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BUSINESS STILL IMPROVE.
Fresh Evidences of This Come
from Every Part of the
Country.
feet witala a few days. Three other large
transfers, raagiac from 10,000.000 to 12,
000,000 f est each, have also recently beea
coasplettd. Prices arc now irra. la atramfs
coattaat to the demoralisation that pre
TsOfi a few weeks age. Chicago TlaVas
Herald (Id0.
fcr
V
Democratic and Republican Journals Vie with
Each Other in Assurances of Return
ing Prosperity.
A Most Gratifying Collection of Hopeful Expressions
Gathered from Various Reliable
Sources.
No publication within tbe last few
weeks has attracted more attention
than that furnished the readers of this
paper early last month, showing a
marked improvement In business con
ditions throughout the country. This
was evidenced by a collection of state
ments on this subject from scores of
newspapers of all political parties, and
from all parts of the country. The
evidence of general and widespread im
provement was so plainly shown by this
and so much a subject of gratification
that we present herewith another in
stallment of expressions of this char
acter, gathered from all sections and
from papers of all political shades of
opinion:
The Prospect Brijjhtens.
Either because tbe business men have
taken heart from the comforting assur
ances of Secretary Gage anil the reason
able certainty that a new tariff law will
be in force within a few weeks, or be
en use better times had to come in the
natural order of things, there is a definite
and unquestionable improvement in the
business situation. There are so many in
dications of this in so many quarters that
it is idle to deny that a change for the
better is tnking place. There are indus
tries which have not revived as yet, but
their turn will come. There are some
which always lag behind in the procc
sion. Chicago Tribune (Uep.).
Good Pi '.'nil.
Tha business is getting better Is evi
dent from many signs. The financial re
views and commercial agencies publish
n-port from all parts of the country
which indicate this. The reports of rail
roads show increased earnings over those
of the same period last year. Another
significant and hopeful sign is the fact
that the money now in circulation in this
country is $13S,14f.G12 more than the cir
culation one year ago. the total amount
in circulation last Saturday being $1,
6T9,733,S93. The absence of speculative
interest is not an unmixed evil. It indi
cates that what improvement is taking
place in business is healthful. Atlanta
Journal (Dem.).
" i.-
81or bat Pare.
A slow but steady gain in business with
an advance in prices, an increase in the
number of hands employed and growth of
new orders, and an increase in the amount
of work done are pointed out by "Dun's
Review" in its last issue as a renewed evi
dence that business is improving. A study
of the newspaper sentiment of the country
as expressed in the publications of all
sentiments shows a concurrence in the
belief thus expressed that there is a mark
ed and general improvement in the busi
ness situation.
Silverttea Are Drab,
"Prices cannot rise so loag as the gold
standard obtains." That was the asser
tion made with endless persistence by the
silver standard orators and newspapers
last year. The basal proposition of Mr.
Bryan was that commodities could not
reach higher values save through the free
coinage of silver. What do we now see?
Wheat has advanced, in the face of re
ports indicating a tremendous yield this
summer. In the grazing regions sheep
have nearly doubled ia price since last
year. Wool has gone up fifty per cent.
The cattle market is good. In the general
market there is an upward movement.
The Impossible has happened, then. What
do the free coinage advocates say about
the condition that now confronts them?
Precisely what anyone would expect
them to say nothing. Cincinnati Times
Btar (Rep.).
Faith Is Looking Up.
According to Dun & Co., the business
conditions are gradually shaping them
selves about the same as they were in
1S79, just previous to a remarkable ad
vance in business prosperity. This view
may be of the roseate order, but it is based
on fact and figures which the able re
porter thinks justify it. It seems almost
incredible that the volume of business is
now larger than it was iu 1S92 the year
of greatest prosperity yet such is the
Terdict of Dun &. Co. But the volume of
profits is much smaller, making the vol
ume of prosperity correspondingly less.
