The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-31
DuN's TRADE REVIEW.
The Past Week Has Brought Dts
 tirct Improvement.

NEW YORK, Aug. 3O-R. G. Dun & Co.'S weekly review of trade tomorrow will say: Even in cotton goods, which have been the slowest to respond to the vigorous tone of dmestic trade, the past week has brught distinct improvement Pressure at Fall River being removed, the print cloth market became strong, while in the bleached goods division the gains were still more pronounced. In some cases the only drawback Is the lack of available supplies for immediate delivery. Such evidences of better things in the market for goods naturally gave a firmer tone to the raw material which was fur ther supported by the unsatisfactory weather In Texas. Against losses by drought in the largest State there is com pensation in the greatly increased acre. age throughout the entire cotton belt, but an advance of B a bile since the advance began does not appear unreasonable The crop year ends with visible supply close to a million bales, by no means the severe scarcity estimated earlier in the season, but still more depressing fact Is the de- crease in takings by Northern spinners of about 100000 bales as compared with the average of the three preceding years
 SomeWhat lower quotations for wheat are not surprising. in view of the general tendency to increase estimates of the official figures of condition. Another weakening influence Is the slight decline of exports below the record breaking movement in the first two weeks of Au-
 
 were still phenomenal, aggregating b,3O7.- 302 bushels. compared with 2,802.5 .567 last year and 3,179.917 in 1899. Moreover, this gain occurred despite the interruption to shipments from the Pacific Coast by the strike of grain handlers. There figures of exports omit the movement from Cana dian ports. usually included in other rec ords and causing confusion as to the &C., tual state of domestic trade.
 With a yield of fifty million bushels in Manitoba. these shipments from the De- l minion are falling little short of a million bushels weekly Corn is stubbornly firm. | though Atlantic exports for the week | were but 407 450 bushels, against 2.s67. 15S | year ago and 4.07S, ,60o in 1899, while Vest ern receipts were 5, "A, ,ss6 bushels: com pared with 2,123,H7 last year. indicating that farmers are content to market their l surplus at current prices.
 August opened with the commercial sky | overcast by storm clouds that threatened | serious injury to the steel industry. while | drought in the Southwest aroused pessim- | istic predictions that business was on the verge of severe setback. Thousands of season in agricultural regions meant in | activity in manufacturing, trade and | transportation, according to the prophets | of evil Instead of these calalnitous con- ditions. however, the month ends with a | horizon that is almost clear, and each day resumption of work at an idle mill adds | to the productive capacity while cancelled orders for merchandise from dealers in l | stated. After many years of steadily in- | creasing prosperity the farming popula- | tiOn can face moderate losses with equan- | imity
 Jobbers and manufacturers report that orders for fall goods have exceeded any previous year. with noticeable demand for the better grades and there is a definite l measure of active trade in bank ex- changes at this city TAO per cent. larger than in the same week last year and 20; above 1899. while at other trading cities the increase is 36.2 and 25.0 perecent, re- spectively. Although scarcity of freight cars holds back a large tonnage. railway earnings thus far reported for August | show a gain of 12.1 per cent. over las
 year and 23.6 over 1899.
 Quotations of steel products are stil
 nominal owing to the difficulty experi
 enced in securing prompt delivery It i: estimated that not more than 20 per cent | of the steel companies capacity has beer
 stopped by the strike and this proportion
 daily decreases.
 supplies abroad so that their work Is no
 badly handicapped and while 1t is to b. ! deplored that American capital and wagt
 earners will lose the profits of this busi 1 ness. 1t Is fortunate that other industries
 are not disturbed. Footwear shops con
 mand for leather Is large at well main
 tained prices. Hides are sharing the i'm
 provement, with higher prices and ac
 tivity at the West. Woolen mills ar
 crowded cith orders. even the smaile
 concerns participating and the wool mar
 ket is steady despite weakness abroad.
 Both raw rubber and silk are strong
 bearing witness to the better condition
 in these industries.
 Failures for the week numbered 2O3 Il
 the United States, against 17S last yea
 and 21 in Canada, against 1SO last year.