The age-herald., 1899-01-03

gold and silver reserves. American poli- tics well as American business is af- fected.
 Among all the industries the progress of iron and steel has been most startling Duns prosaic chronicler of figures feels moved to say :"The story of the iron manu- fracture is like a dream," and later: This country is beating the world in this indus try" Here are some of the facts he has brought together:
 Twenty-Five thousand tons of Bessemer pig have just been sold at Pittsburg at $10.6O and gray forge is bringing $40. Chicago sales are limited only by the capacity of the works, and eastern sales are so numerous and so large as to raise the price 25 cents.
 Huge Orders for Iron and steel
 This is the way the demand for finished products size up:
 At Philadelphia-4,0 900 tons of plates for export to South America.
 At Chicago-300O tons for the same pur- pose.
 At the Maryland Steel Company's Works 80 900 tons steel rails for Aslatic Russia.
 At Pittsburg-35,000 tons for Australia, against British bids, and also 0,Oe0 tons for domestic trade.
 At Chicago and Pittsburg-6,6O0 tons of structural work.
 At Chicago-SO00 tons for car builders.
 There is also heavy buying of sheets and wire rods and a pending contract for 10000 tons cast pipe for Yokohama. Despite all this Dun says:
 "Pr.ces of iron and steel products have not materially changed, although the tone Is everywhere stronger, and for wire nails quotations have been advanced at Pitts burg to S1.30."
 The shipments of wheat this week, flour included, have been 3,2S5, ,704 bushels, against 3,69S, 1921 last year. The western receipts in New York, however, were heavier in the last three weeks than for the same time last year, being 25.0sS,51 bushels, aga Inst 10,3OS,929, fact which is recom- mended to the consideration of the believers in a small crop. From Pacific ports the shipments for the week made were ,019
 bushels against 956,co0 bushels last year. The record of exports is considered remarlS- able when the enormous exports from July to date are taken into account. During | the week the price rose 1hc. Years Grain Exports | The following table shows the estimated 1 export of grain and flour for the year: Flour, barrels .,.. .............. 1,Q0O,OOo | Wheat bushels ..... ...... .450UO,ceI l Corn, bushels ..... ....... .....30 00O 0oO Corn exports for the week have been | 3S24. .S36 bushels, against 4.540,6f3 last year, | and for the month thus far 1l,012, 13S bushels | against 10,S67,407 last year. The price has | advanced about 2s cents, but the continued 1 foreign demand is astonishing. The cotton manufacturer takes a leading place this year--not merely because cotton is an eighth lower than last year, nor be- cause prospects for buyers are so good. The manufacture has been much expanded by the increased demand, that the prices of nearly all the goods quoted in the re- port have advanced more or less, and there Is a feeling that with unreasonable accum- ulation of print cloths out of the way there is a brighter prospect for all goods.
 Sales of wool have been large-27, ,366 100 pounds, against 23.115,200 pounds last year, and 21,5sO, POO pounds in the same week of fS92-with small as well as large manufac- turers buying freely. Th's indicates a general improvement in the demand for goods, although not enough as yet to lift prices.
 Prices Lower Than in 1892
 The Dun report says that all this busi- ness has been done with the full belief that the next years demand will be greater than ever before. and it considers the fact .especiallly creditable that even in the iron Band steel business there has been so little advance in the prices of finished products. The range of prices is said to be nearly 20 per cent lower than in 1892, indicating an | astonishing increase in the quantity Of the | products exchanged.
 | The failures in the United States last ct las