A very large share of the present volume
of business is the importation of foreign
goods under free trade and low tariff
schedules. This harms rather than helps
American enterprises and the labor there
in employed, or which ought to be therein
employed. We may do a tremendous
business in flooding our markets with
foreign goods to the exclusion of the pro
ducts of our own labor, but there is no
prosperity to our country m that kind of
business. Last month's record of busi
ness failures is decidedly encouraging,
showing, as it do, a large decrease in
comparison with previous and correspond
ing months. Detroit Journal (Rep.).
Signs or Cheer.
The business sentiment is undoubtedly
strong?r. There are many reasons for
hopefulness. Not the least important re
cent happening has been the assurance of
Secretary Gage that the Federal adminis
tration would not forget the "mandate of
the people, whose voice in behalf of honA
est money and sound finance rang out
loud and clesr in November last." Cur
rency Reform is vital to business secur
ity: and it Is helpful to confidence to have
official reassurance that tariff tinkering
is not to be the last of administrative ex
pedients, for the removal of business dis
trust and depression. There are other
grounds for commercial cheerfulness.
Busiuess failures are lessening in number
and importance. Commercial loans are
expanding; bank clearings are increasing,
and the transportation companies are
earning more money. The end of tariff
uncertainty is drawing near; the impor
tant crops all over the country give prom
ise of abundant harvests: productive costs
in the great industries have been crowded
to the apparent minimum: there is less
reason to fear further important price
shrinkages: the storekeepers shelves, as
a rule, hold no unwieldy accumulations of
stocks, and labor is becoming more gen
erally employed. These are favorable con
ditions for a sustained revival of busi
ness. Philadelphia Record (Dem.).
Fetter Tines la the West.
Mr. E. V. Smalley of St. Paul writes
to the New York Evening Post the results
of his observations on a recent trip of a
month from Chicago to Portland, Oregon.
He stopped at various points on the way,
thus gaining opportunities to gather re
liable information concerning the business
conditions, and his conclusion is that
trade is everywhere improving not much,
but to an appreciable extent. The rail
roads, he says, report a net gain in re
ceipts from freight, but none worth men
tioning as yet from passenger earnings.
Bank deposits are increasiug and collec
tions are easier. People are paying a
little on their old debts carried along from
! boom times, and there has been a great
deal of liquidation from foreclosure. All
the solid industries are doing fairly well.
Prices are low and profits small, but the
close economies practiced enable projec
tors to come out a little ahead.
n
Improved Trade Conditions.
The mercantile reports for the past
week leave no room for doubting the fact
that signs of marked improvement in busi
ness conditions are discernible on every
hand. The unexpected progress made by
the tariff bill iu the Senate, with the pros
pect of an adjournment of Congress some
time in July, together with the optimistic
speeches of Secretary Gaze, in which he
gave the country assurance of ultimate
relief from certain admitted defects ip our
financial svstem. have all combined to
make the trade record of the week a most
satisfactory one. That the hopeful and
encouraging utterances of the President
and bis Secretary of the Treasury had a
marked influence on trade conditions was
evidenced by the increased foreign de
mand for American securities. Chicago
Times-Herald (Ind.).
Business Sitaation Better.
There is no longer room for question on
the proposition that conditions in the
I world of business have improved. While
tnere may sul, be found isolated cases
where toe return of commercial activity
has not yet broken up the long spell of
stagnation, such cases by their rarity are
but the exception to prove the rule. Bet
ter, perhaps, than the actual improve
ment, which can be reduced to figures by
comparison with the past, is the general
belief that business has not only improv-
ed. but that the improvement is bound to
continue. President McKinley and Sec
retary Gage touched the keynote of this
s-entiment in their recent notable utter-
! anc. The far-reaching effect of these
speeches became evident when advices be
gan pouring in from abroad to the effect
that American securities were in strong
demand. Foreign capital, keenly anxious
for the right moment to arrive, has seized
the opportunity and :n a measure led the ;
way to a practical demonstration of reviv-
i ed confidence. The enhanced value cf all
securities quoted on the 3fck Exchange
' is but a barometrical indication of this
altered condition. Reports as shown by
railroad earnings still bear witness to the
growing increase or trade. Individual
lines of business, too, almost without ex- i ally gained, month by mouth, until sud
ception, scknowledge the same state of j denly the demand outran the supply. The
affairs. Not only is this manifest in the I iron "industry is expanding its production
larger manufacturing industries, such as
clothing, hardware and boots and shots,
but the more limited branches dependent
entirely on the general prosperity of the
commercial world report a gratifying in
crease in the volume f business on which
estimates are asked. Chicago Post (Ind.).
