| Show aktar REVIEW OF TRADE in the general course of business there has been no perceptible change the volume of payments including paper maturing february ast 1st was per cent larger than last year outside of new york evidently the gain in volume of new transactions is much smaller railroad Eail road tonnage is enlarged by wars of rates and the ratio of expenses to earnings grows less satisfactory at nearly au interior points reporting trade is dull or inactive though perceptible improvement within the past ten days is noted at st paul and omaha but collections are slow at st paul milwaukee detroit and cleveland and the number of failures in the northwest beyond the mississippi seems larger than usual the cold weather evi deafly has a retarding influence in many quarters atie of a bank at cincinnati with arrest of officers on account of speculations in real estate oil and gas and the failure of bensley brothers at chicago an old grain house with large credit call attention to the chief cause of hesitation in business A vast amount of capital has been locked up and a vast body of indebtedness created in connection with the real estate grain and other speculations of the past year indebtedness debt edness based on fictitious valuations of property or commodities in not a few cases will faveto be liquidated at a loss on the chance of war in europe wheat was suddenly advanced so far that peace prospects involve disaster to many the capacity of iron furnaces in blast february ast 1st was tons weekly less than january ast 1st and contrary to much more than half the decrease was in other than furnaces the effects of the strike in coal regions increase from day to day but are not as great as the depression due to shrinkage in demand of the latter part is attributed to tariff uncertainties and part to the excess of railroad building in the west and the consequent wars of rates including tons deferred from jast year contracts for steel rails so far reach about tons without any lifting of at mill pig iron is weaker at pittsburg but stiff at the eastford the betten grades on account rt ally lu iron slackened demand still causes weakness the effects of the coal not seem to approach an end are felt in slow collections and several failures at philadelphia the wars of rates between western roads have now gone so far that the rates charged are said to be on the whole not more than half thoss charged before the trouble began but no sign of settlement is seen in any quarter those who have put money into many new lines where new lines were not needed have no reason to expect returns until the busness of the country has largely increased meanwhile the interstate law makes any settlement more difficult and places united states roads at a dis advantage in competition with canadian through rates for export have been cut also and efforts of trunk line managers to settle difficulties have not yet succeeded nearly all the markets are lower stocks about 50 cents per share for the week wheat about 1 cent per bushel corn cent oats cent coffee cent per ib and sugar both refined and ed an eighth hogs 10 cents per ibs and tin 4 cen ib cotton has been held steady by the report of largo consumption abroad ahe dry goods trade continues good for cottons which in price and slightly improved for woolens the woolen manufacturers meet on tuesday to consider questions of credits and under valuations and to perfect organization th groceries there has been some improvement in tone and in distribution the tea trade shows more activity and hopefulness ful ness but the demand for butter and cheese is hardly satisfactory and meats are very dull and weak the treasury has added half million to deposits da ing the week but otherwise has but slightly diminished in circulation the business failures occurring throughout the country during the last seven days as reported tob G dun co the mercantile agency to dav friday by telegraph number for the united states andhor canada 52 or a total as compared with a total of last week and the beok previous to the last for the corresponding week of last year the figures were made up failures in the united states and ag canada the feature this week is jhb unusual number of failures in dominion of canada 52 being double the usual weekly average E G DUN co li roadway new york feb 11 1888 |
