Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-07-18
Commercial Situation is Holding
Its Own With the
Weather.
BANKERS STILL OPTIMISTIC
while Present Volume of business Is
Not Great, All Signs Indicate
Better Conditions.


clal activities are innocuously mac
five. while others are lively enough. In
banking circles, there Is hut little to
talk about Local fnanciers report
cnlv moderate calls for loans, but with
denosits increasing, and rate of inter-
ost unchanged. Borrowers do not seem
IN ne confined to any special class,
money going out for wide variety of
r,rnoses In the east, IL is noticed
mat greater feeling of confidence
EXISTS in the public mind than for
some time past, 1t Is also reported
4 that n good deal Of the buying Is due
To manipulation and short covering.
n Moreover, large interests have not
q been averse to a rise in securities,
Il which has helped the upward move
ment A feature has been the not
oyer-fashionable statement of the as
sociated banks, which showed the sur
Mus reserve reduced to SS56,00 But,
4 II is claimed. these statements are
made 10 on the average condition of
the banks For the previous week In
which the actual surplus reserve Is
n much larger than that shown. A
larger amount of interest and diVi-
dend money paid July has been de-
posted with the trust companies,
which did not report their condition,
but have an aggregate loaning power
nearly as large as the banks. Eastern
banking men seem to hold that 1t does
not seem likely that there will be low
rates for money in the immediate flu
ture because the government deposits
'-are being returned by the banks. and
the export of gold has been resum-
cd on account Of the scarcity of for
eign bills. The recession in general
business, predicted some time ago,
has been rather slight in fact. re-
ports from the west are that business
this year is about mp TO that of last
year. and many people who few
months ago believed considerable re-
trcnchment was inevitable now be-
lieVe 1907 will prove generally satis-
factory to the business community at
large. The bond market is reported
unchanged from the past three weeks.
Out of approximately 1876 issues OF
bonds dealt in on the New York stock
exchange, there were recorded during
the week in SIS issues low prices for
the year, these being in many cases
the lowest on record
LUMBER.
The lumber trade reports the &C.
ment business as having been over
done, and therefore quiet at present.
The surplus OF cement has therefore
reduced the prices of concrete con-
struction. At the same time. prices
of other things have not fallen off,
and brick and plumbing cost as much
as ever Then the lumber situation
Is made more complex by the am
nouncement of the railroads that they
propose to fight the decision of the
interstate commerce commission on the
matter OF lumber rates. This is a
special damper on the wholesale trade
IN this way. There are the old rates
the rate the railroads proposed TO put
into effect. and the rate laid down by
the commission. Lumbermen are Won
dering what rates Will apply II the
cession is upheld by injunction pro-
ceedlngs, For instance, the old
rate to Provo was 30 cents. the ad-
vance intended by the roads was 42Js
cents, and the rate proposed by the
commission is 27h cents. BY a singu-
lar oversight of the attorneys OF the
lumber men. the ID, & r.. c. was
omitted I'm the list of roads given in
the prayer of petitioner. Dealers re-
port nothing new locally. With prices
80 to 81 per thousand lower than eight
years ago. lumber dealers are wonder
ing where their profits are coming In
HARDWARE.
The hardware trade reports collections
hetter owing to improved conditions
Mining machinery is steady. as the
companies are getting into shape again.
with more development work I'm pros
pect, Sporting goods are still provine
ready sellers, hammocks. refrigerators
aud lee cream freezers are going well.
and statesmen are sending IN good or
ders for fan delivery. Merchants about
the state appear to be buying free,
Dealers report many furnaces being
ordered for new houses being compeL
ed this summer. The harness trade L.
reported as lively while the demand
for saddlery goods is unprecedented
Tor this time of year.
DRY GOODS.
Dry goods iobbers report goods still
arriving for fall stocks, mostly staples;
also, that the demand for fabrics inn
proves gradually with good promise for
me ran Jobblng trade. Recovery from
inc low prices OF the year has been app
parently positive aud firmness I'm val-
ues Il gradually looked for. The sale
OF white goods for 1909 has been start,
cd with an advance I'm bleached goods.
hnd win standard duck working int,
a stronger position. Dealers arc looh
Ing for rather quiet trade on stapl.
cottons, and do not propose 10 be
driven into revision OF prices TO al
"a