New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-04-06
SOME UNCERTAINTIES
Conservatism Shown in All
Branches of Trade.

W dIi1ilCO VI HtSs
In their reviews Tor Tic week COM
morcial agencies report repression IN
business and Manifestation of conscr'"-
tism in all lines OF trade. "Dun's Re-
view" reports a. follows.
"The general trade outlook continues
Very satisfactory although ConscrNatism
i'm all branches is manifest The disds-
trous floods OF last week caused more or
less interruption TO TRANSPORTING and dis
tributins agencies. bat as these are rec
Sto,ed q return TO fuI normal activity il
expected. Fortunately. tic iiooc damage.
while sreat, was b. no means a. large as
the first reports indicated. March hdnS
cearnss were "A per cent les. than last
year though 81 per cent large than DID
1911 Railroad earnings during lour weeks
Of March. on TIC other hand. made tha
important gain Of Z PEE ccn, While tie
non and steel industry As disorsan.zeI
by The floods mills and furnaces arc zap
idly Icsuming work and Fundamental
conditions remain distinctly favorable.
Ecrorts flom the textile trades indicate
d substantial and healthy demand which.
while not anticipating the future 20 an
large extent. shows that there is "a steady
consumption that makes current every
day purchases Verv heavy. With the al
vantage of settled weather retail aud
wholesale domestic trade is expected L
expand greatly. Building operations are
generally active. Winter wheat coudi-
lions me excellent The balance oi mcr-
chandise exports over imports in oen.
months amounted. 20 AIlDVCl0 ana tie
favorable foreign trade situation ,ontir-
ucs. During the latest week at New York
the exports were S2l siS(Jl which We
not only ;2S5l. ia larger than the .m-
ports. but we're more than 4.o)ip9p great
or than the exports o year ago while
the comparison with 1911 uas suil better
While there nave been some failures "a
Germany. financial conditions there 3re
improved. the quarterly settlements hav-
ing been financed without the anticipated
strain.
Cuisines in iron and steel has natural
~ been restricted bv the recent disas-
trous floods, but plants arc rcsumins
sooner than was predicted. and The gen
cral situation is viewed with conGdcnco.
Although il is now apparent that some
reports were highly exaggerated. tn"
property loss was serious enough. ana
many manufacturing establishments Were
compelled to shut down at . time when
pressure for deliveries was urgent. OBJ
Viously railroad traffic was materially
hampcrcd. and freight movements. there
iUc. will be more or less uncertain for
several weeks to come. Had il not been
Tor the Goods, the output Of pig iron
would have attained a new record during
March, and, even with the forced s'ls-
tensions Of work the production appdT-
emily exceeded that of the shorter month
Of February. While current demands arr
lot of the remarkable proportions prcyi-
ouSly otcd, there is sim brisk buying in
some departments. and the tonnage re-
quircd 10 repair W3shouts I'm the Middle
West will reach a considerable aggregate.
The shortage Of crude steel became moro
pronounced with the ourtailing Of manu-
featuring, 50 that available material is az
premium No change appears in quota
tions although i'm many cases official
prices arc under actual selling figures
"Biadsreot's" report is in similar
vein. ana is given in the following:
"Irrcgularity. with q tendency toward
more or less repression, IS the chief charc-
teristic OF trade adviccs. II is true that
retail trade has improved somewhat and
that returns from the Northwest generally
and from parts Of the Southwest show ac-
tiyity. but on the other hand, the stu-
alton i'm the South. as well as in the food
stricken areas OF the West is such as 10
curtail buying, while IN the East there IS
4 disposition to temporarily mark time.
In fact, it is probable that there Is a gen
cral desire 10 so slow, especially as tariff
matters are now well 10 the front, while
at the same time money ana credit mat
ters demand attention. However 1t must
be noted that some Of the repression is
due 10 the seasonal slowing down Of job
bling trade Where crops were favorable
and where there has been no food dam
age nor fears Of overnovs 20 come. rs. FOR
instance. outside the Mississippi VALLEY
house trade is OF fair volume and road
orders run from satisfactory TO liberal
In favored sections there IS tendency 10
buy for future account, but rs a general
proposition little new business IS being
done for far-oH delivery. For current dis
tribution lumber. footwear. hardware
builders materials. farm implements and
seeds. groceries. paints and oils sell well
and trade in drygoods shapes UP about
fair with Eastern distributors noting some
auflclpations in the shape of requests for
prompt shipments of goods that were TO
be forwarded In May. Wool is quiet
buyers and sellers being virtually dead
locked as 10 prices. which are hish. OBJ
yiously movements over wide stretch OF
country have been restricted as y result