Arizona republican., 1909-03-08
INTERNAL
 COMMERCE The Opening Month Failed to
 Make a Showing DECREASES WERE GENERAL
Movements Were Below Not Only the Corresponding Month of Last Year but Showed a Falling Off From Previous Month.

] Washington. D. C., March Lead i ing commercial movements in the do- | mestic field during January. as report | ed to the bureau of statistics of the i department of commerce and labor in-
 dicate a moderate improvement in the | iron and lumber trades, while returns
 of live stocl/ grain, cotton and rice | movements show an unfavorable turn i The traffic activity of the railroads, as i indicated by the number of cars hand ! led by the various demurrage bureaus | is still far from normal, as can be seen also from the number of idle cars which was but little below the maxi
 mum attained during the early months of 1908. The February situation marks, however, a slight change for the better 1 since the earlier part of the year Receipts of live stock at seven prin- cipal primary markets during the first month of the year-3. .706,S92 head
 were below those of the preceding
 month, as well as the January receipts
 in 1908 and 1907-4, ,529, ,S3S and 3,S64,-
 445 head. As compared with January,
 1908, receipts. smaller totals are shown
 for all classes of animals, except
 iAbAot anu lilUlGSs lllt utNItdSG DtllB
 especially heavy in the case of hogs received at Chicago, Kansas City. St.
 Joseph and Omaha. The number of
 cars used in handling this inbound movement was 64,254, compared with
 77,9Sb and 72,440 cars used in January,
 1908 and 1907.
 Shipments of packing hohse products from Chicago during January-1S9,- SS4,5S4 pounds-likewise show a con- siderable decrease compared with De- cember, 1908, as well as January, 1908 and 1907, figures. The principal de- creases. compared with January. 1908, figures, are shown by pork. fresh beef, lard and canned meats. The decrease in the shipments of the latter item was almost 54 per cent-from 7.360.20 pounds to 3,396.225 pounds. The east ward trunk-line movement of prOvis- ions from Chicago during the four weeks ending January 30.-S1639 tons shows a similar decrease from the totals reported for January. 1908 and 1907, of SS,566 and 93,237 tons.
 Stocks of meat on the last day of the month at five principal interior packing house centers aggregated 294.- 723,O65 pounds, and were in excess of the rather heavy stocks shown on the corresponding date in 1908.
 Live stock receipts at four principal Atlantic seaboard cities for January, or four weeks of the month-S00.05S head were lower than those for the pre- ceding months and January, 1908. Both cattle and hog receipts-90,T26 and 434, ,O24 head, respectively-shOw small- CT totals than a year ago; while the receipts of sheep-247,175 head-were over 10000 in excess of the January, 1908, receipts.
 Grain receipts during January at fif- teen primary markets-53, 526.1S0 bush els-were lighter than during January. 1908 and 1907, when 70,7SS.4 462 and 66, S97,275 bushels were received at the same markets The decrease affects practically all important centers ex- eept Omaha, which appears to be the only larger market unaffected by the general decline. Of the total receipts 11.477.O7S bushels were wheat, 21,137, O92 bushels corn. 13,514,S59 bushels oats, 6620,10S bushels barley, and 777,- O53 bushels rye. Shipments of flour from thirteen principal interior cen ters-1 ,656, ,96S barrels-show an even January, 1908 and 1907-2, ,722,606 and 2.936,2S2 barrels.
 Combined grain and flour receipts at four leading Atlantic seaboard cites, 12,515,S77 bushels. present an unfavor- able showing when compared with like figures for January. 1908 and 1907, of 1S.2O9. .O92 and 21,S41,991 bushels. The 4,1 in la mart tO the lighter export demand for wheat and flour, which was especially heavy during January, 1908, and to the heavy shrinkage in corn receipts at Baltimore and New York.
 Sight receipts of cotton for January, 1.43371S bales, for the first time dur ing the current season show a smaller total than for the corresponding months of the twb preceding seasons. The same is true of port receipts, L. 13O.3S4 bales. American spinners' talk ings for the five months of the current seaeson. 2,932,O17 bales, were largely in excess of the corresponding 19O7-S figures, 2.165. 06S bales, though the eX- cess is due almost entirely to larger takings on the part of the northern mills. American stocks at the end of the month aggregated 1,707,742 bales, with 1,312,2s4 males at the end of January, 1908.
 January receipts of rough rice at New Orleans numbered 92,94S sacks, a quantity decidely lower than the one reported for January, 1908. 149,OS9 | sacks. The total for the six months of the season ending January, 1,O19,146