The sun., 1900-05-26
THE STATE OF TRADE.
Actual Business by Railroad Now
Larger Than In Any Previous Year.
SHARP DECLINE In COTTON.
brought About by Failure of the
Firm Which Had Most Strongly
Resisted It-Prices Chang
ed Very Little.
SHARP DECLINE In COTTON.

New York, May pr. G. Dun &
Co.'S weekly review Of trade saws:
transition to Il more natural range OF
prices after time of extraordinary buy.
ing. speculation and rise is not wholly de.
lightsome, however nerdful it may be tc
business health. But the gradual change
this year, though wcaryng, has given op.
portunity i'll various branches to avoid
losses. 1t is nearly six months since the
highest prices of pig iron were reached
Nov. 20, and of wool Dec /, while hides
reached their maximum Dee. 13, leather
and IRON products Jan. 10, boots and
shoes Jan. n, woolens Feb p and cot.
ton and cotton goods March 21. The
tables given by this paper have shown
THAI the highest point for all prices was
March l6, and after two months of slow
decline the range for all prices was but
10 per cent lower May IL. But the past
week has added its full share. fall of 10
pr cent i'll cotton, 3 per cent in pig iron,
10 per cent in iron products , per cent
in hides, 2l2 in boots and shoes and 3la
i'll leather. By in petroleum and Il little
in many other products.
The decline in cotton was rendered
sensational by the failure of the firm
which had most strongly resisted it and
for high prices, in the belief that stocks
for the rest of this year would scarcely
meet demands with the next crop in
doubt. Evidence that consumption would
diminish here and abroad with high
prices for goods received less attention.
As respects the immediate interests of
American growers, the campaign was
singulary successful and increased by
many millions the sum obtained from
Europe for cotton exported. But the
course of the market for some months
to come cannot well be predicted, as pro.
vision for the future has been made by
spinners on both sides of the ocean. Eli
son makes European mill stocks 1,063, 200
bales May 1, with commercial stocks
of American held abroad 1,3S6,000 and
consumption reduced to 155,000 bales
weekly. American mills have taken with
their holdings last September 1871
bales more than their maximum consump
tion for a year. and they find the market
for goods not encouraging.
Changes In Leather Trade.
Sudden and extensive changes are now
reported in leather and boots and shoes
apparently resulting from the unyieldine
refusal of many dealers to place anything
like their usual orders for the season
ut prices recently asked. Concessions
are now reported of 2la to 5 cents pei
pair in leading grades for which such
reduction was not reported Il week ago
so that the general decline averages about
3 per cent 1t was doubtless based i'll
part upon considerable concessions in
leather, as ii now appears that substan
TALLY all staple grades have been sold
ut prices half cent to 1la cents below
tlx., IN fn1I ,rip po
about 3l2 per cont. The downward
tendency of the market for hides at Chi.
cago, which has been of much influence
in compelling the REIMBURSEMENT of prices
has continued during the past week, So
that prices range about > per cent lower
All these are steps toward a renewal OF
business on Il larger scale. But ii con
tinuCS the fact that actual business by
railroad is now larger than iii any pre-
viOuS year. Earnings reported for May
thus far have been 9 per cent larger thar
last year and 1853 per cent larger than il
1S!lS. and this in spite OF II comparatively
small grain movement, which renders
more impressive the gain in other mer
chandsc. The heavy failure in cotton
caused sales of many thousand shares OF
stocks which depressed prices on Thurs
day slightly below those of last week
But railroad stocks closed with an aver
age II cents per share higher than a
week ago, while the 10 industrial stocks
averaged a shade higher than ut the low
est point they ever touched, May IL.
Movement of Brendstuffs.
The movement of breadStuffS has no,
materially changed, Atlantic exports OF
wheat, flour included, having been il
four weeks 10,405,397 bushels against
S,657, 165 last year, Pacific exports 2,I91,
701 against 1,932,T ,T03 last year and cx
ports of corn 13,917.631 bushels agains,
1926, ,662 last year. Prices have changec
very little, the excitement being concen
trated upon cotton, which declined about
cent per pound. Payments through
clearing houses south of the Potomac anc
west of the Aleghanies have at almost
every point been greater than year ago
and the shrinkage at New York and east
ern cities is largely because heavy tinan
cial operations connected with creation
of new corporations are not being repeat
ed. Money is remarkably easy, and the
want of demand for commercial loans OIL
the old scale causes much remark. Fail
ures in three weeks of May have beer
S6,G11 9l-manufacturing 81 ,GS4 ,015 and
trading S4.O29.179 Failures for the
week have been 1S1 in the United States
against 142 last year and 20 in Canada
a.