New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-05-01
HONEY ANR BUSINESS.


DAYS including five Sundays. April recorded
| payments not smaller by one days thah pay
mcnts In March making the daily average about
6, ono GOO higher and the aggregate. $3.50
00o 600 vas greater by about 81 ,000,OOOOoO than
! vas over recorded In any month until this year
Much Of the increase is due to extraordinary
s,ocr transactions here which amounted APP
nroxjmately TO 50 $40 100000 In January sloZo-
! 600 600 in February si.6l6 OOO.OO0 in March,
! and 81 COG 100000 in April. to what extent 50
settled by Stock Exchange clearings as not TO
| affect bank transactions II Is Impossible 10 say
| Rut outside New York the payments were ABOUT
| 81 9OS 900 600 in twenty-three business days oil
| anrU against 50 S24 OO0.0O0 In the twenty-five
dovs of March and only 80 500, OOO.OOo In Janu-
| airy Compared with 1892 the principal e@
changes show increase Of 4S3 per cent OUTSIDE
| New-York and 10 per cent In all for the last
| week and GS 6 per cent in the average dahy TOT
| the month
There would be no satisfaction In such figures
II there were ground for belief tfat the soi'u
| and wealth-producing business OF the country
were decreasing with increase only IN 'rao'ne'
| There is ample evidence to the contrary al
| ,rouob the slow movement OF grain just now
| leaves eastbound tonnage from Chicago not
| o,,,s 2 nor cent smaller for the month than
| loo, wear but 10 per cent larger than In lS9Z
| Railroad earnings in April were GA per cent
| ,er,er than last year. and 1915 per cent larger
| ,ban in 1899 and the westbound movement OF
| merchandise is remarkably large and pays wen.
| Stocks maintained their prices singulary wen
| last week considering the heavy oecnne III
| street railroads, averaging for three - ." per
share owing TO the passage OF the iran'"'e
bill for the other railroad stocks averaged
| decline Of only 80 cents per share whiie 'he
| ,rus,s nreferred lost for the old nothing for the
| new 81 cents per share. and the common iost TOT
the old GO cents and for the only six cents
! per share The public appetite was geherais
| fed last week with information OF the business
| dora or 70 he done by the great combinations.
| and the Imagination was fired with reports OF
| gigantic copper and other operations
| Rabind all this smoke there are the fires OF an
| industry really never more productive. 1t is
| possible that something less than this Is true
| OF the wooen and cotton manufactures, as the
| strikes in cotton Just now curtail production
| some while in woollens the combinations cause
enough uncertainty to hinder new business. Still,
| tho sales OF wool last week were at the three
| chief markets 1,712.500 pounds. which is more
| than a full consumption. and in four weeks
| have been 30916IS5 pounds, against ". io9'9oo
| in 1892 when the business was thriving with
| allowance for purchases recently stimulated by
the fall Of some grades to the lowest quotations
for more than year. there is yet evidence tha'
the mills are consuming largely. and the rade
notes no fall In prices Of goods. In cotton goods
there has been some further advance In spite
OF the weakness in raw cotton.
| Other industries are doing wonders. Progress
in silk manufacture may be inferred from i'm
ports OF 1851 $50 pounds in March which APP
| proaches or exceeds half a years consumption
In nearly all years prior to 1898. The imports
| OF india rubber in March were 6,469,4IO pounds
| against 25j0.276 in March. 1893. The shipments
| Of boots and shoes from the East in four weeks
of April were 800 4es cases against 3o4. OG1 last
| wear never before larger than 204 100 In 1898
| and only pa. JO3 in 1892 New orders are hin
dered by doubts about prices which do not rise
az manufacturers wish, but they are generally
suppled with orders we'll ahead. The iron In
| dustry continues so crowded for months ahead
that orders are restricted by inability Of works
| 70 make deliveries within reasonable time. and
| naturally also by the high prices charged by
| those who can take orders. but prices are not
| Welding The few contracts made known last
week covered about 10000 tons. and large or
ders for rails are pending The coke shipments
were the heaviest ever known.
Wheat goes abroad more slowly, ard declined
last week an eighth in price mere ard half a cent
at Chicago Exports in four weeks. -four in
cluded have been only ll,3291Sl bushels
agalns. l5,sS5,l 43 last year. but perhaps th'
delay in opening lake navigation this year re-
tards some shipments. while the official returns
: for nine months ending with March show
: net exports Of wheat and -four amounting L
J 1873 101 914 bushels against lGo,I46,5O0 las
wear II is scarcely strange that with 1914, O00GOl
' | he nfugf
coo last year. there should be some slackening
with two months OF the old year left and espe
e clally as corn exports in the ten months have
been 142 30 1gS bushels. meal included, agains
15s.944.s $50 last year. Nor does the moyemen
, from Western farms indicate exhaustion o
, supplies for in four weeks 1O.O63.52J bushei!
, have been received at Western ports. agains
1853 233 last year. making for the crop year Il
, date 2Il 100000 bushels. against POI ,WD,Wt
, last year.
, Cotton exports once more exceed last year,
, for the week although less for April by I,0O'
: bales Takings Of spnners were 3ooU bales
greater than last year. but receipts from plan
tations for the month were 5000 bsles greater
so that the quantity in sight up to Friday nigh
was only 64371 bales less than to date las
year from the maximum crop 1t does not nov
seem unlikely that the years output VIII sur
pass the last. but the price yielded only SIX
teenth. The small exports and low prices o
; staples will make difference with April ex
ports which have been in three weeks from
New-York about ~ per cent less than last year
D while imports for four weeks have been abou
S1O.3OOOOO larger. The returns would indicat
( an export excess OF only about $50 O00. 900 70
J. the month there not the probability o
, continued increase in the exports Of iron an
J. copper and other manufactured products. whic
3 added in March more than S9,OOO.OOO to tn
/. minor exports The rise In foreign exchange
@ not surprising while the great staples NOV
Y ing slowly. but within a few weeks forwar
/, sales Of bills against products to be marketed 4
n | July and later will begin. and meanwhile cur