A Good Example for the People.
Among the solid facts on which expec
tations may be based are the flattering
crop prospect. President HIS of tae Great
Northern is quoted a predicting bast the
wheat fields contributory to his lire will
furnish 90,000.000 bushels of grain this
season for transperlaiion, and tbe man
agers of other lines contribute equally
favorable information. The jobbers say'
that the supply of manufactured goods
which may be counted amtng the neces
saries of life is generally exhausted
throughout the country, and that the peo
ple must buy and the mi?js must resume
operation to meet the crma-d, which will
bring into circclatios A millions of dol
lars that have been hoarded through rhe
hard times. It would be weli if all peo
ple, everywhere, would xnkste the cheer
ful and optimistic tone of the President
and the members of bis administration.
Let them withdraw their gaze from the
dark and gloomy aspect upon which it has
dwelt for several years past and habituate
themselves to looking upon the bright side
of things. It is well known that almost
any man in good health might be made ill
I
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THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
THE Interior Department Building, a view of which is presented herewith, is one of the Interesting rn J always sought
after sights In Washington. In it is located the Patent Office, containing the models which the Government re
quired for years should be furnished with applications for patents. The accumulations of these interesting and in
many cases curious models for proposed machines form oue of the most unique museums of museuai-diied Washington,
for no city in the country has so great a number of museums as the capital of the nation.
The Interior Department Building is a largewhite marble structure, covering two entire squares, extending from
Seventh to Ninth streets and from F to G streetitvWhne In its construction little attempt at ornamentation was made,
its plain and severely classical exterior always attracts the attention of those who are so fortunate as to have the oppor
tunity of studying its architectural lines. Within it is a busy place. Its main floor is occupied, first, by the office of
the Secretary of the Interior. Hon. Cornelius N. BHss, and adjoining this the offices of the assistant secretari and others
of the Secretary's personal staff. The northern front is occupied by the officials of the Patent Office, and a; the northwest
corner is the office of the Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Benjamin Bntterworth. Stretching down the western end
of the building are the offices of he Division of Public Lands, and in the southeast corner are the room of the Commis
sioner of the General Land Office, Hon. Binger Herman, formerly member of Congress from Oregon. Thee are always
busy rooms, for there is from morning till night a flow of members of Congress, attorneys and others passing in and ont. in
teresting themselves in matters pertaining to land claims and the distribution of public lands to those who are establish
ing homes in various parts of the country. Upon the floor above is the model room of the Patent Office, which is always
the subject of much interest. The Pension Bureau, which is a part of the Interior Department, occupies, as Is well
known, a building erected exclusively for its use, which is located only a couple of squares away from the Interior De
partment, and connected by telephone and other conveniences, making it practicable for the officers of the Interior De
partment to speak with their subordinates at the Pension Office at any time they may choose.
if his friends, through a concerted move
ment, were to make a point of telling him
every time they met him how sick he look
ed. The imagination is a powerful motor.
When everybody one meets talks of hard
times, a tinge of melancholy is created
which overspreads the whole community.
This cloud can be dissipated by cheerful
talk and by considering the really favora
ble factors of the situation. Minneapolis
Tribune (Rep.).
The Brightening Oatlook.
