Ai'Rii. i, iy°4-] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



255 



THE TEXTILE GOODS MARKET. 



SINCE the last issue of The India Rubber World the 

 staple cotton market has been the center of more atten- 

 tion, perhaps, than at any time since the civil war, because of 

 the collapse of the " bull " cotton firm of Daniel J. Sully & Co. 

 (New York) on March 18. That day saw prices on spot cotr 

 ton in New York and New Orleans ruling strong ; the quota- 

 tion here that remained unchanged was 15 cents. The futures 

 in this market for the active months stood above 15 cents. 

 May being 15.22 cents. Trading from the opening was steady, 

 and it was not until the middle of the afternoon of that day 

 that the "bulls" saw that their Black Friday had come. At 2 

 p. m. the superintendent of the Cotton Exchange announced 

 the suspension of D. J. Sully & Co. 



The " bears " then began their assault upon the market, but 

 the break that followed did not drop to a lower level by what 

 is properly termed a " decline," but dropped off precipitately 

 from 200 to 250 points on the active futures, and on all futures 

 the decrease in values was material. Sully & Co. at the time 

 held 300,000 bales of cotton, the depreciation of values to the 

 firm representing a loss of about $3,000,000. The failure of 

 Sully & Co., while unexpected to the public in general, was 

 looked for by a few of those on the " inside," but it had the ef- 

 fect of clarifying the staple market as nothing else at that time 

 possibly could. The suspension was not forced by the fact 

 that cotton was worth less than 16 to 17 cents a pound. It 

 was brought about by the refusal of the purchasing public to 

 take the raw material and finished product fast enough to 

 equalize the supply and demand. This deduction is clearly 

 borne out by the fact that instead of dropping back to 1 2 cents, 

 which price has been considered by many to be the true value 

 of cotton, the actual spot market reacted about 2 cents per 

 pound, and to-day it is quoted at about 15 cents in the local 

 market, with offers not heavy at this price. 



It can thus be stated with safety that cotton can be sold 

 freely in large quantities at this figure, showing that the failure 

 of Mr. Sully has clarified the atmosphere on at least one im- 

 portant point — i. e„ the value of cotton at the moment. If it is 

 worth in spot 14^ to 15 cents, its value will naturally increase 

 from now until the conditions of the new crop are somewhat in 

 evidence. The failure of this "bull" firm has not added a 

 single bale of cotton to the visible supply, and it will be well 

 for the consumers of manufactured stock to realize this fact. 



The trend of the goods market has not changed materially 

 since last writing, notwithstanding there has been so much in- 

 terest and excitement in the staple division. Cotton duck, such 

 as is used by the mechanical rubber manufacturers, is selling at 

 26 cents per pound, the same as a month ago. Rubber concerns 

 who were fortunate enough to place their contracts last fall for 

 their year's supply at from i7j£ to 20 cents, are now making 

 their requisitions for the goods, and the duck mills have been 

 delivering as promptly as possible. These mills had their cot- 

 ton purchased early in the season, and have not been compelled 

 to replenish, except in special cases. It is said that the one 

 corporation still has about 50,000 bales on hand, which is about 

 one-third of its entire consumption. The mills are not com- 

 pelled to run at full capacity, and are curtailing their consump- 

 tion so as to make it carry them through until the new crop 

 materializes. It is hardly possible that the price of duck will 

 advance further, as it is not thought, that the mills will have to 

 pay more for new crop cotton than they have been paying. 



As they are situated to-day, it is safe to say that they will 

 not spin " futures," and rather than allow stocks to accumu- 

 late they will stop their looms. 



Not since last June have they been compelled to make up 

 stock, until the present time, and there is not much likelihood 

 that the market will be allowed to carry much spot duck. 



There has been a steady, although comparatively light de- 

 mand for sheetings from the manufacturers of boots and shoes, 

 at ruling prices, which have not materially changed since last 

 reports. They have bought only such quantities as they have 

 required from time to time, making no effort to provide for the 

 future. They believe that prices are as high as they are likely 

 to go, and by waiting they will be in a position to avail them- 

 selves of lower rates in case the market eases off. Felts have 

 been in slow demand, although manufacturers report having 

 had a good year taking it as a whole. The high value of wools 

 has been reflected in the prices asked for felts, and there is 

 nothing at present that warrants the belief that prices are going 

 to be any cheaper for some time to come. Raw materials of 

 every class are higher than for many years, and manufacturers of 

 felt and knit boots do not look for lower prices soon. The yarns 

 used in these boots are spun from carpet wools, which have not 

 been so scarce and high for many years, and the recent addi- 

 tion of an extra duty has added to the cost of importing 

 them. The present Russo-Japanese war is having the effect to 

 check exports of wool from the Russian empire, and other 

 Oriental countries. These wools have advanced during the 

 past year from 20 to 50 per cent, per pound, with few offer- 

 ings now. The gradual development of sources which require 

 these wools threaten to create a great scarcity of the material 

 even under normal conditions. 



Following are the prices of middling upland spot cotton at 

 the leading selling ports on the different dates mentioned : 



New York. New Orleans. Liverpool. 



March 5 16.25 cents. i5}s cents. 8.32a'. 



March 12 16.65 cents. I0 cents. 8.70a". 



March 19 14. 50 cents. 14% cents. 7-74a". 



March 26 15 30 cents. 15 Js cents. 8.08a". 



The range of prices on the various lines of cottons used by 

 the rubber trade will be found below, having been quoted up 

 to date : 



PRICES CURRENT FOR SHEETINGS FOR THE RUBBER TRADE. 



36" Household Favorite (>% cents. 



40" Household Favorite 7 cents. 



36" Henrietta, L.L 6 cents. 



39" Henrietta. H (net) i% cents. 



38J' Henrietta, S (net) 5^ cents. 



40" Henrietta, P. W 7}£ cents. 



36" Florence C A% cents. 



40' Majestic C. C (net) %% cents. 



40" Majestic B. B. B '.' 8 cents. 



40" Majestic B. B " 7*>£ cents. 



40" Norwood ' 6 K cents. 



36' India, A. A. A " l\£ cents. 



Sheetings. 40' Selkirk. . . . i'/ic. 40' Shamrock. . 10 c. 



40" Highgate . . . 63/c. 40' Sellew S*^c. Ducks. 



40' Hightown. ..7 c. 48" Mohawk 11 c. 40' 701. Cran- 



40" Hobart 7j^c. 40" Marcus. .. 6%c. ford. ...10 c. 



40" Kingstons. ..S c. 40" Mallory 6 c. 40' 8oz. Chart- 



39* Stonyhurst...6 c. 36 " Capstans 4j£c. res ioj^c. 



39' Sorosis 5i(c. Osnaburgs. 40' looz.Carew.i3}£c. 



40' Seefeld 9^c. 40' Iroquois. ...10 c. 40' 11 oz.Carita.15 c. 



On March 8 the program of the meeting of the Com- 

 mercial Club of Kansas City, Missouri, included an address on 

 " Rubber From a Historical, Histological, Botanical and Com- 

 mercial Standpoint," by L. D. Havenhill, member of the Kan- 

 sas City section of the American Chemical Society. 



At a meeting of the New England section of the Ameri- 

 can Institute of Electrical Engineers, at Boston, on March 2, 

 an illustrated lecture was delivered by Mr. H. A. Morss, of the 

 Simplex Electric Co., on " The Manufacture of Insulated Wires 

 and Cables." 



