The Topeka state journal., 1899-05-20
ORDERS REFUSED
Iron and Steel MANUFACTURES
Are Loaded Up.
Many Of Them Have Work For
Months Ahead.
BUYERS NOW SUBMIT.
Have Become Convinced That
Higher Prices Are Permanent.
Big Wheat Exports on Rising
Market.
BUYERS NOW SUBMIT.

New York May 20.-R. G. Dun &
Co.'s Weekly Review of Trade says:
While the buying of 100000 tons of
Bessemer pig at Pittsburg gave reason
for the advance in price to $780, with
grey forge quoted at $15 per ton, 1T is
not quite as clear as it might be that
the output, which was 255,0OO tons
weekly, according to the Pittsburg
record, and has since been largely in
creased by the addition of many fur
naces, will continue to fall below the
demand. For the requirements in var
ious departments for various manufac-
tured products, it must be recognized, is
scarcely measurable and does not seem
as much diminished as might be ex-
pected by higher prices and long delay
in delivery. In plates, for instance, the
demand covers many thousand tons for
bridges at Chicago and at Pittsburg,
and a Philadelphia concern accepted
several thousand tons and afterwards
was obliged to refuse more, one other
concern in the same city refusing over
1900 tons.
The shipments of boots and shoes
from the east have been for two weeks
of May, % per cent larger than last
year. and 500 per cent larger than In
1892. Higher prices which have been
asked for several months are now more
generally paid for mems wear, though
most works are covered by carrier or
ders for four months ahead or more.
Leather shows hesitation, dealers ap-
parently questioning whether the rise
has not been too much. At Chicago
the same question runs through the hide
market though advances are slight
Spectators are doing a large business
in wool, some foreign and some Ameri-
can They have bought about 100000
pounds of Australian wool in bond here,
pounds of domestic territory wool is also
said to have been sold for export at
about AZ cents clean. But this does not
cast much light on the question wheth-
er speculative sales abroad have yet
been covered, or will be within a short
time, nor is there any indication that
the market will respond to the tempor-
ary foreign demand. The orders Tor
wooden goods are decidedly better, and,
although the wooden association is not
yet in operation, it seems to have given
a certain kind of confidence to prices
in the wooden goods department
Cotton declined a small fraction on
Monday, owing to freer port movement,
which made it probable that at the
end of this week the amount in sight
would about equal last years record
breaking figures. But there was a re-
covery of all the decline in middling
uplands and a net gain in option prices.
Wheat has been rising during the
past week about 4 cents, and nobody
can tell why, although the exports in
the past two weeks have been 1O,569,OO6
bushels, flour included, against S,135, ,124
bushels last year Better shipments
were expected after the opening of navi-
CATION, and there is really no use in
considering the dreams of western spec
ulators and crop reports at this time.
No one can form a fair judgment at
the middle of May regarding the output,
which will be visible to everybody in
the middle of July. The best that can
be done is to accept the crop reports,
official and other, almost with indefinite
allowances. Better shipments are ex-
pected after the opening of navigation
and are in fact coming, the outward
movement from Duluth alone in two
weeks reaching nearly four million
bushels.
Lack of rain in California has caused
a large reduction in all estimates for
that state and Pacific exports are de-
creasing, as holders are less ready to
accept current prices with the prospect
of shortage.
Failures for the week have been 147
in the United States, against 250 last
year, and II in Canada, against 29 last