The Washington times., 1901-08-31
BRADsTREET's ON THE WEEK.
A Better and More Cheerful Tone OF
Business shown.


NEW YORK, Aug. 30.-Bradstreet's re-
view will say tomorrow:
"A further Improvement in corn corp
advices, confidence in the early eHding of
| the steel strike. further advance in
! cotton-due. however. to crop deteriora-
| tion as much as to the better tone of dry
| goods trade adviceS-and last but not
| least, the advent of cooler weather, are
| unitedly responsible for Il still further
enlargement of general trade distribution
at nearly all markets and perceptibly
| better and more cheerful tone of business
generally. Specially good reports come
from such centres as Chicago, which re-
ports a very good business in dry goods,
clothing, and shoes; from st. Louis, which
advises of unusual activity among jobbers
and the dry goods trade in August be-
yond expectations; = from Kansas City,
which reports that jobbers have all they
can do to handle busifess Offering. and
from Omaha, which reports August
trade larger thar last year. These
dispatches are apparently only corrobora-
tive Of esults obtained from a special in
vestigation by Bradstreets throughout
the entire corn growing section. which
point to a yield of not less than 40 o,GoO
ooo bushels of that cereal. and that
crop of wheat and high prices for that
cereal and corn will, nearly or quite offset
the i'll effect which might otherwise arise
from the shortage of the typical Amerl-
can cereal. -
From the South crop reports are not
so satisfactory, but the enhanced cost of
cotton is stimulating trade at New Or
leans, Charleston. Knoxville, Memphis,
and Savannah. Weather conditions favor
the Louisiana sugar crop. but are not so
good for cotton and rice. Rains are re-
ported rotting cotton in Georgia:
AT the East the features are the heavy
demand FOR wool at firm prices at New
York, Philadelphia, and Boston, and the
expansion in the dry goods demand at
those same cities. Cotton and silk goods
are in better call at New York. and de-
mands for fall suits have been advanced
in sympathy with the increased cost of
raw material.
I'm the jewelry trade n two months
dullness is giving place to some activity.
The strength of cotton is the feature
of staple prices this week, based original
ly upon poor crop reports from the South,
too dry in Texas and too wet in the east
ern half of the belt, but helped now by
better reports from the dry goods trade
and higher prices paid for cotton goods.
Print cloths are y cent higher, while the
raw material is Il cent higher on the
week, u cent higher than two weeks
ago. and only ! cent lower than year
ago. Receipts are large at the Southwest,
thus confirming reports of premature
ripening, but rains delay picking in the
South Atlantic region. Wool is moving
actively on good manufacturing demand,
but is no higher in price. Reports from
the wooden gonds market continue favor
able.
ASIDE from the strength in textiles. the
feature In prices is the lower range of
cereals and farm products generally.
Wheat is off a little on liquidation. based
on large receipts at the Northwest, small
er clearances, and less active export de-
mand Corn is lower on good crop re-
ports inducing longs to unload. Other
cereals syrnpathize and country produce
is weaker on increasing supplies. Ocean
freights are only one-half to one-fifth
what they were a year ago, and the situa-
tion is much depressed.
Business failures for the week number
1Ss against isl last week. l65 in this week
a year ago, IS1 in 1899. 164 in 1885, and I9S
In 1897