Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-03-09

more than so per cent. At the begin
ming Of last December, according to
thoroughly authentic figures, the same
over 100 per cent.
This is against a price of 20 cents a
pound which existed at the beginning
of 1893. which time was considered the
bonanza" period by wool men. On
the prices of Kentucky quarter blood.
clean," which is the staple among what
are known as the medium woods Of
American origin, prices We're rs fol-
lows: January, 1898, 4G cents; August,
1896. 25 cents; January. 1899, 81 cents;
Dec. l, 1899, al cents, a gain Of GO
per cent. 1t will be noted in this case
that the wool has not yet reached the
figures which it commanded in 1893, a
fact which serves as q text for the
bulls Of the wool market.
The situation shown by these COM
PARSONS is due to a curious combina-
ton Of circumstances which. according
to a local wool dealer who has seer 80
years of wool trading and is therefore
qualified to speak Understandings of
the past. IS practically unique. The
chief governing factor is the situation
abroad. The gain in the price Of woods
in the last London auction was about
20 per cent on the average over previ-
GUS quotations. Fine woods. such as
are produced in Australia. South Afri-
ca and South America. showed the
heaviest gain, on account Of the ex-
IRENE scarcity of the supply. The
shortage in production in Australia
last year was estimated at $4,000 900
pounds. due principally to droughts.
Incidentally it is asserted by the Ma
tional Association of Wool Manufac-
turers that there will be a further
shortage this year of over 100, 900
pounds. In South America there was
q shortage Of about 1O7, O0O,O 600 pounds
last year.
The American clip last year was 272,-
100000 pounds. or 3d. 900 pounds
less than it was in 1894. and the best
estimates made for this spring show a
probable increase of only 100000
pounds. SO that there will be very little
gain here to offset the foreign shortage.
The second important condition and
the n which makes the situation a
peculiar n is the heavy demand for
goods which is beginning to be appar-
ent and which will undoubtedly be the
leading feature Of the spring buying.
A successful manufacturer of wooden
goods recently in the city said that aft
er q thorough canvass of the jobbing
and manufacturing markets he was
convinced that the country is practical
~ bare of heavyweight wooden goods.
This is the class Of goods which the
mills are about to begin work upon and
of which the heaviest orders are regis
tered about this time. 1t is ex-
tremely improbable that American
mills will be able to manufacture more
than 65 to IS per cent of the woolens
which will be called for.
A manufactures Of clothing, when
questioned about possible advances IN
price, said that there might be a saving
effected by the use of shoddies aud
other substitutes for wool, but he
thought this would not be feasible, be-
cause it was becoming harder every
year to sell anything but all wool
goods to the average American. In
shoddy clothing and shoddy piece
goods would become important ar
of export, but the tendency from
now on would be to do away with
them as articles of merchandise for
domestic consumption.