Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1899-04-04
AN APPARENT CHECK.
provement-Someo of the Causes
for This Situation.

New York, April S.-R. G. Dun G. Co., In
their weekly review of trade, say: Fail
ures during the first quarter of 1899 have
been in amount of liabilities not more than
about s26 CSC, $3.50, against $31 .142 last year.
$500 91O in 1897 and s57 525, 125 in 1895. While
the later returns may increase the amount
for the quarter a little. the complete return
which will be given next week will be very
remarkable in comparison with that OF any
previous year.
Business is not at present improving.
There has been some thing very like cheek,
partly the result of heavy buying since jan
uary l, to anticipate the market, partly
caused by the uncertainty about the oper-
alton of many combinations, ana shaoe
of doubt about foreign affairs also hao
some influence. The new rule OF the clear
ing house banks at New York about tax
alton of country checks also causes some
shifting of accounts. A period of transition
from one ownership to another, and from
one management to another and from one
Industrial system to another where 1t af-
fects many hundred establishments
throughout the country, inevitably causes
+, some hesitation in business. A little later
the many hundred concerns may be doing
| more business than ever as they were just
before combinations were effected. But at
the point of transition nobody knows Just
what to expect There Is much withdrawal
of iron business, because continuance OIL
pSSe
chases made by many works have
not been met by orders, and because works
affected by many other combinations pro
posed are not inclined to buy more largely.
1.-THE boot and shoe business Is again
hating because of difference between buy
ers and sellers as to prices. The fuctua-
lions of the wheat market have been large,
and tend, on the whole, toward higher quo
tations. Railroad earnings for three weeks
of March have been Al per cent. larger
than last year, and 9.S per cent. larger than
in 1892.
Failures for the week have been 1874 in
the United States, against 220 last year. and
rs in Canada, against q last year
Bradstreets says: "There is quieter
| tone in several lines of business this week,
| independent of the reduction of distributive
| demand, resulting from continued unfa-
| vorable weather conditions in large Sec
| ton of the country The strength OF quo
| table values. however. fails to show that
any ma terial siackening of underlying move
ments has as yet become apparent in lead
| ing lines While leading western markets
note that the edge has been taken off de'
| mand, and that bad roads and weather
| combined have retarded retail distribution
| and hence have affected collections in some
| sections, results of the first quarters trade
| with wholesalers have been so good thai
| their sanguine cheerfulness as to the out
| look is especially notable. Industrial con
] dittons continue of most hatter1ng char
| acter, with advances in wages still prom
| inent feature in the iron, STEEL machinery
| and allied trades.
"Past reports of prosperous trade condi
| lions find confirmation in the smallest mum
J Der of failures, for the first quarter, report
| ed for IL years past, while Liabilities are
| tighter than for IL years preceding The
| percentage of assets to liabilities, too, is a:
| low as that reported in the most prosperous
| years. The total number of failures for the
| first quarter of 1899, as reported to Brad
1 streets, was 2,779. q per cent. smaller thar
last year, 81 per cent. less than in 1887 and |.
| per cent. smaller than in 1892, while liza
bilities aggregated sS1.22l,6os, 10 per cent
less than in 1898; so per cent. less than in 1896
and 20 per cent. smaller than in 1888
Increases in failures over yea
| ago are noted in New England, du
| mainly to larger number of embarrass
| ments in Massachusetts,, but the only in
| crease in liabilities in any group of state!
is that noted in the far west"