Show TRADE HOLDS ITS OWN Seat of Greatest Strength Is I in Iron and Steel t I TEXTILES ARE IRREGULAR I Retail Trade Has Been Helped by I Better Weather in Most Sections While Spring Jobbing Is Smaller at m Several Markets Improved Rtaii Trade Conditions Are Expected to Help ReOrder Business Low Price i of Cotton Is Still a Deterrent to Business in the South I I New York April J2 Bradstrccts lomoY row will say Cron and trade idvlccs alike continue favorable The scat of greatest strength Is In the Iron and steel trade while textiles evince the most Irregularity Ir-regularity Despite the unquestionably InkIer tone of export tradein mjinufac turcs 1C Is to bo noted that Americans arc still reaping some advantages from their superiority In certain lines of Iron and stcol Jlotull trade has been helped by better weather In most sections and while spring Jobbing Is smaller at several markets Improved retail Irado conditions are expected to help reorder business Tile low price of cotton Is still a deterrent deter-rent to trade ui tho South and talk of restriction re-striction of the anticipated Increase In acreage Is heard Pluming Is however being actively pushed and retail trade Is for this reason still quieter Northwestern Northwest-ern trade advices arc quite cheerful and largo numbers of buyers are In the towns On the Paclllc coast Alaskan trade Is active ac-tive and general trade from near by points Is good At the East trade IH better at retail while wholesale lines arc quiet Colton goods note some slight Improvement intone In-tone and It la hoped that the bottom has been reached at the prevailing concession In prices Wool Is milct and somo weak ness In washed wool Is noted High water 1 I In the New England rivers has rendered 1 i v much machinery Idle but this curtall J meal has been rather welcomed Cotton is fcc lower again on largo movements flaw sugar has been again strengthened and the advance of lOc per ICO pounds In refined announced this week was antlcl paled by buyers who have bought heav ily The outlook favors a further strength ening of both raw and rcllncd grades Iron and steel aro aggressively strong Despite the fact that pig Iron production Is close to the maximum of last year stocks arc still decreasing Good pales of Iron and billets are noted at Plttsburgt at last weeks prices Finished products arc active and most mills are sold ahead bo yond July Despite the drop In export trade some good orders arc being re colvccl One for a hirgo quantity of rails said to be for South America an order for rills from GJasgow Is also noted and L a 1300ton order for structural material for a dock In Japan has gone to PiUs burg New bridge and skyscrapor con struction will take a large quantity of material Plates are higher and an ad vance In bars Is noted from St Louis Copper has sympathized with the stock market and Is reported higher abroad High water has apparently been reached iifll passed for thp season In the Eastern shoe trade and shipments this week are smaller than last while oneeighth burg er than In this week a year ago Orders for rubber goods are large Reports from the Western shoe trades arc In a high degree satisfactory both as to distribu lion and manufacture Wheat has apparently discounted the good crop reports and better export buy ling of both wheat and flour Is reflected In the change from a bearish to it more cheerful lone The gain In price however how-ever Is n slight one Thc slight decline In corn Is a result of Chicago manipula lion Tho high price of late has tended Ito I-to restrict the heretofore heavy shipments abroad Wheat Including flour shipment for Iho week aggregate 6 10560t bushels against lnflSC93 bushels last week 2S3 653 bushels In the corresponding week of 1900 1957610 bushels In ISM and 14250X2 bushels In ISO From July Isl 10 dale ibis season wheat exports are 162227020 bushels against 153 fU62S bushels last season and 130332110 bushels In ISOSSO Failures for the week in the United States number 225 agaInst 1SS last week 152 In this week a year ago 213 In 1S0 215 In 1S3S and 135 In 1S97 Canadian failures fail-ures number 25 against 2fl last week 35 In this week a year ago 25 In 1100 27 In ISM and 39 In ISOr |