Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-07-27
THE BUSINESS SITUATION

Dun's Review for this week says
"Optimism is always popular, but
more than half the time dangerous.
Seven years of hating and reaction
historically follow three of rapid
progress. But tine three of progress
have not yet passed and the most
cautious search discloses no sign of
hating. Foreign anxieties have been
real, but seem to be passing, and
Europe has begun paying literally for
more food without expectation that
securities can DO sont in settlement.
The extensive labor strikes have
vanished. and the local do not affect
national business. Fear of new and
powerful corporations lessen, as it is
found that they are controlled by tho
same laws which govern the small conf
panies. A rise in prices, which seemed
ominous, proves less than the rise in
British prices during the first half of
tho year. Apprehensions OF short crops
fade away when farmers surpass all
records in magnitude of shipments.
A bore all, the general evidences of
prosperity continue convincing, failures
are the smallest ever known for the
season. railroad earnings the largest
and solvent payments through clearing
houses in July have been 49, per cent
larger than last year. and 62.3 per cent
larger than in 1892, tho best of previous
years. Official returns of the most
wonderful year in the nations com
merce show II decrease of $50, 800, 600 in
value of the great staples exported,
largely owing to prices, but an in
crease of about SS0,0O0,000 in other
exports, mostly manufactures. I'm
ports greatly increased in raw materials
for manufacture, but materially de-
creased in most other products. In
July exports of staples have begun to
increase, with much less increase in
imports than has appeared for months
i'll the exports of manufactured pro
ducts A continued and heavy excess
OF merchandise exports is foreshadowed,
and the ablest foreign journals admit,
as the course of security markets
during recent troubles abroad clearly
shows, that Europe can no longer OK
poet to pay in American stocks.
Curious operations in exchange, based
on stocks and bonds deposited as
security. disclose belief of brokers that
it will pay to be on the short side.
Fear Of deficient crops has been buried
under Western receipts from farms
amounting to ID, SCI, 0l6 bushels wheat
for the month thus far, against
3,7I3, l0S last year, and 10, 299, 100
bushels corn, against 6,6l2,3l5 last
year. Traders have at last walked up
to perceive that farmers do not pour
out grain in this fashion when crops
are scanty. Exports of wheat, Atlantic
and Pacific, have been 7,709, 1873
bushels, during the month thus far,
against 1889, 259 last year, and of
corn. 9,093,041, against 5,097, SAT last
year.
Bradstreet's reports that "the gen.
eral trade situation has apparently lost
nothing in strength. The aggregate of
midsummer business is of an unprece-
dented volume. and signs of expansion
in the demand for fall and winter goods
increase. Prices, except for cereals,
coffee, raw sugar and some dairy prod
ucts, are either firmly held or tend
upward. Notable among those advanc-
ing are pork products, petroleum, cop
per, tin, tin plates and raw wool, while
the list of products unchanged includes
refined sugar, hides, leather, lead and
cotton. Industrial activity continues
at the maximum, skilled labor being
busily employed, but some troubles are
noted among unskilled workers, notably
street Car employees and longshoremen,
partly owing to mischievous agitation
and midsummer influences, but also,
no doubt, to restiveness at failure OF
| prosperous conditions to materialize in
their cases. Crop prospects are en-
couraging: the movement of grain to
market is of immense volume, and rail-
road earnings, consequently, continue
to show large increases over preceding
years. The weakness of cereals, while
partly due to a cessation in the foreign
demand, developed by stories of crop
damage, is quite as much owing to I'M
precedentedly heavy receipts of old
crop grain at leading primary markets
and the belief that present good crop
conditions point to liberal supplies
later in the season. Possibilities that
the present corn crop will equal, if not
exceed, the largest on record have de.
pressed prices of this cereal to an ex-
tent equal to the decline in wheat.
The corn yield in Kansas particularly
promises to be enormous, always pro.
viding that hot winds do not affect the
crop. Iron and steel retain all of theiI
old strength, and, while prices at the
East are unchanged. further advances
in crude ana manufactured material;
are noted at Chicago"