The Washington herald., 1907-04-13
TRADE Is IRREGULAR
Bad Weather Retards Sale
OF Wearing Apparel.
LARGE SALES OF PIG IRON
Improvement Noted in = mary Mar
ket for Dry Goods, While Foot
wear Il Quiet-Bank CIearings
show increases over Last Year.
Wheat Yield Indications Good.

New York. April l2-Dun's Weekly Re
view tomorrow will say: "Erratic
weather makes trade reports irregular.
retaI Gales OF spring wearing apparel be
ing retarded by storms and cold at many
points. although some sections experience
seasonable conditions. Temporary inter
ruption TO retail distribution has no III
effects upon jobbing and wholesale busl-
ness however, heavy transactions and
shipments testifying 10 confidence in the
future, while mercantile collections show
further improvement
Several strikes have retarded work
notably In savmills at Portland, Greg.
and in shipbuilding at Cleveland. but
manufacturing returns are most satisfac-
tory on the whole. Textile mills. machine
shops steel plants. and footwear factories
have little idle machinery. forward bust
ness appearing more rapidly than the rate
Of production, In many cases. A large
sale Of pig iron Indicates the confidence Of
steel producers. material being ordered
for delivery up to the end Of the year.
Most encouraging news comes from
the iron and steel industry. large sales OF
Etb A4ElA USliAE uInttE Afi AFAAhttl NU 10
the end Of the year Prompt shipments
We're at regular quotations. but some Of
the remote dates were sold at a dollar
less, or S2l, valley furnace. II is believed
that the weeks business in Bessemer iron
alone aggregated $4,000 tons. and COW
cred al the surplus OF the Bessemer Pig
Iron Association for this year.
Improvement In Dry Goods.
Improvement is noted in the primary
market for dry goods. producers regard
ing current purchases as Of substantial
character. because prices are now on too
high a level 70 encourage speculative de-
mand. II is significant that demand has
increased after few weeks Of compara-
tive quiet without any concessions IN
prices 70 stimulate sales.
Footwear producers report trade still
rather quiet, but an increase is found In
comparison with recent preceding weeks,
especially good returns coming from the
West on account Of early spring weather
tn that section. New England shops still
ship as freely as a year ago, but have
fewer orders on hand and some machin-
cry was idle when the fan business be-
gan 10 broaden.
Grain prices advanced because OF bad
weather reports. statements of insect
damage in winter wheat States and low
grading corn receipts at primary markets
Commercial failures this week 81 the
United States. as reported by r. o. Dun
& Co.. are pa, against l79 last week, 20
the preceding week, and lS3 the cor
responding week last year
Bradstzeers Report.
Bradstreets Tomorrow will say.
Trade and manufacturing conditions
are ia high degree favorable, despite the
lum in demand usual al this stage of the
spring season. Some odd cross-currents
are visible because OF the scarcity Of
stocks in so many lines, neeessitating
buying in other markets 10 exc cut sup
plies sold ahead some time ago.
I'm retail trade, cold weather and bad
country roads are bar 10 fullest activ-
ity. but the volume Of business doing, as
a whole exceeds the corresponding period
in other years. OHe proof OF this is
found in the liberal gains in gross railway
earnings over 1866. 4 per cent increase be-
ing shown for March. 4 per cent for the