Omaha daily bee., 1899-08-20
CONDITION OF OMAHA'S TRADE
Retailers Generally Report a Quiet Business
as Usual in August,
losBERs WITHOUT EXCEPTION DOING WELL
Increasing Live stock values Put Up
Prices On Various Meat Products
CompInin-western
Butter for English Trade.

August Invariably is a dull month in retail
trade circles and from present indications
the rule will hold good for 1899. The first
half of the month has already passed and
retailers almost without exception answer
all Inquiries as to trade conditions with the
single word, "Quiet." A great many people
are absent from the city at the present
time, which renders business less active
than 1t would otherwise be.
Down In the jobbing district they are
counting August as a pretty good month
and considerably above the average
Augusts for previous years. The very sat
isfactory conditions prevailing in the cour-
airy, due to good prices at which live stock
Is selling and to the very excellent crop
prospects, have put the retail merchants Of
the smaller cities and towns in a very
pleasant frame of mind. Everything seems
to be coming their way and with the pros
pect of a large fall aud winter business iney
are naturally placing very liberal orders
Down In the produce district there is n
fair business doing for this season OF the
year, though as a matter of course home
grown fruit and vegetables, which are sold
direct to the retail trade by the producers,
naturally reduces the wholesalers business.
However, that Is the experience of every
year. The figures showing the shipments of
fruit from this county, which were pre-
rather surprising by reason of their size,
though the wholesalers in that line have
always contended that their business was
of far greater Importance than the. public
generally realized. Another matter that has
awakened some interest is the report OF
the dairy division of the Agricultural de-
partment at Washington, showing from eX-
periments that American butter of hlgh
grade would sell In England. 1t may no,
Omaha ships considerable butter across the
water sI 1t IS Is h hSSs e of low 10 &sd gIade Of k it nnt
up by the butter packers and sent direc,
from here TO Liverpool via Boston or New
On ehlnpal from hara 81 nd sold on eastern
markets eventually finds Its way across
the water.
Trade in High Grade Goods.
The Agricultural department at Washing
ton, ,, hGSwe srs5e is rt sGSins to to T YSs7 t up a u fTfet
Kingdom imported more than S,OOe,N
hu~ndredweight Of butter and less Than
per cent of 1t came from the United states
Canada, with less population than New
York. sent two-thirds as much as the United
states did. American butter exports neveI
coached 10000 700 pounds and in 1897 wer,
but little over 80 600 900 and last year onl!
100000. and the b United ,yo7 Kin Kbingd Sorst a ns !
IS that American butter sells for less thai
the Canadian; the "chief objection to IN.
ket is that poor butter from the Unite,
States has been exported so largely in tina
form that this package IS closely associate.
In the minds of English buyers with loV
grade goods" The department shipped i
different packages in an effort to get aroT Tn
chlef OF the department at Washingto
sound butter makers as a rule very IN
different regarding the export trade, pu
the general Impression is that II would be
good thing for them to ,o get eeO d TN p pTiGes o 9
butter exported to England. But to &C
compiish this the butter must be as goo
time. The rates on butter would be as To-
and the facilities of shipment as good a
in Montreal II the bushes We're iarg
enough and carried on with sufficient ell
terprise. ~
doing in live stock and, though prices tn
week have been slightly lower on som
kinds, they are high as compared wit
recent years; 1t is hardly ard ya nseeS wei please 5e se
with the situation. The price of tn
product, however, Is high o and mnrmuT pu !
ing the early part of the year hogs wer
low and those who could not aff9rd , to bs ga
upon cheap pork. The sharp ADVANCE !
live hogs, due to q large falling or IN or
seasons pack at most market, points, na
nut up the price of pork until now thei
Is nothing in the line of cheap meat TO {