Year: 1876

1
| Rcceipts-si0ns Of the Times.


Chicago Inter-ocean, June 10.


The improvement trade throughoutth the
northwest in the last ten days is unques-
tionable. The cause is TO be found in
the free marketing of the wheat. The
receipts of this week are getting to be
very large (the Monday receipts at Chi
cago and Milwaukee were nearly four
hundred and fifty thousand bushels).
| Every busllel of wheat that comes in
represents an equal value of goods paid
for to some country merchant, and indi-
Gates that the country merchant will
want to replace the goods by purchase in
the nearest city. The marketing of cat
tie also continues large from Illinois,
southern Iowa aud Kansas. If the
marketing of grain aud other products
car 60 on at this rate wItnout SFiJ
material decline Of fprfces until the bulk
of the supplies now in the hands of the
farmers is sold off, the west will certainly
not have so much to complain of in the
way of hard times at the end of the
current year. 1t is true we shall miss
the stimulating effects of the expansion
of the railroad system, and also of the
foreign immigration, both of which have
almost ceased in the last two years; but
that the northwest is steadily growing
rich is beyond question. The rapid
developments of the mining interests in
Colorado and the Black Hills is most
important feature in the revival of a
confidence which seems likely to come
this summer or next fall in the west.
The aspect of affairs in tho west just at
present in the above connections gives
more promise of being the first indica-
tions of a general revival of business
confidence and prosperity than anything
else that has been seen for two years.
But besides these indications at home
there are the chances of war in Europe,
which would create greater demand for
our breadstufis, provisions, and manutae-
lures of all sorts of war material-a de-
mand which would set tie idle mills and
arms factories of New England all at
work Whether this war comes this
summer or not, it seems almost GER
tain to come some time within the
next year or two, and when it does
come can scarcely fail to involve all the
leading nations of Europe. England
fears Russia; France hates Germany
since 1871 as much as Italy has hated
Austria since the war of 1858. The
three empires in the east of Europe are
natural allies, and however the fight
might begin, it would probably end by
allying Russia, Germany and Austria
against England, France and Italy
Suck a war would not only break up the
| financial contest between Germany and
| France (Which has resulted in the hoard
ing of nearly 5000 O00,0 900 of specie in the
banks of Germany and France, and in
the demonetization of silver and the
consequent enhancement in the value of
gold), but would also leave the United
States the principal manufacturing and
od-producing country of the world, free
from any complication in the war, to
supply the combatants.


Ofcourse any commercial or financial
advantage that a European war would
be to the United States would be only
temporary, and would be afterwards
counterbalanced by the disorganization
of our foreign trade. The only perma-
nent financial benefit such a war would
be to the world would be its effect to
break up the foolish movement to make
gold the exclusive standard of values
1t is this which is largely if not wholly
the cause of the present depression of
prices throughout the world.


But, as remarked above, there has been
an unquestionable improvement in busi-
ness in the northwest in the last ten
days independent of these war prospects
in Europe. One noticeable effect of the
increased grain movement is the advance
in prices of the Rock Island, the North
western and the St. Paul roads in the
last two weeks. In that time Rock
Island has advanced about three per
cent, Northwestern about five per cent.
on the preferred and about three per
cent. on the common, and St Paul about
six per cent. on the preferred and five
per cent. on the common.