The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-03-21

All Kinds OF Business This Year far
Ahead Of Any Previous Xear-soiid
Foundation for National Prosperity
New York, March 17.-R. G. Dun &
Co.'S. Weekly Review of Trade will say
tomorrow:
In business, this year 4 n be COM
pared with any other. II can be said
that payments through the principal
clearing houses for the past week have
been 55.4 per cent greater than in 1892.
and 45.s per cent greater than in 1895;
but that exaggerates the gain in some
branches of business, while in Others
it falls far short of the grain. Thus
the February exports Of manufactured
products have about doubled since 1892.
Omitting New York clearings, where
speculation in stocks is most active,
payments through the other principal
clearing houses for the same week
show increase Of 37.6 per cent. over
1892, and 27.1 per cent over last year.
But without regard to such. details all
realize that the volume Of business in
all branches is the greatest ever known.
The national prosperity rests on
more solid foundation. The exports
Of breadstuffs, provisions, cotton and
oil in February showed a decrease Of
S 5000, 900, but other exports, mainly
! manufactured, were $50, 406, 943 in value
against s31, 275, 1886 last year and were
sufficiently large to cover 60 per cent
Of the entire imports. The merchan-
disc exports exceeded imports for the
month $33,624,117, the gold supply in
creasing, and there appears no occasion
for m~omentary disturbance. The
treasury recorded its first payment Of
the S59, 600, 900 for the Central Pacific
railroad, having previously received
J SO, 900, 900 for the Union Pacific and
|, over Sc, 600, 900 for the Kansas Pacific.
"wiftly rising quotations for iron and
its products would mislead if it were
not in mind that more than nine-tenths
of the iron manufacturing capacity is
engaged, and will be until July or later,
in the execution of orders taken
| months ago at low prices. If a million
tons of products go out this month,
900, 900 at such prices as SIS to $40 for
steel rails, at which the entire output
of the Illionis Steel Company for this
year was sold some time ago, it hardly
indicates the true character Of the iron
business that less than 100000 are 60
ing out at such prices as $26 to SIS pei
ton for steel rails, made here for small
lots this week. Belated buyers now
have to pa fancy prices to get orders
| accepted at all. Withdrawal or post
ponement of business because of high
prices begins to be a significant feature
and much foreign business is evidently
lost though there are still sales for ex-
port-3,500 tons of pipe for South
| America and 5000 ons of bridge ma
terial for Burmah. The COnnellsville
coke works with an output of 1920
tons weekly, and many operating Sun
days to catch up with orders, have ad-
vanced prices 15c only.
Wool sales at the three chief markets
have been only 4,305,60 pounds, Of
which 2,761, 900 were domestic, against
SOS, 200 in the same week of 1892, OF
which 3,507, 200 were domestic; but
prices are soft, and some dealers are
said to have yielded as much as 2 to 3
cents per pound clean because nobody
nations may have. Prices re largely
hO1llllldl, IL yOl hCAO 40
better demand for goods.
Nor has the strong demand for cot
ton goods been helped by the weaker
market for cotton, which has fallen to
6.37 cents in spite of a volume of re-
ports about the bad condition of the
late picked product. The price of
goods has been s,rongly advanced, and
is held, but yet depends on the price of
cotton.
The n arket which has lost most is
that which has least statistical reason
to lose, because no estil ate of wehat
in farmers hand March LIST, would pro-
vide nor than about last years X
ports and domestic demand to July LIST.
The actual exports, -four included,
from 10Th coasts during the past two
weeks have been 7,956,938 bushels,
against 7,367,892 last year. But such
e-ports imply a foreign demand which
is not likely to exceed last years,
and the corn exports are also a little
larger than last year. The western
receipts for the week have been3, 359, 900
bushels, against 1851, 666 last year.
Failures for the week have been 1879
in the United States against 208 last
year, and 80 in Canada against q last
year