New-York tribune., 1905-12-25

, -orar,, disturbance In Chicago also provided an
| adverse monetary factor and 1t was surprising
| that call loans again averaged only about 8 per
| cent for the week.
In so far as commercial prosperity Is con-
cerned r. will certainly be merry Christmas
throughout the United States. Latest reports
| from all sections of the country indicate tnat
sales of holiday goods rose far beyond those OF
arv nreyious year and all reports thus lar
available indicate that inventories VIII sho"
1908 as the banner year in all the leading COM
mercfal occupations! Occasional complaints aie
he ard regarding the hardness or colectlons' ou'
this is chiefly due to local influences or Tempo
rary character and the business that nag oeen
lost because OF unseasonably warm weather is
usuallv in lines that will quickly recover the
ground when winter becomes an established
fact AS rule the tendency of prices con-
tinues inward and the general level Is so high
that II is surprising to find consumption unre-
strtcted More advances IN wsge scales nave
been announced. to become effective on jan
nary It was mistakenly announced
bv some authorities that November exports
surnassed all records although the triffng bal
ance in favor of December. 1908. was not sig
nif1cant but including the large imports total
foreign trade did actually exceed that oi an!
previous month.
For a time the cotton market exhibited con-
siderable strength chiefly due to confidence In
a trade report that the ginning returns indicated
q total crop scarcely in excess of nine million
bales About that quantity having already been
ginned there was apparently general suppo-
sition that not much cotton remained in the
hands of planters As spinning activity had
shown no diminution because of the high priced
raw material it was argued that further strength
was warranted and would not diminish consump-
ton Unfortunately for those who operated on
tbe Iopp Of he he
brought some figures from the Census Bureau
upon which many experts estimated the yield
would reach 107500O0 bales. The net result
of these conflicting statements was an erratic
market in which best prices not main
tained. The leading cereals had fewer factors
upon which to base speculative variations in
prices liberal primary receipts being offset by
equally satisfactory shipments abroad. and the
final government report did not materially DIFF
fer from the preliminary statement. The grow
ing winter wheat maintained favorable prog
At this time of year 1t is not customary to
look for much new business in the leading
ufacturing industries, yet supplementary orders
for spring delivery have appeared in sufficient
number to make the already bright outlook for
next year even more encouraging. In the tex
tile departments it is surprising that high prices
Of materials have not affected demand
which is probably due to the fact that Jobbers
and dealers made little provision for the future
and compelled to operate frequently,
if orders are small Reluctance of woollen mills
to put new lines the market is attributed to
the large amount of orders already on hand and
Eastern dealers experience no difficulty in hold
ing domestic wool steady, despite the heavy i'm
portations. Footwear factories make effort
to attract business. shipments from Boston
continuing to surpass all previous records. but
there is no evidence of lower quotations for
leather hides, despite the dulness in many
grades. The iron and steel outlook is not altered
in any respect, prices being firmly maintained,
and scarcely any idle machinery is reported at
the plants making structural shapes or railway
eouipment