Newspapers / The Gazette [1891-1898] (Raleigh, … / July 17, 1897, edition 1 / Page 3
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BUSINESS STILL MWII. feet within a few days. Three other large transfers, ranging from 10,000,000 to 12,-i 000,000 feet each, have also recently been completed. Prices are now firm, in Strang contrast to the demoralization that pre-. vailed a few weeks ago. Chicago Times- Herald Ond.). Fresh Evidences of This Come from Every Part of the Country. 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 the 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 Brightens Either because the business men have taken heart from the comforting assur ances of Secretary Gage and the reason able certainty that a new tariff law will be in force within a few weeks, or be cause 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 taking place. There are indus tries which have not revived as yet, but their turn wiTl'come. There are some which always' Jag behind in the proces sion. Chicago Tribune (Rep.). Good Signs. That business is getting betteT Is evi dent from many signs. The financial re views and commercial agencies publish reports 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 $138,149,612 more than the cir culation cue year ago, the total amount In circulation last Saturday being $1, 659,733,895. 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.). Slow but Rare. A slow but steady gain in business with an advauce 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. , Sllverltes Are Dumb, "Prices cannot rise so long 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 in 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 Star (Rep.). Faith In Looking Up. ' According to Dun & Co., the business conditions are gradually shaping them selves about the same as they were in 1879, just previous to a remarkable ad vance in business prosperity. This view may be of the roseate order, but it is based on facts 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 in 1892 the year of greatest prosperity yet such is the verdict 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 in that kind of business. Last month's record of busi ness failures is decidedly encouraging, showing, as it does, a large decrease in comparison with previous and correspond ing months. Detroit Journal (Rep.). Siena of Cheer. The business sentiment is undoubtedly stronger. 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 hon est money and sound finance rang out loud and clear 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. Business 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.). Better Times In 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 increasing 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. 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 in the Senate, with the pros pect of an adjournment of Congress some time in July, together with the optimistic speeches of Secretary Gage, in which he gave the country assurance of ultimate relief fron certain admitted defects in our financial system, 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 his Secretary of the Treasury had a marked influence on trade conditions was evidenced by the increased foreign de mand for American securities. Chicago limes-LleraJd (Ind.). Business Situation Better. There is no longer room for question on the proposition that conditions in the world of business have improved. While there may still be found isolated cases where the 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 sentiment in their recent notable utter ances. 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 in a measure led the way to a practical demonstration of reviv ed confidence. The enhanced value of all securities quoted on the Stock Exchange is but a barometrical indication of this altered condition. Reports as shown by railroad earnings still bear witness to the growing increase of trade. Individual lines of business, too, almost without ex ception, acknowledge the same state of affairs. Not only is this manifest in the larger manufacturing industries, such as clothing, hardware and boots and shoes. but the more limited branches dependent entirely on the general prosperity of the commercial world report a gratifying in crease in the volume of 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 croo prospect. President Hill of the Great Northern is quoted as predicting that the wheat fields contributory to his lines will furnish 90,000.000 bushels of grain this season for transportation, and the man agers of other lines contribute equally favorable information. The jobbers sav that the supply of manufactured goods which may be counted among the neces saries of life generally exhausted throughout the country, and that the peo ple must buy and the mills must resume operation to meet the demand, which will bring into circulation the millions of dol lars that have been hoarded through the hard times. It wouM be well if all peo ple, everywhere, would imitate the cheer ful and optimistic tone of the President and the members of his 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 111 THE THE Interior Department Building, a view of which is presented herewith, is one of the interesting and 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 one of the moat unique museums of museum-filled 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 large white marble structure, covering two entire squares, extending from Seventh to Ninth streets and from F to G streets. While 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 asto 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. Bliss, and adjoining this the offices of the assistant secretaries and others of the Secretary's personal staff. The northern front is occupied by the officials of the Patent Office, and at the northwest corner is the office of the Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Benjamin Butterworth. Stretching down the western end of the building are the offices of the Division of Public Lands, and in the southeast corner are the rooms of the Commis sioner of the General Land Office, Hon. Binger nerrman, formerly, member of Congress from Oregon. These are afways busy rooms, for there is from morning till night a flow of members of Congress, attorneys and others passing in and out. 