The Topeka state journal., 1902-11-15
TOO WARM.
Trade Needs Cold Weather to
Make 1t Move.
Movement of Clothing and Other
Goods Retarded.
AN ACTIVE DEMAND.
Dealings of Merchants Trans
ferred to Holiday Goods.
The Scarcity of Fuel and Cars
Still Continues.
AN ACTIVE DEMAND.

New York, Nov 15.-Bradstreets
says: .~ansnortation
continue active. despite draw backs
cs,,sad Nv warm weather, scarcity OF
fuel and car and motive power snort
ages. Cold weather is needed 10 sunni
late consumption of heavy WINTER s sooe9
from retailers hands, Whatever COlll-
plafnt there is heard regarding collec-
lions being attributed to this cause. &C
tivity with iObbers has OWING 10 Tn
advanced stage of the season, beeh
transferred from regular staple HileS ~
holiday goods. These latter are III eA-
centions4Ilv active demand, the OutiOOh
being thar distribution far in excess Oh
any previous year will be realized Moie
than usual activity is, however, holeu III
Spring goods which are bslhS ol tTl -, 81 =.
more freely than in average years. ms
Is taken to indicate widespread conn.
dence in prosperous condIols neAs s
year Little or no improvement IS notSu
in the fuel situation. which particularly
affects iron and steel manufacturers;
many of whom are reported ulseoui d - -
by their inability to fill orders now Oh
their books. ,..4o
.sTelegrams to Bradstreets indicate
that the movement of winter goods' par
ticularly clothing, is retarded by warm
weather prevailing throughout most oI
the counfrv In the northwest. at the
south in the central west and at the
east the temperature has not as yet
become low enough to stimulate maj
distributions Most western centers re-
oort seasonable activity with jobbers
and liberal spring orders being booked.
A heavy volume of winter goods IS NOV
ing on previous orders Collections, eX-
ceDt where affected by weather condl-
tions, remain exceptionally good, ana q
large majority OF cities report payments
fair to coed.
Furniture manufacturers are report
ed unable TO keep uo with orders, anu
hardware tObbers have all they can at
tend to- on the Pacific coast shipments
of merchandise are very heavy ana
many wholesalers are behind on orders.
Car shortages retard shipments Of lum-
ber Wet weather in the northwest ana
west has stimulated demand for rubber
goods At the south. except in Texas
warm weather has allowed cotton TO
germinate and be picked. thus enlarg-
ing the aggregate outtu1% = OF the crop
quite materially. At eastern centers
jobbing business has naturally quleted
somewhat. Cotton goods are firm, de-
spite the slight weakness in the raw
product. while wOolen goods are quiet
and orices remain firm. and the raw
product is very closely held.
1.-The lumber trade is still cutie ac-
tive Notwithstanding the advanced
stage of t. season, and the only com
plaiut is as to backward deliveries.
Other building materials are quite ac-
tive. The boot and shoe business Is IN
good shape. Leather, being closely sold
u. is firmly held At eastern markets
shipments are smaller than of late and
tend to decrease as the period of stock
taking arrives. Sharp differences are
noted in the iron and steel trade. ac-
cordingiy as the cruder or more highly
finished forms are considered Scarcity
of fuel keeps many furnaces idle, and
pig iron demand is in excess of prOduc-
tion. Small lots of Bessemer pig obtain
able for prompt delivery bring as high
as $24 per ton at valley furnaces, while
for next years delivery $2150 is paid.
an advance of s per ton over year
ago. Structural material mills are very
active being sold five or six months
ahead, and the country's rail production
is said to be practically sold up to Sep
tember 1903 The cut in the price Of tin
plates IS said TO have not brought out
as many orders as anticipated, and mer-
chant pipe prices have been cut from
to 10 Der cent. The hardware trade Is
active and Wire and nails, heretofore
suffering from overproduction. have
been heavily ordered The flour market
IS apparently in good shape. New or
ders are not numerous but the mills are
Dusily employed on old business"
DuNS REVIEW.
r. &. Dun < Co.'S Weekly Review of
Trade says.
Lower prices for railway stocks than
at any time e-nce last March do not
necessarily indicate loss of traffic nor a
setback in BUSINESS. On the contrary
NSAAiN AN~i4e W I'M llF tCltdDSe OF the
stock market, there were numerous evil
dences that manufacturing and trans
porting interests have not sufficient fa-
cilities to meet demands. although
plants and equipment are now Of great
er efficiency than at any previous time
Distribution of merchandise is fully
maintained, preparations being made
for a heavy holiday trade and frequent
complaints of tardy deliveries testify tc
the heavy consumption Prospects for
continued activity are bright because o1
unprecedented harvests prosperity in
the agricultural sections assuring a
good demand for other products
Threatened labor controversies have
been averted. in some cases wages be