Democrat and anti-protectionist though
he is. Senator Gorman is too good a poli
tician and too shrewd a business man to
maintain a hopeless resistance to the Re
publican tariff bill. There is new hope in
this for every legitimate branch of busi
ness, it means that it will not De neces-
sary to wait until autumn to get a taste
of better times. It means that the new
tariff will have a longer period in which
to work ont its results and vindicate itself
before being put to rhe test of a congres
sional election. This prospect that the
new tariff will go into effect with the fiscal
year is a bad thing for Bryanism. but it
I eooi thing for the merchant, the man-
ufacturex, the farmer and the wage earn-
er. Boston Journal (Rep.),
Unmistakable 81m.
There are unmistakable signs of a re
turn of prosperity in the iron and steel
manufacturing centers of the country, in
tbe opinion of the Cleveland Leader. All
around Pittsburg there has been a re
sumption of work in most of tbe mills and
factories, and the same reports come from
the industrial cities of eastern Ohio and
western Pennsylvania. There was a re
vival jnst after the election in November,
due in the main to a restoration of confi
dence, bnt rhe pwple were not fully pre
pared for a complete return to commer
cial and Industrial activity. They had
felt the effects of the depression too long
to recover from it suddenly, and It was not
to be expected that building enterprises.
which are the surest revivers of business,
wonld be undertaken at. tbe beginning of men of the wretched times is manifest"
winter. With the opening of spring it will Mr. Wanamaker draws erroneous condn
be different, however. Big projects which sions. No man in the countrv who was
have been delayed by the panic will now
be pushed as soon as the weather permits
I and before the first of April there is cer
tain to be a distinct improvement in com
mercial and industrial conditions.
Every Line Is Improving.
One of the commercial agencies calls
attention to the fact that there is a re
markable similarity between the course of
prices now and in the earlier months of
1S79, "when the most wonderful advance
In production and prices ever known in
this or any other country was close at
hand.' Ia that yesir consumption grada-
and is getting larger orders. The prices
-Pce-Ted are not high. Neither are the
wages which are paid. But there Is em
ployment for men who were idle last year.
The manufacturers of woolen goods have
increasing orders. Reports come from all
parts of the country that the retail dis
tribution of products is unusually large j
and increasing. At this moment the vol
ume of business transacted is larger than
in the prosperous year 1S92. Before many
weeks have elapsed the volume will be
very much larger. Chicago Tribune
(Rep.).
Mot Gratifying; Change.
The most gratifying change appearing
in financial circles Is the evidence of in
creasing commercial demand for loans.
The bank statement showed an ic cress .
in the loan item o $4,409,000. and tt is W
Iteved that most of this was made up ef
mercantile discounts, the inquiry for
TThlch last week was reported by the
banks as larger than for several months
previous. This must reflect larger busi
ness, but as yet the new discounting is
done more largely for concerns hsndfiing
goods than for mannfactureers dssiring
to make up new stock. Much of this mer
cantile demand for money comes frota the
country in the shap? of notes of business
concerns with the endorsement of interior
banks, and presumably much of this pa
per is made against imported goods which
New York has been carrying, but which
are now being distributed through the
country to those on whose orders they
were originally engaged. New York Com
mercial Bulletin (Dem.).
-ii&a
Basis for Csnfidence.
The general symptoms developed in
Wall street during the past week have
been the most hopeful features witnessed
for many months past. Without any spe
cial stimulus or speculative effort, there
has been a marked revival of buying oper
ations and, with few exceptions, an ad
vance in prices. Also, it Is a notable
symptom that several persons of emi
nence and directly in touch with the farm
ing interest and the larger industries have
simultaneously expressed their views on
the business outlook in unexpectedly hope
ful terms. Mr. Thomson, president of the
Pennsylvania Railroad; Mr. Gould of the
Missouri Pacific, Mr. Chauncey M. De-
pew and Mr. C. P. Huntington, who are
among the foremost representatives of the
railroad Interest in different sections of
the country, have uniformly expressed
sanguine expectations as to the general
i outcome of the harvest and the prospects
of business at largo. Similar estimates of
I tie drift of the crops and of business have
J len -made by Mr. Andrew Carnegie, Hon.