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 tlms 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 facors of the situation. Minneapolis Tribune (Rep.). The Brightening Ontlook. 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 be neces sar 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 out its results and vindicate itself before being put to the 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 is a good thing for the merchant, the man ufacturer, the farmer and the wage earn er. Boston Journal (Rep.). Unmistakable Siorntu There are unmistakable signs of a re turn 'of prosperity in the iron and steel manufacturing centers of the country, in the opinion of the Cleveland Leader. All around Pittsburg there has been a re sumption of work in most of the mills and factories, and the same reports come from the industrial cities of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. There was a re vival just after the election in November, due in the main to a restoration of confi dence, but the people 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, would be undertaken at the beginning of winter. With the opening of spring it will be different, however. Big projects which have been delayed by the panic will now be pushed as soon as the weather permits 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 1879, "when the most wonderful advance in production and prices ever known in this or any other country was close at hand." In that year consumption gradu ally gained, month by month, until sud denly the demand outran the supply. The iron industry is expanding its production and is getting larger orders. The prices received 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 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.). Most 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 increase in the loan item of $4,409,000, and it is be lieved that most of this was made up of mercantile discounts, the inquiry for Which last week was reported by the banks as larger than foT several months previous. This must reflect larger busi ness, but as yet the new discounting is done more largely for concerns handling goods than for manuf actureers desiring to make up new stock. Much of this mer cantile demand for money comes from the country in the shape 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 INTERIOR DEPARTMENT. are now being distributed through the country to those on. whose orders they were originally engaged. New York Com mercial Bulletin (Dem.). Basis for Confidence. 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 outcome of .the harvest and the prospects of business at large. Similar estimates of the drift of the crops and of business have been made by Mr. Andrew Carnegie, Hon. Koswell 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 Barely Continue. 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 the last pres idential campaign the party press and po litical leaders generally fixed the Novem ber election of 1896 as the date of the be ginning of good times." And the state ment follows that "thus far but one of the important issues of the campaign is near ing settlement and hardly any improve ment of the wretched times is manifest." Mr. Wanamaker draws erroneous conclu sions. No man in the country who was at all conversant with the trend of busi ness affairs thought for a moment that good times could be made to come instant aneously. But what 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 workingmen to the avenues of labor and trade. Gradually, but surely, business has been growing better, and the country only awaits the passage of the tariff bill to settle down to a development of the manu facturing resources of the country, which will stimulate other business. Buffalo News (Ind.). Encouraging Revelations. 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 Jtmreau, 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 same time last year. So far as the investigations in St. Paul and Minneapolis have gone, it is stated the percentage of increase will be fully as great as in Duluth. Such a ma terial increase is not only encouraging as showing an increased demand for manu factured articles, but it is an indication of an increased demand for products of all kinds, and- more important still, a certain promise that demand will continue to in crease. Almost every manufacturing in dustry in the State has found it neces sary to increase the number of operatives. St. Paul Pioneer Press (Rep.). , Every Man Feels It. . There is not a progressive business man in Kansas City who does not feel more cheerful over present conditions and fu ture prospects than he haa felt for many years. . The great majority recognize that the movement towards better times is well under way, not by reason of Mr. McKin ley's election or because of the promise of a new tariff law, but because the natural forces which, control trade are moving in that direction. There is everywhere a dis position to h,old 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, 1S97, were less in number than la any one of the twenty-one months immediately preced ing it; the cash responsibilities of the firms and persons failing were less than in any month since September, 1894. The voiume or Dusiness meaning the weight in tons or measurement by yards of goods sold in May, 1897, was equal to that in the phenomenal year 1892. But the volume in cash was far less; 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 because the prices of things that are sold are low the wages of those that make them are low. But there are not nearly so many Idle men in May, 1897, as in May, 1S96. More mills and factories are in operation now than then. The demand for labor in creases perceptibly. Chicago Inter Ocean (Rep.). Steady Gnln in Business. The gain in business 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, but on the whole the number of hands em plowed, the volu me of new orders and the amount of work done, are s!owly In creasing. Prospects of good crops of wheat and corn help; growing demand from dealers, whose stocks gradually gaining consumption deplete also helps, and in the money and exchange market large buying of American securities has an influence. Money coming hither from the West even as late as June 10, with great crops near at hand, indicates a healthy condition at the West. Indica tions of the volume of bu in clearing house exchanges, r liich for tne week exceed the last year's 8.7 per cent, and in railroad earning:?, which amount in the United Statea nln $34,708,9S7 on roads reported by Dun's iveview for May, 6.6 per cent larger than last year, and .3 per cent larger than in 1S92. Washington Post (Dem.). Nearly Up to the Standard. 