The daily silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1903-1907, 1904-02-09
UNUSUAL ACTIVITY
IN STAPLES
Which Formed the Feature of
the Weeks Trading-Effect
of War RumOrS

had the floor last week. Not for years
has there been such general activity
and excitement all along the line. Cot
ton. coffee, wheat and corn were the
objects of speculative trading. which
was sensational and frequently fren-
zied, as in the case of cotton, which
broke so sharply and continuously
that fortunes were swept away in an
| hour and even less. Toward the close
of the week the liquidation became so
acute that thousands of bales, nobody
apparently knowing where they came
from, were thrown on the market, and
the rush to sell became a panic, which
the bulls were unable to check. Ru
mors Of a near approach of war be-
taween Russia and Japan added fuel
| 20 the already fierce fire, and on one
day there were three callers on the
cotton exchange owing to the nervous
collapse through exhaustion of the reg
ular caller and an emergency substi-
tute who followed him.
/ The break in this staple occurred
| just when the previous decline in prices
was promising a welcome improvement
n the cotton manufactui ing industry
Many mills in the south and abroad
had shut down owing to the scarcity
-hese were preparing to resume, while
wholesalers stocks had become so de-
pleted that buyers We're again enter
ing the market in spite of the high
quotations to replenish their assort-
nents But the aggravation of the de-
| cline drove all these buyers out of the
mai ket again, the confusion become
worse confounded and the press dis
patches tell us that thousands of peo-
pie lined the street, watching the bro
lers trying to scramble into the center
of the pit to offer their cotton. 1t was
G. eat week In this staple.
Coffee. too, had its innings. and un-
Ter enormous sales, b.oke. largely III
sympathy with the panic in cotton
-nougn the weeks statement. showi--
i decrease of $4,000 bags in tn
no.las visible supply in January
| s.Sau4ed the market somewhat. Wnestt
-.iiu com on the chicago uoard OF tlaue
"e.e moe active Il.al Tor long tim
-.Ad nuc,usted several poin.s da,
Anuer l.au4lls, wiAlcn was aiw ays large
-.ilu al Times Sensdliondi, these mar
Ae.s being governed largely by the
| d. ying complexion OF tue war news
ON the orient. In snort the specu-
.alor IN any or the ABOVE staples tounu
40 ulincuity IN getting ali the eAc,te-
lnent ne wanted and without any no
| zee Whatever.
An tue otner staples there was mo. Z
-.clivi,y Than for some time, but with
| $40. IS
uled ra.ner quiet tnan otherwise. In.
| ,eAuency IN hog p. ouuctS Was down
| waru iather tLan upwaad. as the
sou...ern slecuIa.ors lound themselves
loaded with tne goous ana witn pam
.Sky coL.on marAet TO aggravale tn.
| sI.uatlon. The packers nave beef
.oaol.lg up these specuialo1s with pom
y. p.ooucls lor some lime, as tieqde..t.s )
| .ne..tIuiied or Iate. wool Was III m
,Itn Agnt STOCKS and nigner prices l..
A-oildon. Ihe new tlngland tooIwea.
.acto4ies iepo.t penny Oh business l..
sigill. out they complain of scarcity OF
.e,..i.e4 and tne Increased cost OF pro
uuLtion. 4 lie repoi Is /. ON the iron ano
| steel IiadeS a.e no wo. Sc than tnes
uave been of lace aid IN some respects
| .iAey are better. Inc Production has
s.sain increased. the demand Is nos
| larger lhan month ago and som.
+, Quotations have Deen advanced.
lne olstIlDutive tiade OF the country
uas again been res.r.cled by ext. eme
| coid weather. which has stimu.ateu
| .ne demand tor winter ciotnlng and
| otner necsssa4ies, but has seriously
nInoered ralil DAD transportation. TRADE
.eports are meg ular and the pest are
! coming IN from the south, where The
| uign prices Ior cotton have led to a
y. ospect.ve la ge i..ci ease in the acre
! age Ior the coming season, Wnlch IN
turn has incl eased the demand for
q xt,,.~ t.~~.0 0v-
| tilize.s, and thus rendered genera
| business lIyelier, with more money In
| circulaIion and collections good. The
! Atlantic seaboard is not rejecting the
chez. tul conditions of the south and
! west and reports genei al busil.ess
4uIet 1t is the opinion that the spring
dSmand VIII open up later tnan ex-
pected a short time ago, with the pur-
| chasing cautious and more conserva-
tive. AT the same time New Yolk re-
ports spring buyers arriving in large
NUMBERS. most of them after cotton
goods, though the further slump IN
the cotton market win probably lead
many of them to hold off a little long
er yet until the market becomes mo. q
settled y
The condition of Wall street remains
practically unchanged. There Is nc
excitement in the stock market and the
money market Is still in fair condition.
though, as already mentioned, easy
money is not expected to last much
longer. Secretary Shaw's proposed call
on the, banks for 100000 in govern
ment deposits. largely for Panama ca
nal account, has caused considerable
speculation as to the effect of this ac-
tion on the market, but as 1t has been
already well discounted 1t is thought
that the banks will finance the with
drawai without much friction. The
public are still hanging back from stock
speculation and all the plungers have
been paying too much attention to ths
cotton market to operate In Wal
street. The enormous speculation IL
cotton is illustr ated by the great gair
OF 1886 per cent in New Orleans bani
clearings last week, while the clear
j ings themselves ran up to $33, ,96i.CO0