Roswen P. Flower and Mr. Hill, presi
dent of the Great Northern. Such a body
of opinion, coming from men possessing
the best source of knowledge as to condi
tions and movements, constitute a basis
for confidence which cannot be disregard
ed. Weekly Financial Review.
Improvement Will Sorely Continae.
Some stress is laid on Former Post
master General John Wanamaker's state
ment that "the country is not prosperous,"
and that "since the outset of tbe last pres
idential campaign the party press and po
litical leaders generally fixed rhe Novem
ber election of 1S96 as the date of Ae be
ginning of good times." And the state
ment follows that "thus far but one of tile
important issues of the campaign is near-
nr settlement and hardiv any improve-
at all conversant with the trend of busi
ness affairs thought for a moment that
good times could be made to come instant
aneously. Hut wltat did take place im
mediately on the election of Mr. McKin
ley was the immediate restoration of con
fidence and the return of vast numbers of
j workingmen to the avenues of labor and
trade. Urartuaiiy. out surely, business
has been growing better, and die country
only awaits tbe passage of the tariff bill to
settle down to a development of the manu
facturing resources of the country, which
will Ftimulste other
News (Ind.).
busTncss. Buffalo J
Enconracinc Revetations.
The investigations of the Bureau of La
bor of this State as to the industrial con
ditions in the three principal cities have
resulted in some very encouraging revela
tions. It appears that the tide of pros
perity for which every one has been so
long waiting has quietly been rising, in
spite of assertions to the contrary. The
investigations of the bureau, complete
only for Duluth, show that in that city
there is a net increase of 27 per cent in
the number of employes over the number
employed at practically the sums time
last year. So far as the investigations in
St. Paul and Minneapolis nave gone, k is
ctated tbe nercentaze of increase will be
fullr as ereat as iu Dulath. Such a ma- i
terial Increase is not only encouraging as I
showing an increased demand for manu- I
factum! articles, but it is an Indication J
of an increased demand for products of all
kinds, and more impcrttnt still, a certaia
promise that demand will continue to in
crease. Almost -very manufacturing in
dustry in the State has found it neces
sary to increase the number of operatives.
St. Paul Pioneer Press (Rep.).
Every Man Frcls It.
There Is not a progressive business man
in Kansas City who does not feel more
cheerful over present conditions ana fu
ture prospects than he has felt for atany
years. The great mnjor.ry recognise tSt
the movement towards retter rimes is wi:
under way, not by reason of Mr. McKin-
ley's election or because of the promise of J
a new tariff law. but becanse the natural
forces which control trade are moving in
that direction. There is everywhere a dis
position to hold on to property in place
of the inclination prevalent for several
years past to sell. The shrewdest money
makers in the country are seeking invest
ments. They are not liquidating. En
forced sales are at an end. Here and there,
in spots, business records are ahead of
any previous reports for years past. Bank
deposits are increasing because the net
profits of trade and industry are growing
and not because people are pulling idle
money out of hiding places and putting it
in banks. Kansas City Star (Ind.).
Improved Condition of Trade.
There is no doubt of a change for the
better; pessimists may doubt and parti
sans may swear, but the first wave of the
returning tide of prosperity is seen and
felt. The failures during May, 1S07. were
less in cumber than in any one of the
uuu. . u u. ,- UIV
twenty-one months immediately preced-
ing it; the cash responsibilities of the
nrms and persons failing were leas than
in any month since September, 1894. The
volume of business meaning the weight
in tons or measurement by yards of
goods sold in May, 1S97, was equal to
that in the phenomenal year 1S92. But
tbe volume in cash was far leas; we still
are in the era of ruinously low prices
that paradise of "cheap commodities for
the workmen" to which the Democrats In
vited us to enter, and into which, unfortu
nately, we did enter. And becanse the
prices of things that are sold are low the
wages of those that make them an low.
But there are not nearly so many idle men
in May, 1897. as in May, 1896. More
mills and factories are in operation now
than then. Th ilmami fm iho, ;
creases pereeptibly.-Chicago Inter Ocean
(Rep.).
