Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 August 1902 — COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL

r~ Each day brings the agrlNPW Yritk cultural products of the na—Jtiffn nearer maturity, and as the possibility of any serious injury becomes smaller the feeling of confidence in fully sustained trade grows strong r. Storms destroyed much property in some sections, and the prompt restoration of structures has added to the activity of building trades. Railway stocks rose to new higii record quotations and gold was exported, yet money ruled easy. July oats succeeded corn as the leading speculative cereal, but all distant grain options tended lower as the outlook improved. The heavy distribution of merchandise is shown by railway earnings thus tar reported for July 25 per cent larger than last year and 20 per cent in excess of the corresponding period of 1900. R. G. Dun & Co’s weekly review thus sums up the trade outlook and continu - ing, says: Insufficient fuel is the one serious difficulty in the iron and steel industry, interruptions and delays from this cause becoming more noticeable each day. Supplies of coal are curtailed by the strike, although coke ovens are making new records of production. Shipments are retarded by the car and motive power shortage. In a market where 'there is comparative dullness because deliveries cannot be made promptly, the outlook for long continued activity seems favorable, especially as scarcity Of fuel cannot continue a factor indefinitely. All forms of pig iron have sold ahead, and there is no evidence of over production, in the near future at least. Billets are still somewhat unsettled by heavy importations, yet domestic prices are steady and further foreign arrivals are expected. ~ The Northwest is just IfllCdQO. about entering upon what —— may be called the nervous period of the year. The time is close at hand when the growing wheat will have reached the most delicate stage, and the weather attendant upon the process of maturity through the critical period following may make or unmake the crop. From every corner of the Northwest comes good news, and from every point of view the present outlook is highly encouraging. Grain men, whose business it is to anticipate, and who habitually scan the horizon for a speck to denote the rise of an adverse factor, are unable to discern the faintest indication of anything in the least disturbing. Hot winds, always a possibility through the milk period, could do great damage to the crop. There is no more reason, however, to expect them now than in any other year. One of the most conservative financiers in the country said: “If the corn crop fulfills its promise, this fall will see the advent of the most remarkable era of commercial prosperity America has ever experienced.” Without a doubt a bumper corn crop will bring this about, for if the granger roads made money with a corn failure last season, a heavy yield this year should enable them to show the largest earnings in their history. All other roads will share in this to some extent, and the people will be benefited by the continuation of general prosperity. The country at large presents a view not materially changexl from the previous week. The same activity is noted in the leading lines, the same hopefulness and continued talk of the good fall business that is to come. The fruit season is now at its height. Produce prices in general are high, considering that there is a sufficiency in the supply centers, but the people are consuming largely and are paying for the best. Cotton, nearly all hog products and the cereals are lower. An exception is found in cereals for July delivery in which the scarcity of supply and bull manipulations forced prices to really phenomenal points. At 72 cents, July oats were higher than corn, and higher than at any time since the Civil War.