Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1902 — COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL

New York. Voluntary increases in wages by some of the largest railway systems in the country bear eloquent testimony to the amount of business handled in the past and emphasize the confidence of officials in continued heavy traffic. Moreover, by this addition of large sums to the purchasing power of railway employes, there is assurance of a larger demand for all staple lines of merchandise. "Temporarily, sales of seasonable lines of wearing apparel are retarded by mild weather, but this loss will be fully made up when low temperature becomes general. Preparations for holiday trade are on an unprecedented scale, especially at Interior points.” R. G. Dun & Co.’s Weekly Review of Trade makes the foregoing summary of the industrial situation. Continuing, the review says: There is no relief as to the congestion of railway traffic nor any immediate prospect of fire movements at the points of most serious blockade. £oal freight is steadily gaining and all railway carnings thus far reported for November exceed last year’s by 50 per cent and those of 1900 by 15.9 per cent Orders are now coming forward for iron and steel products that have been held back many months in expectation of an easier market. Instead of making concessions, however, producers ask premiums for early delivery and hesitate to accept contracts where materail and fuel are not in sight. No relief is reported as to the movement of coke nor is any anticipated for some time to come. In fact, one authority suggests that the stiuation will not. be normal before April. Imports relieve some departments of the industry. Failures for the week numbered 260 in the United States, agninst 218 last year, and 24 in Canada, compared with 31 a year ago.

~ The congestion of freight ulliGdOO. at principal industrial a * points throughout the country has reached a stage more serious than ever before. A year ago at this time there was a car famine, and loud complaints were heard of the quantities of merchandise piled at commercial centers awaiting opportunity for forwarding. The roads meanwhile have increased their rolling stock by the addition of many thousands of pieces but the expenditure has gone more into increased carrying capacity than to increase in motive power, with the result tho£ even in Chicago and the West there is complaint, while in the East, where the situation is critical, there are miles of cars bearing some proportion of perishable goods, that the roads are unable to move '-ff prorap-t ly. In the Northwest the complaint is still heard of weather unseasonably mild. Some lines of fall and early winter merchandise *are dragging a little in consequence. There is just a trace of holiday buying, and in the staple lines merchants report the demand running even more than ever to the choicest articles. Manufacturers have had to contend with advances in raw material in a number of lines. Hardware men have experienced a slight decline in demand for material entering into the construction of buildings or is natural at this time. The iron situation remains very strong. The wheat market presents much the same features. Statistics have changed. The visible supply is larger, stocks in Minneapolis are somewhat larger, and receipts at primary points have been showing some increases, yet as the figures bear upon the situation they nre fully ns favorable to price maintenance considering that we are now in December. Were it purely a mlitter of statistical influence the position of wheat would not be hard to define, but recently the manipulative influences of Armour and other large operators have been felt and the trade is inclined to watch the moves with the greatest interest for the present. Meanwhile the Minneapolis mills are com Burning a great quantity of wheat, tVe sennoard is close to .O'free export bnjsis, and Duluth is selling wheat to go abroad from time to time.

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