The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-11
LARGE VOLUME IF
 EASTER BUSINESS Prices During Month of March
 Show Great Strength IRON SITUATION IS STRONG Dun and 5radstreet Are Very Cheerful Over the Outlook and See Gen eraI Strengthening Everywhere
 Foreign Markets Easier.
IRON SITUATION IS STRONG

New York, April 1O.-Bradstreets to- morrow will say:
 favorable feature this week is the annual rush of Easter buying at retail which Is reported of excellent Volume' Some improvement in the reassorting de- mand with jobbers at interior markets was noted and a slight but still percepti- ble improvement in the labor situation growing out of mutual concessions. Prices during the month of March showed ex- ceptional strength despite seasonable changes downward In dairy products, grains and fuel. partly enumerated, however by advances in live stock and meats. Lumber and building materials of all kinds have remained in exception ally good demand in spite of numerous strikes and finished products in iron and steel show strength but the oruder forms, such as pig iron, have weakened perceptibly, ostensibly because of the lowering of quotations of southern Iron, but really because, with improved trans portation and better supplies of coke has come an enlargement of Iron products to the highest point ever known.
 u lSs UT CouISe, lOO Sdlly tO AiedSulS the development of fall trade Some in- terior markets report good orders, but large eastern centeFs note a holding back of buyers of cotton yarns and the de- mand for heavy weight woolens Is re- ported to have ben checked by higher prices. Raw wool has again weakened, although the statistical position is very strong.
 Railroad earnings are quite favorable, gross earnings for March indicating an increase of between 10 and II per cent, while net returns for February show a gain of per cent and an increase in gross returns of IA per cent. Relatively the best trade comes from the leading west ern markets, but all centers report sat- isfactory spring trade done at wholesale.
 The iron situation. as already pointed out, is one of marked strength in fin- ished products but of unsettlement and even weakness in the cruder forms. Northern pig has weakened in sympathy with the readjustment of southern prices last week. Foreign markets are also re- ported easier.
 For immediate delivery S21 50 is insisted on for pig at Pittsburg, but s20 would be accepted if buyers would offer it for the latter part of the year. Buyers, however, are not eager and are holding off, evi- dently expecting or hoping for lower quo- tations
 Domestic rail affairs are full of or ders, an indication of this being reports of American Canadian roads inquiring for steel rails abroad. Structural orders are in large volume, a notable instance of this being for requirements for im- provements to plants controlled by the leading interest The strength of old ma terial is a notable feature in the iron trade at present Among the other met als, copper and tin have weakened again, but lead retains it's old firmness. The leather situation Is generally one of strength. The spring rush is over at the eastern shoe manufacturing centers but shipments, while smaller than last week, are heavily in excess of a year ago. The situation in coffee is an interesting one. After a decline early in the week which brought future deliveries to the lowest prices ever recorded and on which decline an extensive liquidation of the former bull interest was reported, a slight upturn was noted due to reports that Brazil will adopt radical measures such as burning surplus supplies of low grades in order to tighten the load on the market. This is regarded, however, as hardly possible of fulfillment. After a further decline, due to dullness in the refined market and pressure of supplies, raw sugar has stead fed at what was said by authorities to be the bottom Wheat including flour. ex- ports for the week ending April 9, aggre- gate 2S5 bushels. against 3,13097O last week, 3S43,125 in this week a year ago and 6,405,6Ol in 1901
 Wheat exports since July 1 aggregate l7S,2i2, TIA bushels, against POP, 36S, 636 last season and 1892 071, ,s93 in 1901
 Corn shorts aggregated 2654. 732, against 2,S32,O6O last week. 15S,567 a year ago and 2,623, ,S84 in 1901. For the fiscal year ex- ports are 49,902,26S bushels, against 24,- 623,092 last season and 15O, ,S75 4SS in 1901.
 Business failures in the United States for the week ending April number 153. against 145 last week, 1s2 in the like week of 1902, 225 in 1901, 15O in 1900 and 243 in 1S99