The morning journal-courier., 1908-04-18
THE STATE OF TRADE
Bradstreet Reports Weakness Rather Than Improvement
 in Conditions.
FOREIGN TRADE EBBlNG
Railway Earnings Show Largest De- Crcase--Numbcr of Idle
 Cars Greater.

New York. April l7,-Bradstrects State of Trade tomorrow will say;
 Easter trade at retail, though affect. ed in sections by unfavorabe weather is. on the whole fair Collections show slight Improvement at few centers and filling in orders by jobbers are a trine better, but reports from leading industries are no moro favorable. rath- CT more weakness is noted in iron and steel. and fall trade in leading lines is still disappointingly backward The dullness in building llnes-expenditure for the first quarter being 40 per cent. below ig0i-affec;s all lines of ma terials. and export and import trade are ebbing, indicating the first de- crease in foreign trade from the preced- Ing fiscal year noted for five years past. Crop conditions seem to be fully maintained Railway gross earnings for March show the largest decrease yet reported and the number of Idle cars on April was larger than at the mid dle of March High prices coincdent with Lenten obsevances arc probably responsible for the smallest sales of meats reported this year. Here, as in all other lines, the expectation of lower prices encourages a waiting tendency on the part of purchasers. The number of idle hands Is as large as for some time past, wage reductions curtai buy ing power, and the number of failures continues far ahead of year ago.
 Easier conditions prevail fin the iron and steel markets. and production is smaller than 1t was a few weeks ago.
 Copper is easier and domestic buyers still hold off while European consum- CTS seem to be doferring purchases in anticipation of lower quotations.
 Wheat, including flour, exports from the United States and Canada for the week ending April iG, as reported by telegraph to Bradstreet's, aggregated 2,41o,l77 bushels. against 3,l02,46 this week last year and 4I1s,10S in 1902. For the forty-two weeks of the fiscal year the exports are 17i3796a3 bushels, against l3s,9s5,623 in 1o06-O7 and 206- 06s,291 in l9Ol-09. Corn exports for the week are 292,93S bushels against ,939. .622 in 1907. For the fiscal year todate. the exports are 43.244,05S bushels, against 5SOOc, POI in 1906-07
 Business failures for the week ending April 16 number 26l. against l67 in the like week of 1907. l57 in 1906, lSS in 1905 and 199, in 1904.
 In Canada country roads are drying, and collections show some improvement as a result of better country trade, due to Easter demand, but wholesale and jobbing trade Is quiet, especially in the eastern provinces.
 New York April 17-R c. Dun & Co.'s weekly review of trade tomorrow will say:
 Easter trade and generally favorable weather accelerated retail distribution of merchandise, but there is no evil dence of increased activity in prepara- tion for future business, nor are man ufacturers disposed to operate more extensively. In fact. some net curtail- ment of output is noted, and more re- ductions in wages have occurred, par dl lChlllt Hld1llS, lTlCbS OI commodities are lower at the leading exchanges dealing in farm staples in response to encouraging crop reports and transactions were reduced by the holidays Primary markets for textiles arc in better financial condition because more bills are being discounted, but jobbers are doing n limited business ,pi gratifying. The chief drawback in cot ton goods situation Is the question of quotations, concessions being granted so readily that purchases arc naturally confined to immediate needs. These methods are reducing stocks in some positions while curtailmont of produc- tion prevents accumulation at the mills. Negotiations for cotton goods that were nearing consummation have been dropped because of the further severe falling price to anticipate still better terms, while manufacturers expect that maintenance of prices will soon bring out many orders for spot goods De- mands are most urgent for brown and tan fancy worsteds in light weight spring goods.
 Footwear markets at the cast are quiet, the iobbinc demand from all sections being backward. Salesmcn at the west and south report d poor bus- ness in samples for next season, and duplicate orders for spring and summer goods are limited Factories at the west especially St. Louis. arc cutting on relatively larger scale than New England. Tan shoes are in greatest de- mand, but staple lines are dull and tending downward in price, Manufac- turers of brogans In Pennsylvania re- port some improvement in trade, and purchase heavy upper and sole leather more freely, Although there is q better demand for nearly all kinds of leather, tanners usually make concessions
 Failures this week numbered o62 in tho United states against lS6 last year and 2s in canada compare dwith 2l q year ago