The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-02-23
THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.

THE BUSINESS OUTLOOK.
What Leading Mercantile Agency has Il
Say About 1t.
A review Of the general condition ano
outlook for the trade is sketched by the
circular of the commercial agency o1
Dun, Barlow & Co., which we hope vii
be of interest to our readers, containing
as it does some important. facts and
practical suggestions: p ~
No general expression will entirely
photograph the condition Of business al
the close OF the year. While depres'
sion, lack of profit, and want of conf
dence prevail in many quarters, espe-
cialiy in the Eastern section of the coun-
try, there has been considerable &C.
tivity, o large absorption Of goods, and
increased purchasing and debt-payiDg
power in the West and portions Of the
South. The. amount Of money realized
by producers since the first Of August in
all these latter sections, fol. cotton, to:
bacco, grain and pork, etc., is estimated
at over &25O, 900, ,0O0-a sum equivalent
to two-thirds of the entire issues of oil
the national banks of the country. Tho
circulation OF 80 large an amount of cur
rency in these locations has rendered
fairly active the jobbing and retail
trades in many quarters. Stocks OF
merchandise have thus been moved, and
manufacturers of staples have been kept
partially, if not fully, employed. This
favorable feature in the general retro
spect is undoubted, and is likely to be
still further augmented, for, though the
deliveries Of agricultural products have
been LIBERAL yet there remains to be re-
allied fully two-thirds Of the wealth gar
nered during the summer and autumn.
Aside, however, from the sectional i'm
provement thus noticed, the general re-
suits of the year have not been satisfac-
tory. The number of those actively en-
gagged in trade who have added to their
surplus are exceptionally few; those who
have held their own are not numerous,
while a larger number than both OF these
combined would have to admit shrink
age, if their assets were valued at re-
aizable figures. There is, however, one
consideration which has been very ap,
parent in the year just closed, and from
which some comfort may be derived
namely, that the active surplus or capi.
tai employed in the mercantile trade OF
the country hos been shown to be in
larger proportion to the extent OF bust
ness done, and to the amount of existing
liabilities, than at any time in our pre-
vious history, and is, we believe, in e1-
cess of that Of any other country in the
world having proportionate extent OF
internal trade. That this is the case is
made obvious by the absence of any
thing like general disaster among the
traders in numerous branches, notwith-
standing they have suffered intensely for
80 long time from the depression and
inertia of the period. -, e.: =.
It il true that the failures Of the
year are numerous, important, and, in
many cases, significant but they have
been confined to no distinctive trades /;
they bear very small proportion to the
number in each branch Of business and
above all, in many cases some circum-
stances are noticeable, involving depar-
ture from legitimate business principles,
which would result, soor sr or later, in
ruin, even in the best of t mes. Failures
resulting from individual indiscretions
in business, and fraudulent attempts to
make money! by compromising when legi-
innate business is dull, should not be re-
garded rs indications OF o want of capi
tai in trade generally, nor lack Of
ability to stand the pressure of the times.
long continued and severe though the
strain may be. Indeed, considering oil
the circumstances of the past two years,
and all that has occurred to depress
values, destroy confidence, and gener-
ally to ep1barrass business operations,
the failures in many leading Zines have
been astonishingIy few, indicating pre-.
vious accumulations Of capital, limited
internal Indebtedness, and sonnder
condition of things generally than it was
supposed could exist after all the waste
of war, excessive taxation, q vastly in
creased currency, and the necessary e1-
pansion which followed. So that,
though the year has resulted very rarely
in profit, and much more frequently in
loss, there is much in its history to en-
courage confidence in the ability OF the
rank and file of the commercial COM
munity to await for better times.
-. There seems no nearer approach to q
solution of the difficulties under which
trade is suffering tl.au ct this time last
year. The pressure of the period, in
stead OF being relieved, appears to be
augmented. The inspiriting national
event of the centennial year will, it is
believed, for a time infuse considerable
activity in some localities. A great in
hux Of visitors from abroad, and the ne
cessary circulation of money which ls
implied in the movement Of. large num-
bers of our own population, can hardly
fail to vitalize some dropping interests.
This temporary impulse may be! taken
advantage of in the progress toward
prosperity, but the hopes Of a future
sound business superstructure must rest
on the basis of honest thrift and econo-
nv, less fixed and more floating capital,
and closer adjustment of values to a
reduced cost of production. Prudence
in extent of trade, reduction OF living
and business expenses, lessened indebt-
edness, and close scrutiny Of credits, are
the clements that will most help to re-
store confidence, and beget return to q
condition of business in which money
can be made, the resources Of the coun-
try developed, and success achieved.
The Lobbyist Of the Season.
The Washington correspondent OF the