Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-01-01
NO CAUSE FOR COMPLAINT.
Business Conditions Generals Satis-
ss factory MT All Points


Nsw York. jan l.-Dun.:, Review. in
It's summary reviewing the business Of
Tie var Just closesi, VIII say regarding
Ia & leading markets
Conditions in iron ard steel during
1900 were much is1ore sound than in tbs
preceding gear sshen speculation was
rife and prizes inflated far Beyond thel
hounds Of rsason. Quotations of iron
and steel products at the beginning OF
tl.e year We're little below the level prs
ailing thirJeen years precious and the
etall was almost uninterrupted until 0c-
tober, when the average was but GIGS
pergc of the figure prevailing Jan. i,
1897
/ 1T is difficult to select any one branch
| of this industry as being pushed harder.
| tisan another. Railway supplies of all.
kinds have SOLD very frsely and the
market is foodsd with urgent orders for.
freight cars. Structural material. par
tscrlarly for bridges and ships, has been
n much better demand than the supply.
Steel rails We're reduced from last Years
price Of $35 70 S28. but it was an open
secret that the former figure had only
been nominal for most prior to the off,
cial change IN September. Contracts for
100000 tons, deliverable during 1901,
i Rave been placed at So6, and numerous
export orders also suggest the probabil-3
ity that the list viii be maintained
Tin bounded up from 25i4 cents at the
opening to 35 Cents in July, and then
I gradually lost all the gain. But during
the last week there WIS a recovery to
f2Tts cents. Copper has done nothing
startling, variations remaining within
+ the range Of p. of q cent. Lead fell from
] 40 cents at the start 10 375 cents and
recovered to 4.s7 cents. where it has been
maintained by the smelling company for
many months
The year 1890 opened with favorable
conditions prevailing in nearly every
I branch of the dry goods trade The
A home demand continued good for the
4 first three months and then fell away
until by June the market had lapsed into
/ Pronounced dullness, and from a steady
Upward course in prices began gradually
10 decline again. The arrest of buying
was remarkable. In wooden goods stocks
hogan to accumulate again and their
course up to the close of the year has
shown pronounced weakness in both
r.ens wear fabrics and dress goods,
with the result that the gain in prices
made last year and in the early part of
this year has been lost in many direc-
tons, and where any was retained at all
| is of limited extent.
A sudden demand from China for
/ heavy brown cottons in May, the first
/ purchase made for that market in sew
4 e1ai months. unfortunately was checked
by the outbreak of the Boxer rising and
since then there has been an entire sus-
pension Of buying for that country. In
September another stimulus was given
to cotton goods by the rapid advance in
law material which followed the Gall
weston disaster, and short crop predic-
tons. Prices resumed their upward
I course, and the market ruled strong
again until the end of October, when
ehere IVES another lull in the demand.
locks, however, had been we'll cleaned
Up as a rule, and, altho some of the sta
3'ie mes have eased off slightly, fairly
Steady Lone has prevailed since. The