The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-21
BUSINESS IS GROWING
CONTINUED STRENGTH OF STAPLE
VALUES GIVE ENCOURAGE
MENT TO TRADE
IRON MILLS REFUSE ORDERS
Have Contracts on Hand That VIII
Keep Them Busy Many MOnths-
An Advance In Prices Fails to-
Check the Demand for Finished
Product--Little Change Noted In
the Market for Cereals.

the Market for Cereals.
NEW YORK, Jan. 2O.-Bradstreet's
tomorrow will say: The continued
strength of staple values, accumulated
this week by the advances in iron and
steel and other metals, in cotton at
the South and in lumber at some of
the Western points, has undoubtedly
added to the confidence with which
the outlook for the ensuing year Is re-
garded. That this confidence has a
fair business in fact will be gathered
from the reports received from the iron
and cotton goods trades, the firmness
In cotton goods being Of considerable
interest in view of the depression rul-
ing throughout the larger part Of last
year. Good trade advices fom abroad,
reduced movement at the South and
a tendency to pare down estimates are
reflected in the slight gain in the raw
otton values this week The advance
shown, however, hardly reflects the
urgency noted in the demand for the
better grades Of cotton, which this year
are scarcer than usual, owing to bad
weather during the picking season.
The iron trade situation remains as
for some time past, a feature of alb
Sorb1ng interest AS large as the pro-
duction of iron is, eager buyers are
found apparently for every ton offered.
Most of the furnaces are reported
booked ahead on orders, and some ad-
vances are frankly stated to be due
to the desire of makers to discourage
orders incapable of fulfillment within
any reasonable period. A strong side
light upon the strength of iron and
steel the world over is offered by the
statement that iron in Glasgow this
week reached the highest prices noted
for ten years past Features of the
domestic market have been gains in
prices OF Bessemer and Southern pig,
steel billets, wire rods and steel rails,
and In addition copper, lead and tin
are all higher
Little change is reportable in the
market for cereals, and the market for
cash wheat still reflects the command
ing position held by the United States,
as the supplies of the worlds wheat.
approaching competition from Argen-
tina and Russia, shipments from
which, particularly the latter, do not
at all accord with the liberal estimates
of production published some little
time ago.
Wheat, including flour shipments for
the week, aggregate 5,198,671 bushels,
against 5,647G1 bushels last week;
3,720,064 bushels in the corresponding
week Of 1898; 2,916,7OS bushels in 1897;
2,S49,271 bushels in 1896, and 2,S4O.750
bushels in 1895. Since July 1, this sea-
son, the exports of wheat aggregate
1S9, 234,719 bushels, against al, 46S, S65
bushels last year. Corn exports for
the week aggregate 2,S2S,191 bushels
against 3,297,072 bushels last week;
3,4S6,713 bushels in this week a year
ago; 3,582222 in 1897: 1898 bushels
in 1895 and sos, 500 in 1895. Since July
this season corn exports aggregate 92,-
G2O,190 bushels against 81, 931, 1879 bush
els during the same period a year ago.
Business failures in the United
States show quite a decrease from last
week, numbering 262 against 304
week ago; 300 in this week year ago;
429 in 1897; Alt in 1896, and 312 in 1895.
Business failures in the Dominion of
Canada number 80 against 81 last week,
36 in this week a year ago, 81 in 1896.
So in 1896 and 3S In 1895.