.
Steady Gtvn in Business.
The gain in busiuess continues, not
without fluctuations, and at the best mod
erate, but yet distinct. It is still in quan
tities rather than prices, although in some
branches an advance In prices appears, bnt
on the whole the number of hands em
plowed, the volume of new orders and
the amount of work dene, are slowly in
creasing. Prospects of good crops cf
wheat and corn help; growing demand
from dealers, whose stocks gradually j
gaming consumption deplete also helps,
and in the money and exchange market
large buying of American securities has
an influence. Money coming hither from j
uie vt est even as late as June 10. with I
great crops near at hand, indicates it S
healthy condition at the Wzst. Indica
..
tions of tbe volume of business are seea
in clearing house exchanges, which for
the week exceed the last year's S.7 per
cent, and iu railroad earnings, which
amount in the United States aloae to
$34,70S,9S7 on roads reported by Dun's
Review for May. 3.3 per cent larger than
last year, and .3 per cent larger thaa in
1S92. Washington Post (Dem.).
Nearly tp to the Stand ird.
The volume of actual transactions is not
in value a tenth smaller than it was in
the years of the greatest prosperity ever
attained in the United States, &!ehocgh
the volume of payments now reprwscts
a much lower range of prices. This d?-
crease, whether a httle more or less. i
greatly to be resretted, but it is r.ot
paralysis. Whatever else mar be M
! reason said of the difficulties La the way
j of industrial recovery, it cannot be said
that busin
is paralywd when the eara-
iugs cf all railroads reported for May are
oniy .o per cent smaier man in the same
month
of 1S92. New York Tribune
(Rep.).'
Lnmber Men Euconr.iccl.
In the opinion of the lumber men, their
market is gradually and steadily getting
around to the point where profits can
once more be expected. SoIm are increas
ing at a rate which, though not rapM, is
nevertheless encouraging. Heary dealers
now see in the situation sualciest to jus
tify them in laying in liberal stocks, and
very targe transfers to them care recent
ly been made at leading mil! points. To a
parchnse of 32.000.000 feet, made In the
latter part of May. a large local yard man
added another purchase of 22,000,900
evtvlac Trade.
The change which has come over ths
face of things la the business world
unmistakable. The confidence for which,
everybody has been looking is here. It:
may lose its sharp edge by some unfore
seen event, but it is hardly to be expected?
that any serious check will now occur
It seems to be taken for granted that
there will be a tariff law on the statute
book within a few weeks. Perhaps a
month is too short a time to give the slow
going legislators of tbe Senate. The as
surance in regard to the tariff is the most
potent influence in giving more confidence,
but tbe good effects of Secretary Gage's
speeches have by no means worn off, eith
er in the United States or abroad. Satis
factory crop reports, increased railroad,
earnings and the statement of bank clear
ings, which, considering the fact that
one day of last week was a holiday, is fa
vorable, are among the subsidiary Influ
ences that are making for faith in the fu
tureBuffalo Express.
Prosperity at Han J
The time has come when to carp and"
cavil at the slowness with which pros
perity is returning to this country, after
the depression of the past three years,
has lack of truth added to that mean mal
ice which can rejoice in misfortune. Pros
perity is coming, and the slowness of its
approach only means its sureness and its
stability. There are signs on every hand
that President McKinley was right when
he said that the country is going not
backward, but forward, and that rhe
stesdy hands and hearts of the American
people are strengthened and encouraged?
by the immediate prospect of a revival
of wholesome and profitable activity in
ail branches of labor, trade and business.
Tbe taant of Populist Bryan that others
beside himself regret his rejection at the
polls Is as untrue as it is unpatriotic.
New York Mail and Express (Rep.).
Improving Steadlty.
