The San Francisco call., 1904-02-08
A GREAT WEEK IN THE STAPLES.

citement all along the line. cotton, coffee, wheat
and the objects of speculative trading which
was sensational and frequently renzied in the of
cotton, which broke sharply and continuously that
fortunes were swept away in hour and even less.
Toward the close of the week the liquidation became
acute that thousands of bales, nobody apparently know
ing where they from, thrown the market,
and the rush sell became panic which the bulls were
unable to check Rumors OF approach of be-
tween and Japan added fuel the already fierce
fire. and day there three callers the Cot
Exchange owing the collapse through
haustion of the regular caller and emergency subst
tute who followed him.
The break this staple occurred just when the pre-
vous decline in prices promising welcome improve
in the cotton manufacturing industry Many mills
in the South and abroad had shut down owing to the
scarcity and high of the material and these
were preparing resume while wholesalers stocks had
become depleted that buyers again entering the
market spite of the high quotations repenish their
assortments But the aggravation of the decline drove
all these buyers out of the market again. the confusion
became confounded and the dispatches tell
that thousands of people lined the street, watching
the brokers trying scramble into the of the pit
to offer their cotton 1t great week in this staple
Coffee too had its innings, and under enormous sales
broke largely sympathy with the panic in cotton.
though weeks statement, showing decrease of 445
bags the worlds visible supply in January steadied
the market somewhat. Wheat and corn the Chicago
Board OF Trade more active than tor long time
and uctuated several points day under trading which
was always large and at times sensational these markets
being governed largely by the varying complexion OF the
war news from the Orient. In short the specuator in
any of the above staples found difficulty in getting all
the he wanted and without any notice what
ever.
In the other staples there was more activity than for
some time but without especial excitement Provisions
ruled rather quiet than otherwise The tendency in hog
products was downward rather than upward the
Southern spectators found themselves loaded with the
goods and with pancky cotton market to aggravae the
situation The packers have been loading up these specu
lators with pork products for time frequently
mentioned OF Wool firm, with light stocks and
higher prices London. The New England footwear
factories report plenty of business in sight but they
plain of scarcity of leather and the increased cost of pro-
duction The reports from the iron and steel trades
no worse they have been OF late and in respects
they The production has again increased the
demand now larger than month ago and quota
tons have been advanced
The distrbutve trade of the country has again been
restricted by cold weather. which has stimulated
the demand for winter clothing and other necessaries
but has seriously hndered railroad transportation Trade
reports are irregular and the best coming in from the
South where the high prices for cotton have led to
prospective large increase in the acreage the coming
season which has increased the demand for farm
ing implements stock and fertilizers and thus rendered
general business liveer with money in circulation
and collections good The Atlantic seaboard is not
hecting the cheerful conditions of the South and West
and reports general business quiet is the opinion that
the spring demand will open up later than expected
short time ago. with the purchasing cautious and more
conservative AT the same time New York reports spring
BUYERS arriving large numbers of them after
ton goods though the further slump in the cotton market
will probably lead many OF them to hold off little longer
yet until the market becomes more settled.
The condition OF Wall remains practically
changed There is excitement in the stock market
and the money market still fair condition, though
as already mentioned easy money is expected to last
much longer. Secretary Shaw's proposed call on the
banks for $ooooooo Government deposits, largely fol
Panama canal has caused considerable specula
ton as to the effect of action the market, but
il has been already we'll discounted it thought that the
hanks will finance the withdrawal without much friction
The public are still hanging back from stock speculation
and all punger have been paying too much attention
to the cotton market operate in Wall street. The
enormous speculation in is illustrated by the great
gain of 1896 per cent in New Orleans bank clearings
last week while the clearings themselves up $33,
o54ooo leading those of half dozen larger and much
more important cities The clearings for the whole
try showed loss of per cent from the week il
1908 while York in spite OF the wild speculation in
cotton and coffee lost I54 per cent.
The rain was the distinctive feature OF the week ir
California 1t just in time to save the southern
crops for the present at least and although
the northern half of the State did not actually need it il
was welcome all the same With the usual spring show
good crops promised for this year. and If Russia
and Japan go to war trade throughout the State will
probably receive great stimulus. At present the out
look in California is decidedly buish.
THE BLESSING OF THE RAIN.