The age-herald., 1901-05-25
PRICES HOLD FIRM
 AND DEMAND FAIR Favorable Reports Issued by
 Dun and Bradstreet PERMANANCE OF VALUES VIII Be Maintained, Is the Belief in Iron centers-Enormous Ship
 ments of Grain Were Made
 During the Week.
PERMANANCE OF VALUES

New York, May A.-R. G. Dun & Co., 8 weekly review of trade tomorrow will say:
 The labor situation is the cloud hover ing over the business world but the dif- faculties are not sufficiently widespread at present to seriously interfere with the progress of manufacture and distribution. Meanwhile prices are held firm, the ca pacity of producing plants in the lead ing industries is we'll employed and crop advices are satisfactory. A feeling of confidence In the permanence of values appears to have settled in all divisions of the iron and steel manufacture. To this may be attributed the decrease in orders for distant delivery, purchasers merely contracting for their requirements for one to two months in advance. Tranquility regarding the future Is undoubtedly due to the action of the large combination which has made no effort to secure ex- orbitant prices, but manifests an inten- tion to maintain quotations at the current level. Independent producers show dis position to work along the same lines and the net result is less scrambling to get orders placed. but no indication that the actual demand is any smaller. Notwith- standing much talk of dullness in pig iron Bessemer is firmly held at sl6.75 delivered at Pittsburg. or sl6 at Valley furnaces. Foundry irons are somewhat easier. All lines of finished steel are crowded to the limit of productive capacity.
 Although slightly smaller than in the two preceding phenomenal weeks, ship ments of boots and shoes from the east were more than 100000 cases, and far In excess of the same week in earlier years.
 Leather has been strong and belting butts are scarce. Cheaper grades of up- per leather are less active owing to the better demand for glazed kid and calf skin
 Textile fabrics exhibit the least anima- tion and conditions at Fall River cotton mills are far from encouraging, further reduction in time and possibly in wages being under discussion. Woolen mills ex- hibit a little more activity and are buy ing raw materials.
 In the face of better domestic crop pros- poets wheat quotations continue firm, in- jury in Germany affecting foreign mar kets. Atlantic exports have been large for the past week, including flour, amounting to 3,692,4 bushels, against g. IFS, 456 bushels in the same week last year, and 1,646,624 bushels in 1S99
 Speculation in May corn has quieted down, but the general level of this cereal continues far above normal prices and more liberal receipts have been attracted to interior cities; for the week 3,667 042 bushels were received, against 1,694, ,7S4 bushels last year. On the other hand foreign buying Is restricted. Atlantic ex- ports being only 1,436,S99 bushels, against 3,534,674 bushels year ago. Compara- tive quiet prevails as to cotton. Receipts continue liberal, spinners are buying lit- tie and there is a steady improvement in reports of the current crop condition
 Failures for the week numbered 1S0 in the United States against 1S5 last year, and p in Canada, against 20 last year.