Secretary Gage's conviction of the im
provement in business, expressed to the
Maryland bankers in Cumberland, has
had a good influence, and ha strength
ened the growing feeing chat a slow but
permanent improvement In pn-ading over
the country. His repetition r.t Cumber
land of his statement the week before in
Cincinnati, that the administration was
determined to secure a comprehensive and
permanent rectification of the currency,
and that he had assurances from members
of Congress that at the next session a bill
to that effect would be passed, has had a
very decided influence in Improving the
general tone and increasing confidence.
New York Journal of Commerce (Dem.).
Bn!s of Promise.
"There has been a decided improve
ment," writes a Washington correspond
ent, "in the financial situation since I
was last in New York. All classes in the
industrial and commercial world feel en
couraged over the outlook and expectancy
has replaced tae apprehension that had
become the habitual condition of the pub
lic mind for the last three years. The
people yon meet in the banks downtown
and visitors from other parts of the coun
try who gossip in th hotel rotundas all
tell the story that, whi! the era of pros
perity has not yet b-gun. the signs of its-
, penry nas not yet t.
! approach appear in
I most important bi
in every direction, tho
important being an almost univer
sal confidence that it ia almost here. There
is confidence in tbe President, confidence
that Congress will dispose of the tariff
biH speedily and that tb rates in the new
schedules will be conservative yet asiple
for the needs of the Government." Dun's
reports are encouraging to a degree; Brad
street's are less pessimistic and decidedly
more favorable, and the crop reports are
unusually encouraging. Grand Rapids
Herald (Rep.).
-Ji-
Prosperity Is at Hand.
Everything that is spparent points to
a rapid revival of prosperity this fall. We
: are promised abundant harvests, with bet
j ter prices than for tnauy years. If the
.farm g K; Vr5c? ,or Uw
:t will make a demand upon our manu-
facturers for their products. The wheels
of industry will revolve once more. There
will be work for the unemployed, and we
shall have that satisfactory condition for
which we have yearned so long. We are
not pessimists. We ar exceedingly hope
ful of the future. The speech of Presi
dent McKinley at the br.quet Wednes
day night was worthy she man and the oc
casion. Prosperity is at hand. Philadel
phia Inquirer (Rep.). , ,
Ponth Feels the Improvement.-
While the general business situation
is somewhat hampered by the uncertainty
attaching to the tariff bill, there are net
wanting signs that a gradual uuprov-
nient In trade is in progress. It u tm
that there is no disposition to be cnter-
.- . . i. ...
prjsicg, i;o 10 piu oui sew lines, un:ii
all uncertainties as to the future tariff
duties are removed; but, in spite of thii,
there is a fair movement for actual con
sumption in nearly all branches of indus
try. With a favorable crop outlook, there
is every reason to ezr"ct a good trade in
the entire county tributary to this sec
tion, especially as country merchants and
farmers are already ic a fairly prosperous
condition. Tbe merchants here have tak
en advantage of the rcceat dullnes- o
carefully study the problem whvh ha-
hitherto militated against trade, and it
is believed that many of the niot serious
difficulties have been overcome. Of
course, some mottths most yet elapse be
fore the crops are ready for market: b-it
the mere prospect of good creeps is ordinar
ily sufficient to create cosfidace and set
the wheels of conucerctr in motion. It is
therefore, conldentiy beHeved that an im
provement in business will be noted from
now on. New Oriaas Picayune (Dem.).
Large Hanllinc of Goods.
Bank clears last week ware light, but
little over $f0Oj00O.QOO ha tie Chronicle's
U.ble, in which on dy is estimated. But
the increase ovr (be coraspoi.djng week
of Ae previoc year was no lota, than 17
per cent, &nl ia comparison with earlier
and more prosperous years it lust be re
mensbered'tlm rkere has been such a de
cline in prices rest identical tprra would
indicate a very huge gaia to qaaadties.
The troth ir- tfcat in volume of merchan
dise candied th ecit.ai.t of bjviscse dou
now does swt coaipsjv unfavorably wit.i
the anioant don In food years, but at
tli?.s lower i-ricM psx5t3 are in2 and
sometimes dieapprsr entirely. "Financial
Chronicle (Decs ).
.)
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