Show TRUE TRADE mm FUTURE I 1 I New Century Starts Out in ill ip Manner Man e eI I REVIEW OF THE YEAH YEAR I BUSINESS SS DECLARED TO T BE B ON ONLESS ON ONLESS ONLESS LESS INFLATED BASIS I i New Ne York Dec D ee SI n Duns review in Its summary reviewing th the business of the year ear just closed will say residing regarding II the leading markets Conditions of C Iron irini and steel during 1500 were much muc more sound than in the I preceding prec year ear when speculation was as rife and prices inflated far beyond the I bounds of reason Statistics of the weekly week capacity Of f furnaces in blast I show that the highest highet h t point on record was wa reached Feb Feto 1 while there was lit little little littIe tle tIe diminution during the next nC few months But with the collapse of spec pec speculation during the spring and realization realization realization tion of or the tact that operations had been overdone there came a steady stead re reduction reduction reduction in output From Prom furnaces In blast on Feb 1 L there a con ton continual continual shutting down clown until but twenty one fie fIC in operation on No Nov 1 I and the production decreased 82 ilO 10 tons Even Een at this rapid cupid rate of declining lug ing output stocks accumulated with tr ing and on Oct 1 the top was reached at tons I Business conditions were satisfactory however and an 1 demand expanded while exports experts of finished d products grew heavy hea when prices reached a level that made competition possible with brand iron iren producers In fco months ending Dec 1 furnace stocks of pig iron de decreased decreased decreased creased tons and tb the tone was so much improved that many idle fur furnaces furnaces furnaces naces resumed Factory Products Active Manufactured articles articles have baye moved along S similar lines Quotations of iron I and Steel products at the beginning of the they year nr were little lUtie below the level prevailing thirteen thir een years ears ago and In Inthe inthe inthe the Sail fall was almost uninterrupted until October Octer when the Ule average was but i per perc ent of that prevailing Jan 1 1887 1881 It Is s difficult to select cl any anyone one branch of industry as being pushed harder than another J I Railway supplies of all kinds have hae sold vory VOI freely and the market la Is flooded floo e with AUth urgent orders lot for freight cars Structural St material particularly for bridges and ships has ha been in much better batter demand than sup supply supply ply Steel rails were i reduced educed from last years price of 36 to 26 but it waS an anOl open Ol n secret that chat the former figure fi ure had Ibe n nominal for months prior to the official change of September Con Contracts Contracts Contracts tracts for tons deliverable dur during durIng during ing 1901 have been placed at 26 and nu numerous numerous numerous export orders also suggest the probability that the list will be main maintained maintain tamed tain d TIp Tin bounded Up tip p from 25 at the open opening Op n lug ing to 35 cents in July and then grad gradually gradually lost all th gain gala But flut during the thelast thelast last week there w ec s a recovery recover to Copper had done nothing startling variations remaining g within the range of j of a cent cen Opening at 16 there were sales as low how as 1614 16 4 and the close cos I was at ao the top at 17 Trade has been active and domestic domet production on pushed One authority places JIA s the American made in advance of or any an other ther country Cut Lead Upheld by Smelters Lead fel front from 4 70 at the start to t and recovered to 43 y v where here wherE it has hos been maintained by b the te smelting company compan for many months The year 1900 1500 op opened red with ith favorable conditions prevailing in nearly every ever branch of the hc dry dr goods trade The Theome home ome trade was go pd d for the first three months and a d then th q fell fel away until by June the he market had bad l d lapsed lapse into pro pronounced pronounced I flounced and an from a steady v upward course fn began gradual gradually ly to decline again agin The he arrest of f buy buying buyIng buyIng ing was Wa remarkable In woolen wolen good stocks began aced accumulating again anti and ard their course up to the close lose of the hits has shown hown year ear pro pronounced pronounced flounced weakness in both oth mens wear fabrics ra and dress goods gods with wih the re result resul suit sult sul tf tt it the gain gall in prices pries made last year ear and In n the early part of this has ha I been beer lost Jost in many mn directions and ant i where here any is retained at t all al it is or of limited extent e ten t A sudden demand deman froth from S China for heavy hea brown cottons in May 1 a the first purchase made for that market in sev several se eral enil months unfortunately was check checked ch k ed cd by the outbreak of the Boxer rising and since then there th re has l been een en an en entire entre entire tire tre suspension ot for that coun country country country try In September r another stimulus was given to cotton goods good by the rapid advance in raw material which follow followed ed the tie Galveston disaster and short crop predictions Prices resumed their upward rd course and the market maret ruled strong again agai until the end of October when en there ther was another lull lul in the market The TIle prosperous condition of the cot cotton ct cotton ton goods gos trade lost year and the early part of this has ha had a marked effect upon the cotton coton industry in the south rev iving the thc boom in mill 01 work which previous pr depression depres ion had checked A I number of new mills have hae been added and many more are in course cours of erection erection tion lon It H is probable that when the years statistics are aie compiled they the will nill wil show the addition of nearly nerl spindles the south to the productive capacity of I I Wool Suffers Reaction After advancing from 1801 cents cent as I the average of grades of w wools held by Coates Cotes Bro on ott May 1 to 2470 in December 1899 it was wa only natural that 1 the year 1900 should witness wines severe re reaction reaction action acton and return to a 1 more level lev 1 The decline was gradual and the theer year er closed about 22 2 per cent below the top point touched twelve months pre previous previous Ious The closing cosing year of the century was a remarkable one for farmers farers and and plant planters ers notwithstanding the te Met feet that some sections harvested d smaller crops than thanIn thanin In preceding years ears While the south produced less cotton coton than in two two pre previous prevIous previous seasons sans prices were ivere wert the highest in ten years yer and and the thenet thenet thenet net profits made on plantations were enormous Spring wheat states lost much grain but Kansas and other large winter wheat when growers made big crops and the average price was high In fact cereals were all al abnormally ad advanced advanced But there occurred an actual loss In exports experts so s that Russian Rusian ports were able atole to procure much foreign trade that had belonged to American producers Corn was put up to within a fraction of 50 cents cent here herp and specula speculative speculative tive the manipulation forced the tle Chicago prices prie still sti hl higher h r These operations had a It naturally deleterious effect on exportation and anti surplus coun countries cun countries tries trie reaped much flinch of the benefit from excessively Inflated domestic markets ma et |