The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-08-01
TRADE AND THE STRIKES.

house strike Ten DAYS ago it was supposed that the
of the situation but after working
day the men walked again. and from that time there
has been slow but steady expansion of the difficulty
which now extends from New York to the Missouri
River and involves many thousands of employees besides
disturbing all markets connected with the in
dustry including the very important lines of hides and
leather Hides have already advanced in consequence
of the strike and the say that if it
much longer they will become actually in which
case there will marked rise in the quotations. Live
stock which finds its chief markets at the six eight
packing centers, is being held back the farms and
ranges and those districts where stockrasng is the
leading industry will very feel the effects of the
suspension of the movement.
Right on the heels of this Western packers strike
comes another at Fall River. where $4,000 mill hands
have struck against reduction in wages the immediate
effect of this being the almost complete suspension of
the production of print cloths Furthermore, another
coal strike involving 10000 is threatened, while
the packers strike is leading sympathetic disturb
anees among which is possible strike of railroad
ployes.
OF course all this disturbance affects trade 1t offsets
or less buoyant feeling created by the excel
lent crop prospects restricts the operations of the
large merchants and manufacturers who do not to
the risk of stocking up with large lines of goods
which they may be able to work off for indefinite
period 1t may explain the less favorable showing of
the bank clearngs, which showed loss for the week
OF 1913 per compared with the same week last
year and decline in the aggregate clearing from
to 900, with all the leading cities
except Boston, Cincinnati and Minneapolis ranged on
the adverse of the list The failures for the week
were 22o. against 100 last year.
1t is unfortunate that these large strikes have occurred
just at the moment when business revival seemed we'll
under way They have decreased the demand for
Der Of commodities in the trade subject their in
uence have restricted credits and retarded the opening
of the fall trade, which promised be larger than
pected several months ago. They haye impaired invest
railroad shares by threatening to cut down the
earnings of the railroads. though the latter making
very fair showing; those for July being only about IT
per less than last year They have given capital
another shiver just at the moment when the tmidity
and hestatcy which kept it condition of stagnaton
for months were disappearing
The staples all along the line reflect the adverse con-
ditions caused by the labor disturbances Provisions
dragging all the country. Numerous textile mills
in the East shutting down running reduced
time in consequence Wholesale prices for CATTLE sheep
and hogs going down and the stock rasers are
obliged pay out good deal of money to feed this
hed-bac stock which otherwise would have been
to market and got of the way In brief dozens of
lines affected by these labor disturbances.
The crop prospects, which, already mentioned form
the basis of business calculations this yea continue very
encouraging Experts figuring on 100000, 900
bushels of corn bushels OF wheat and $780,
bales cotton and all three products bring
ing very fair PRICES it is reasonably expected that the
country will have very good season. provided the labor
troubles do not increase such proportions para
yze trade in their respective districts In anticipation
of moving these large crops Western railroads
said be placing: liberal orders for supplies and
etia in spite of the damage to the wheat crop
and the president of of the leading systems operat
ing Westward from Chicago quoted saying that the
year 1905 will make rp for al the inactivity in construc
audb
The war has suddenly doomed UP into increased inn
portance as trade factor during the past week 1t had
practically ceased figure issue, when the UNI
expected activity of the Russians in Selling ships in the
Red Sea and Oriental Pacific created apprehensions
international complications and ripple of ex-
element all the world The stock markets of Lon
don and New York, not to mention the European
bourses became unsettled sensitive and fever
ish, exchange fuctuated and the bonds of different
nations showed the effect of possible complications by
weakening less On this the effect of the
. seizures pronounced. for of goods
are now being from San Francisco to the Orient
and our export trade is bound be affected if the
seizures continue In fact the Pacific Mail Steamship
no more freight for Japan
The feature of the week locally was the throwing
open by the Government of the Panama Railroad to all
shippers of freight AS already shown by The Call this
will be great stimulus to the commerce of the port of
San Francisco by enabling it regain from New York
Chicago ST. Louis and other large Eastern distributing
points trade wrested from it years ago by
the acquisition of the control of the sthmian railroad
by the transcontnental rail and lines Years
ago the distributing point for about all the
territory the Pacific Slope extending as far east as
Colorado but when by of the passing of the
Panama line into the control of the overland railroads
the Chicago and ST. Louis merchants could underse1