The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-05
THE FINANCIAL SITUATION,

idbJ week dIeCIlnB BeHeTd' UuohVso Ooh
ditions we're all in the direction Of indicat-
ing an Increasing rather than a diminish
ing prosperity; but in Wall Street the stock
market declined. SO far as the railway
world is concerned, not at any time in the
present decade were reports OF earnings as
received last week more calculated to in
spire enthusiasm on the part Of holders or
securities. One after another Of our great
railway systems submitted returns for the
third week of February and for the month
Of January showing engagements in gross
and nat revenues varying from the Penn
: sylVania's huge increase in net in january
Of nearly one and n half million dollars
TO ~increas &, of rarely less than $500 600 in
other instances. The especially gratifying
feature Of all these reports was the relatively
large augmentation.o net earnings. Rail-
way, operating expenses have 40 fallen. 1t
seems, that the roads are able to save a
much greater portion comparatively OF
their gross receipts than they did a few
months ago. For this 1t is admitted that
the open winter has in part been responsible,
since not a single one OF the leading rail-
road systems Of the country has suffered
in the least this year from snow blockades
or similar adve. sites normal to the time
OF the year; and as the open winter, too, has
fostered building operations through the
country and the conduct of all forms OF
business usually suspended or impeded at
this season the tonnage Of the railroads
has beer greatly increased. Another
notable feature of railway business has
heen the diversity of the traffic enjoyed.
Iron, grain, cotton and raw materials and
manufactured goods Of every description
have moved with more freedom and In
larger quantity than ever before known
at this period; and while the ease with
which the railways have been permitted to
run their cars has broughtit about at the mo-
ment hat there is nowhere any great con-
Gestion of railway business or crying COM
plant of an insufficiency Of cars and motor
facilities, it yet remains a very substantial
fact that the railroads have all the bust
ness that they can probably and hon
estly attend to. Orders for more railway
equ nent to take care of the rush of BUSH
ness in the fall are, therefore, naturally in
preparation. Another bright feature Of
tho general situation is the outlook for the
spring trade. While certain lines in the
clothing business nave suffered from the
mild weather of the last few months, it
is trustworthy said that orders for spring
goods Of every kind were never so large
as they are Just now. The anticipation is
that retail sales of all kinds of dry goods
this year will surpass all previous records.
From the Western agricultural section tales
of prosperity, of course, are particularly
emphatic. the deposits Of the banks there
mounting to totals hitherto unrivalled,
while those in charge of these and other
lending institutions in the West rep ort that
the FARMERS there are now so affluent that
it is with difficulty that a lender is enabled
to put out money upon a farm mortgage.
Announcement wa made during the week
that the deposits2in the savings banks in
our own State in 1905 amounted to 81, 1922
53Srs87, an~increase of $es us, 725, or $22,-
oOO,O Geo greater than ever shown before in
any calendar year. In the South the in
dicatiohsrareE that a larger crop Of cotton
was picked last year than had been previ-
ously estimated. The planters are selling
this freelya at current high prices, and are not
only making an enormous profit on it hut
are in their preparations fora large planting
in the coming season looking forward to an
other year that shall bring them a quantity
of riches as great as that furnished to them
in the one lust ended. The price of both
wheat and cotton has been declining lately
in the speculative markets owing to larger
receipts of the staple, and, in the case of
wheat, to increasi ing stocks and favorable
weather conditions for the growing crop.
The grain market, in other words. ia not at
all impressed by the "~scares" regarding the
winter wheat crop that have agitated Wall
Street. The state of affairs in iron and
steel seems to nave been put very fairly
by the Iron Age in its. last weeks summary
of prevailing conditions. - After present
ing figures of the enormous quantity. of
current consumption of iron and steel
products, OF shrinking stocks of these CON-
modities and of the vast amount of untitled
orders on the books OF producing COM
panies for structural steel and railroad
requirements Of. various kinds the review
went on az follows 1.-THE pig iron markets
are dun. so far as new buying is concerned,
in nearly all markets, and what is very
much like a deadlock between buyers and
sellers prevails. 1t is accompanied by the
indications Of weakness which are created
by. o small minority Of uneasy sellers.
Some consumers have caught what they
believe to be the cue that the top has been
reached and are Withholding orders. Thus
in the West some lettings of contracts for
cast iron pipe for municipalities nave been
postponed" Such indications of a letting
up in the iron and steel business as have.
it Is. alleged, occurred are not, thus, of
very striking character.
Nocause for weakness, therefore, in prices
of securities could be found anywhere last
week in the fundamental state Of business
Affairs, and there were many observers
who thought that the fall in the stock mar
ket that took place was due as much as any
thing else to a Enthusiastically rapid
change of front by the speculative element
commonly but perhaps improperly known
as the Western party. The leader OF this
party, or he who ordinarily figures as such,
returned from his, winter vacation a little
less than fortnight ago and, declaring that
business all over the country warranted
an advance rather thar a decline in the
stock market, began, presumably, to buy
stocks very rapidly; at any rate for four or
five daysthe market became firm and strong.
having previously been dull and weak.
Then last Tuesday all this strength beganto
peter out. On Wednesday a violent break in