Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-01-24

r. 6. Dun & Co. IS Review says: sin
most directions the condition OF general
business has improved slightly this
week. Prices of staple commodities
are steady, as ara most manufactured
goods. Orders to manufacturers are
sustained in volume, and that pro-
nounced ease in money in the interior
is still stimulating business is shown
by hank exchanges at leading cities
outside New York, for the week l4.2
per cent larger than in 1900, and II.
per cent above 1899. At New York the
record is gain of 77.3 per cent over
1900, and 37.3 per cent over 1893. Re-
tail trade has not declined as much as
usual since the holidays. Textiles
show more life. A small but steady
improvement in the demand has APP
peared, and in the cotton goods division
ir is the more noteworthy because OF
the weakness in the raw material.
Sellers of beth staple and fancy cottons
are able to maintain position OF in
dependence. Railway earnings for two
weeks of January were S.9 per cent
larger than last yeai and %. b Fer cent
above 1899. Steadiness is the chief
characteristic of The iron and steel in
dustry. Another moderate increase
occurred in sales OF wool at the three
chief Eastern mar kets, raising the total
for three weeks to 10, 1882, 800 pounds.
There is still heavy loss compared
with preceding years, for in the same
period last year the total was IA, 800, 800
pounds and 16, 495, 800 two years ago,
%. 1872. 270 in 1898 and 10, 8S6, 200 in
1897. These figures give good idea
of the present dulness in this industry.
Boot and shoe shops are, as rule, we'll
occupied, but it is noticed that bust
ness is unequally distributed. Liabili-
ties of failures in the first half OF
January were 50, 259, 98l, OF which
81, 255, 9ti5 were Of manufacturing CON
Germs, 80, ISL, 963 of traders and s249, :
053 other commercial Failures for the
week were }25 in the United States,
against 242 last year, an d 43 in Canada,
against 40 last year. y
Bradstreet's says: Speculation has
Jagged, but trade on spring account
has on the whole improved this week.
Stocks are lower in price, as are the
great speculative staples, wheat, corn
aud cotton, and the transactions are
likewise smaller, but there is more
doing in spring business by Eastern
jobbers. Southern and Southwestern
trade is opening up satisfactorily, and
there are better reports received even
from the Northwest as to the outlook
for spring business. AS. to retail dis
tribution, conditions are hardly SO
favorable. The third week of January
ends with weather conditions unfavor-
able to retail demand for woolens,
rubbers and footwear, and the demand
for household sizes of coal has quieted
somewhat. On the other hand, the
open season has helped the distribution
of hardware, paints and glass, and an
advance Of nearly one third Is reported
in window glass. Lumber appears to
have been inactive at the West, and
wholesalers have done more at the
East, but the export trade lags in this
line, as in others. Despite the re-
striction in speculation, bank clearings
show only small decline from last
week, and are far in advance of the
similar period in all previous years.
Recent reductions in railroad freights
are expected to help distribution when
they go into effect in February but
there IL no apparent diminution 10 the
returns OF the various roads, which,
after extraordinarily favorable results
in 1900, still continue excellent, hence
ODb OF tDe un luebbiOuhbly strung pUiubS,
if not the strongest feature, of the
entire trade situation. The textile
situation is not altogether clear. Cot
ton has weakened on increased stocks
at the South and reports that Southern
yarn and fall print cloth manufacturers
are considering shutdowns, and in
spite of reiteralions of crow estimates,
which the estimates do not confirm.
On the other hand, a large sale Of print
cloths at full prices is reported from
Fall River. Prints and ginghams are
jobbing better at New York and Boston.
Final foreisn trade returns for 1900
fulfil sanguine expectations, showing
as they do exports OF domestic mer-
ohandise 16 per cent and imports per
cent larger than in 1899. The immense
gain of GA per cent in value of cotton
shipments accounts Tor more than half
of the increase ID exports over 1899.
The past three years have witnessed
immerse exhaustion in grain, manu-
featured goods and raw cotton exports.
combination which may not occur
again in some time"