Show BRADSTREETS REVIEW 1 Actual Business of Country Exceeds that of One Year Ago New York Oct Bradstreets tomorrow to-morrow wjll say Though some measures mea-sures of business volume and value make unfavorable comparison with a year ago and speculation Is certainly on a educed scale In nearly all lines other registers of trardo activity are still very favorable and it is hard to resist the conclusion that with a few notable exceptions the actual business of the country is as a rule fully equal to If not slightly 1 In excess oC corresponding corre-sponding period of 1899 This too is the case In spite of the distinctly rc presshe tendency exercised by the present Presidential campaign Prices of staples as a whole are firm after a sustained advance for a month past succeeding a summer of quiet steadiness steadi-ness but unhealthiness of the short side In speculation has been brought forcibly to the attention of dealers Inn in-n number of staples notably hog products and flaxseed The event of the week In the Iron and steel trade has been the taking of 150000tons of rails by the Pennsylvania Pennsylva-nia at 2C per ton announced on Friday Fri-day This action which will probably be followed by other companies disposes dis-poses of the steel rail puzzle satisfactorily satisfac-torily to the railmakers and constitutes consti-tutes another element of strength to the Industry I generally Despite a decrease de-crease of over 20per cent in the current cur-rent pig Iron production from four monlhs ago furnace stocks are reported report-ed increasing and prices aie rather weak The considerable volume of han tomoulh buying however presupposes pre-supposes that consumers stocks arc well down In structural and bridge material the feature Is the placing oC the contract for the new East river bridge which calls for nearly seventy thousand tons Relatively I the most activity In pig iron Is reported at Birmingham Bir-mingham where sales and shipments are quite heavy Wheat Including flour shipments for the week aggregate 1292855 bushels bush-els against 4J591C7 bushels last week and 5205031 bushels In 1S99 From July 1st to date this season wheat exports ex-ports are 51514022 bushels against C09C50I7 bushels last season and 57 22S176 bushels in 1MS1899 Business failures for the week in the United States number 210 as against 177 last week 184 In 1S99 Failures Fail-ures In the Dominion of Canada number num-ber 3C as compared with 13 last week and IDln 1899 |