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, although the volume of payments now represent a much lower range of prices. This de crease, whether a little more or less, is greatly to be regretted, but it is 'not paralysis. Whatever else may be with reason said of the difficulties in the way of industrial recovery, it cannot be said that business is paralyzed when the earn ings of all railroads reported for May are only 2.3 per cent smaller than in the same month of 1S92. New York Tribune (Rep.). Lumber Men Encouraged. 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. Sales are increas ing at a rate which, though not rapid. Is nevertheless encouraging. Heavy dealers now see in the situation sufficient to jus tify them in laying In liberal stocks, and very large transfers to them have recent ly been made at leading mill points. To a purchase of 32,000,000 feet, made in the latter part of May, a large local yard man added another purchase of 22,000,000 Reviving Trade. - The change which has come over ths; face of things in the business world is! unmistakable. The confidence for which) everybody has been looking is here. It may Jose 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 thatj 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-j going legislators of the Senate. The as surance in regard to the tariff is the most; potent influence in giving more confidence,) but the good effects of Secretary Gage's speeches have by no means worn off, eith-j 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 lnflu-: ences that are making for faith in the fu ture. Buffalo Express. Prosperity at Hsnd. The time has come when to earn 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 sdtfod to that monn mal- ice which can rejoice in misfortune. Pros perity is coming, and the slowness of its approaca only means Its sureness and its stability. There arr i that President McKinley was right when he said that the country is going not backward, but forward, and that the Steady hands and hearta of the American people are strengthened and encouraged by the immediate prospect of a revival of wliolesome and pr6fitable activity In all branches of labor, trade and business. The taunt of Populist Bryan that others Deside liimself regret his rejection at the polls is as untrue as it is unpatriotic xview xorlt Mail and Express (Rep.). Improving Steadily. Secretary Gage's conviction of the Im provement In business, expressed to the Maryland bankers in Cumberland, has had a good influence, and has strength ened the growing feeling that a slow but' permanent Improvement is spreading over the country. His repetition at Cumber land of Lis 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. x - -. . . iew iorn journal of Commerce IDem.). Bnds of Promise. "There has been a decided improve ment," writes a Washington correspond-1 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 the apprehension that had become the habitual condition of the pub lic mind for the last three years. The people you meet in the banks downtown1 and visitors from other parts of the coun-j try who gossip in the hotel rotundas all tell the story that, while the era of pros perity has not yet begun, the signs of Its approach appear in every direction, the most important being nn almost univer sal confidence that it is almost here. There is confidence in the President, confidence, mat Vongress wm cispose or tne tariff bill speedily and that the rates In the new! schedules will be conservative vet smnl for the needs of the Government." Dun's reports are encouraging to a degree; Brad-1, street's are less pessimistic and decidedly more favorable, and the crop reports are unusually encouraging. Grand Rapids LleraJd (Rep.). Prosperity Is at ITand. Everything that is apparent points to a rapid revival of prosperity this fall. We are promised abundant harvests, with bet ter prices' than for many years. If the farmers get good prices for large crops it 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 are exceedingly hope ful of the future. Thepeech of Presi dent McKinley at the banquet Wednes day night was worthy the man and the oc casion. Prosperity is at hand. Philadel phia Inquirer (Rep.). Booth Feels the Improvement. While the general business situation is somewhat hampered by the uncertainty attaching to the tariff bill, there ore not wanting signs that a gradual improve ment in trade is in progress. It is true that there is no disposition to to enter prising, r.or to put out new lines, until all uncertainties as to the future tariff duties are removed; but, in spite of lliis, 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 expect a good trade in the entire county tributary to this sec tion, especially as country merchants and farmers are already In a fairly prosperous condition. The merchants here have tak en advantage of the recent dullness to carefully study the problems which have hitherto militated against trade, and it is believed that many of the most serious difficulties have been overcome. Of course, some months must yet elapse be fore the crops are ready for market: but the mere prospect of good crops is ordinar ily sufficient to create confidence and set the wheels of commerce in motion. It is therefore, confidently believed that an im provement in business will be noted from now on. New Orleans Picayune (Dem.). Larso Handling of Goods. Bank clearings last week were light, but little over $900,000,000 in the Chronicle's table, in which one day is estimated. But the increase over the corresponding week of the previous year was no less than 17 per cent, and in comparison with earlier and more prosperous years it must be re membered that there has been such a de cline in prices that identical figures would indicate a very large gain in quantities. The truth is that in volume of merchan dise handled the amount of business done now does not compare unfavorably with the amount done in good years, but at these lower prices profits are small and sometimes disappear entirely. Financial Chronicle (Dem.). i
The Gazette [1891-1898] (Raleigh, N.C.)
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July 17, 1897, edition 1
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