The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-09-03
BUSINESS SHOWS MORE EXPANSION Last Week of August Was
 Largest of Season UNCERTAINTY IN STEEL Strike Situation Continues Grave and the General Tone of Labor Affairs
 Is One of Irritation.
 Dun,e RevieAu
UNCERTAINTY IN STEEL

New York, September 2.-Bradstreets to- morrow will say:
 Further expansion in fall trade is noted at leading centers, and the last week in August has seen the largest business done since the opening of the season. Crops i have made fair progress. Collections have 1 been nothing to boast of, backward in fact Failures were more numerous in August than in July in nearly all sections, and few large suspensions of manufac- turing concerns have sweled liabilities beyond those in August year ago.
 Recently preceding conditions are main- tained in railway earnings. which show slight gains over last year. The indus trial outlook is still an unsettled one Efforts to revive the dying meat strike by extending it to independent houses have caused some irregularity of uncer tainty in the market for i've stock, and for meats. General price reductions of live animals are unfavorable. The industrial outlook at New York is unsettled by req son of the drifting apart of employees and employers in the building trades, and the prospects of a strike of motormen in the new subway. Some more resump- tons of industrial operations are noted in different sections. The general tone of labor affairs is one of irritation. Dispatches to Bradstreets indicate large sales of dry goods, clothing and shoes, the best business so far this season in fact being transacted at Chicago Sales of leather are also larger at advances. and coal Is in better inquiry at leading west ern markets. At the south, wholesale 1 trade is increasing at centers like Mem phis, Atlanta, Savannah and Little Rock. On the Pacific coast dstributiVe trade is still slow to improve.
 Wool Is firm at eastern centers with fair business doing on feeling that the available stocks will bring full prices. A tendency toward higher prices of many staples was noted this week. Poor re- ports from the harvest and the northwest strengthened wheat, and sympathetically flour, and the feeling revived support in the thought that the crop damage in the northwest had been exaggerated.
 Hog products have shown strength ow- ing to the breaking out of the meat strike in new form this week.
 Dairy products particularly butter have Teen firm on the advance of the season. Coffee has strengthened slightly and so has sugar. The situation in iron and steel has not changed this week. It has been period of conferences and ef- forts to reach agreements among the va- rfous pools and associations. Little def mite news is obtainable but the feeling grows that actual conditions in the trade will be recognized in cuts which will bring operations for finished products down to point where consumption will be en- couraged. Tin and lead have also ad- vanced slightly while copper has remain ed unchanged. The increasing export movement in this latter product has been feature of the foreign trade this year.
 Business failures in the United States for the week ending September number 1S6 against 1855 last week. 162 in the like week in 1903. 1SS in 1902. 169 In 1901 and 154 in 1908
 In Canada failures for the week number IF against 26 last week, and IS in this week a year ago.
 Wheat, including flour exports for the week ending September 1 aggregate L. S3O,511 bushels against 1,0S4, 333 last week. From July 1 to date the exports aggre- gate 12, 662 bushels against SEQ ,12S last veal.
 Corn exports for the week aggregate 746,20O bushels against 763.s s46 last week. From July 1 to date the exports of corn aggregate 5,273,SS1 bushels, against s192,- 036 last year.