New-York tribune., 1908-01-13
and nerhaps irresistibly forth for anti-dynasuc
4;
uoNEy AND BUSINESS.


and net. and the receivershlp OF i0"'
o,d not meet its maturing debentures. ie"
srecialties monopolized most OF the pu9ih0's'
aI+bouqb the market was broader thah a' ""S
time since the October setback anu 'iie
of the sixty most active railway SNARE
IS so above the low point IN No'ehioei'
,ioos ,yera beneath all records in seven years
Several stocks have risen consplcuousis ''0
fa,v davs but the general lever is sun ''"'
than at any time in the hve years ei"eu
ontohor Fasier money is expected to faciltate
purchases on margins. yet the ou'siue PuD
i reluctant to operate. and the bulk OF iaSt
weeks business originated in the protessioiiai
o,o,o,+ and did not extend much further'
,rbero was much covering by the short account
many, changing quickly from that to the othef
side of the market AS the savings banks fohnu
that Withdrawals on sixty days notice were III
significant il became desirable TO invest d io'
of cash that had been accumulated TO meet
demands This has furnished considerable bust
ness of a substantial nature in the bond de-
partment.
Easy call money came promptly after the
Janrarv settlements as was generally eX-
pected but the lower terms for time loans anu
commercial paper was agreeable surprise TO
D,any Good collateral secured term accommo-
dation for any period at s per cent, and some
HIGH grade mercantile Endorsements were SOLD
as low as I per cent. Western institutions were
the principal buyers Of commercial paper, al
though local banks came into the market during
the last few days. Thus far foreign exchange
has exhibited none of the erratc movements
predicted, fair supply of commercial bills
apparently meeting all demands for remittance
nor did anything in the International situation
suggest that Europe was trying to get back
anv of the recent large gold shipments. On
-lrA nj
some European banks and the situation abroad
causes no uneasiness. Next month, however
London will have large payments to make in
Paris and an Indian loan is about to be issued,
while other colonial drains will be felt in Eng
land If the money market here becomes much
easier the result is obvious. Treasury opera
tions show a further increase in deficit for the
fiscal year, but total gold holdings have in
creased rapidly, and the high water mark is
now above 1862 100000.
Business has halted for over two months.
chiefly account of the scarcity of money, and
the freedom with which commercial loans
arranged last week seems to mark the turning
point Better results should quickly follow the
return of confidence in the credit of mercantile
borrowers. AS cash becomes available for nor
NAL payments and capital seeks investment in
productive enterprise postponed plans are again
taken up and deferred contracts being
placed Recovery must be slow after shock
so severe, and economies will be practiSed for
some time, but gradually it will be found that
stocks of merchandise become depleted and
duplicate orders will find their way TO middle
men and manufacturers Price readjustment has
not gone very far yet and in some depart
ments it is probable that no large volume of
trade be done until better terms offered,
but consumers find many things cheaper now
Than in nctn rad
tinue favorable to this country, imports of
luxuries having fallen very low, and the balance
of alien movement also shows much larger
outgo than immigration Commercial failures
in the first week in January were unusually
numerous, and it is to be expected that many
weak spots will be eliminated this month by
inability to raise funds to meet maturing obli-
cations.
Inventories indicate that the year 1907
eclipsed all records to production in most
plants of the leading industries, but ii is also
noted that the new year opened with less actv-
ity than at any recent date. This fact was
most conspicuous in regard to the active capac-
ity of blast furnaces, which was much less than
one-half the total, and smaller than at any.
time in four years. This appears the more
striking when the extent of growth since Jan
uary !, 1904. is remembered. In textile, foot
wear and many other prominent industries the
proportion of idle machinery at the beginning
of this month very large although the cur
tailment of pig iron production is the most
noteworthy. Improvement has begun however
and by January Is much idle machinery will
have resumed, although it will require large
volume of new business to bring back maximum
operations. In the cotton goods industry the
event of the last week the reduction i'm
price of standard prints. This is the first long
step toward the readjustment of quotations
that buyers have insisted upon. Probably the
changes will not be uniform, as some goods
are very scarce and should hold steadier than
other varieties that have accumulated
Raw cotton moved erratcally in response to
incidents In the goods market. reports of trouble
abroad, speculative operations and the much
discussed Census Bureaus ginning return The
official figures indicated great gain since the
previous report but the total quantity gfnned
in four months of the crop year fell enough
below estimates 10 start vigorous speculative
movement that recovered the loss during the
opening days of last week. when all influences
were depressing. Exports were larger than in
the same week last year, but takings by North
ations continue to follow foreign cables. condi
tions abroad and the interest of exporters DOM
mating other factors. Some decline in prices
OF wheat followed news of improved harvesting
results in Argentina and increased estimates
OF that nations exportabe surplus Meanwhile
shipments from the United States make favor
able comparisons with corresponding weeks in
carrier years. and the value of exports is en-
hanced by abnormaly high prices. Not on1v
is the quantity sent abroad larger than at this
time in any year since 1902. but the average
quotaton Is 20 cents a bushel above the price
SIX years ago. Corn declined slightly on ac-