of business shown
by payments through the principal clearing
houses was lis per cent larger than in 1892
the year OF greatest prosperity hitherto, which
Is more than double the gain anybody
sldered possible a year ago.
Never before reaching a quarter of a mil
lion tons per week. the Iron Manufacturer
reports May l. an output of 25O 095 tons weekly
which. with "a, 400 decrease in warrant and
furnace stocks, indicates a consumption of
1892 tons daily, against 81 0S5 in March S4.S14
age for four months is OPT tons daily, against
81, 2O9 last year. An increase of 10 per cent
in the year would be less interesting If con-
sumption year ago were not far beyond any
thing previously realized. Yet proposed COM
binations hinder large orders in bars and
sheets, while the structural business is as
heavy as ever in small lots with bid contracts
about to come at Chicago for the drainage
canal and the plate business too big for all
the works to handle, invites no consolidation,
the Chicago and Philadelphia works being be-
hind in deliveries and Pittsburg works troubled
by demands for 1000 tons of vessel plates and
1000 tons more close ahead for the Government
docks at Algiers.
grey forge 25c at Pttsburg and local pig soc
at Chicago. In minor metals tin declined at
London to -. Z3C and copper Is weak at l5c
Tor spot and 1870 for futures
Hides at Chicago rose about 10 per cent. with
actual receipts of cattle in four months of
100 600 head less than last year, and over zoe, 600
smaller than in lS93-94, Notwithstanding the
gain in population
Nobody who has studied statistics can tell
why purchases OF a million pounds Australian
wool for export this week. following others in
previous weeks, should advance prices of WOOL
nor were purchases of five million pounds of
territory wool by a speculator readily explain
able. But it is just the time for growers to
ask all they can hope to get, and Just when
the largest manufacturers were ready to buy
only the smaller are buying. Prices 90 sald
to have been generally advanced. with higher
mains a question whether sales Of 10, 4Ss, 600
pounds for the week against 1888, 800 increase
over 1892 and only a little more in 1877 VIII
prove profitable. The market for woolen goods
in waiting for evidences of demand which do
not yet appear. and the delay in getting the
new combination into working order causes
some hesitation.
If Government estimates were considered re-
liable one based on entirely unknown acreage
of wheat and cotton would be everywhere re-
sented Thus with official returns pointing
to a great decrease in winter wheat pToouc-
ton the price dropped ! cent and cotton de-
cIined for options. though retaining the ad-
vance of a sixteenth for spot which was es-
tablished before the Government report ap-
peared Nobody base a sensible estimate
on a statement of condition which takes no
account of the acreage of winter wheat Killed
and abandoned. The best that can be SAID is
that worse returns were expected in both
markets. so that the Government report hau
practically influence.
Failures for the week have been 165 in the
United States against 246 last year ana ~ IN
Canada against "a last year