The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-21
HOLIDAY TRADE IS VERY GOOD.
So Say Both Dun and acknowledgements Are
Holding Their Own.

NEW YORK, Dec 29.-Bradstreets to-
morrow will say: Retail trade has easily
held the center of the stage this week,
stimulated as it has been by the dual
influences of, exceptionally cold weather
throughout. the country and q rather
more pronounced holiday demand, which
promises to be of record breaking char
acter not only. as to volume, but as to
quality and grade of goods purchased.
While jobbers in many lines notably
shoes, clothing and rubber goods, re-
port a good recorder business growing
out of the above conditions, wholesale
trade as rule has been seasonably quiet,
exceptions to this being noted in WOODEN
goods, raw WOOL lumber, leather coal,
and last, but by no means least, iron
and steel in myriad of forms. The
spectacular feature of the week in prices
has been the continued marking down
of copper, and sympathetically herewith
the drop in tin and lead.
Slow but steady aceretions in the price
of pig iron are proof of the heavy buy
ing going on. Despite the record break
ing production, buyers are still eager and
the familiar car shortage cry is heard
most loudly in this trade
Cotton Speculation Lively.
Foreign cotton SPECTATORS apparently
are getting their second wind after the
surprise given them by the government
estimates Liverpool estimators claim a
crop of over Il G00 COO bales, against the
9,6740G0 bales Indicated and prices are
now on a dead center awaiting a new
impulse. The higher range of value has
induced a moderation of consumption es-
Inmates. but these are still 1,0G0.9J0 bales
in excess of the estimated out-turn. Actu-
al cotton is still nearly Zee above near
while print cloths are only sc off. Man
ufacturers will not sell largely ahead and
cotton goods are firmer.
In speculative staples the visible sup
plies are now larger than a year ago,
but the export demand is little freer
Corn and oats have sympathzed with
price movements within narrow limits
Provisions are irregular with pork
slightly higher and lard lower than a
week ago.
Wheat, including flour exports for the
week, aggregate 4.SS2,S32 bushels, as
against 3,S79, 800 bushels last week and
exports July 1 to date twenty-five
weeks aggregate f4O636,547 bushels, as
against S9,0S4,079 last season. Corn ex-
ports aggregate 330.941 bushels, as
against 7S,307 bushels last week and
5,465,57S bushels last year. July to date
corn exports are 90 126,174 bushels, against
SO, 167, 239 bushels last season.
Railroads Doing Well.
Tales of rate cutting at the West con-
trast strangely with reports of car short
age and incidentally returns of earnings
which show that fifty roads earned s
per cent more in the first week in De-
cenlber this year than they did last
while for the second week forty-two
roads show a gain of $500,000 over the
middle week of December, 1900 Again,
October gross earnings Of los systems in
creased 1862 per cent on total of Sll9,-
212,776 while net took on % per cent
the total being s46,092 s55, as against $Ss,-
249.095 for October last year, when the
coal miners strike held sway.
Business failures in the United States
for the week number 262, against 2S3
last week, 262 in this week last year, 2l1
in 1899, 212 in 1898 and $50 in 1897. Cana
dian failures for the week We're "a, as
against % last week and Is in this week
a year ago.
Bank Clearings.
NEW YORK. Dec 2o.-The following