Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 September 1899 — BUSINESS SITUATION. [ARTICLE]

BUSINESS SITUATION.

Chicago Correspondence: The developments of the last week have all been in the direction of improvement. Reports of railroad earnings have shown further gains, the bank clearings are again well ahead of those for the corresponding week last year and from every section comes the news of steadily increasing activity iu trade and manufacturing lines. Prices are being well maintained for the reason that the production, groat as it has been in the last few months, is still considerably below the demand. Collections are uniformly reported to be good and wholesalers say that the proportion of each transaction is showing a gratifying increase. In the security markets there has been some uneasiness shown with regard to the Transvaal situation and money rates have also shown a tendency to harden. The result of this has been that during the latter part of the week prices for stocks showed a considerable decline. On all the recessions,- however, good buying has made its appearance in the standard stocks. Trading sentiment at the moment is somewhat mixed, but the best opinion is that as soon as money again eases up the stock market will again develop into a bull affair. Meantime, it is expected to eontinue to have two sides, with fluctuations covering a range of two or three points. Business on the Board of Trade suffered to some extent from the state of the weather. The volume of speculative transactions was thereby curtailed, and the lack of activity gave to the markets au appearance of weakness which was more apparent than real. Holders of wheat had to battle with increasing receipts, hut were sustained in their efforts by the liberal outflow' toward foreign ports nnd the fact that, notwithstanding almost daily claims of no demand from abroad, the weekly shipments from this country to Europe exceeded by about 40 per cent the combined efforts of nil the other exporting countries of the world. Corn closed Saturday without any appreciible change in price from that ruling at the close of the previous week. Reports from the country very generally claimed damage more or less from the extremely dry, hot weather, but the speeulative appreciation of the amount of injury is displayed in the immobility of the grain’s value, notwithstanding the excellence of the shipping demand. It is true that freight rates are hardening, nnd that would have a natural tendency to depress prices west, but they could not me kept down on that account if there w'as any doubt of a large crop being practically assured, although it may not be so overwhelmingly heavy ns promised two weeks ago. The dry term has come to an end, and farm work in preparation for another season. temporarily suspended by the lack of moisture, can now be resumed, so that the flourishing condition of things agricultural cont nues in undiminished degree.