The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1883-04-12
,Itu,,s

Mr.. d. g. Robbins. n member Of the New
YORK chamber OF commerce. has lust pre-.
pared an important review Of The drug
trade for 1889. Mr.. Robbins states. "The
drug trade Tor the year / 49,, rs compared
with previous years, presents some remark.
able features. The trade for 1880, IL has
been said, shared In the enormous devel-
opment OF business which hogan in 1878,
when the depression OF 1873 terminated.
Specie payments were established In Janu-
AIRY, 1879, and our imports which had only
| gained in the previous four years less than
| 10 per centum, suddenly rose in the sue.
ceedlng year Of 1880 from $50 5000, 600, to
$4S,OOO,0 600. This unprecedented increase
overstocked the market and the imports
OF the succeeding year of 1881 decreased
$2Gl 900. The trade OF 1881 has been de-
clared to have been more active than pros
porous, as, while transactions
in this year were large
and business was active, our commercial
agencies reported that more failures, in pro-
portion, occurred in the drug and chemical
trade than in any other branch of business.
This trade comprises two distinct classes of
| goods, which are properly called technical
and medicinal, the former term relating to
those commodities which are chiefly or
wholly used in the arts, and the latter in
medication. The demand for technical
goods always varies with the more or less
prosperous condition Of manufacturing in
dustry, while the consumption of medici-
I nal products from year to year varies but
| little; hence the medicinal drug market is
easily overstocked, The trade also includes
three principal functions, which are called
importing manufacturing and distributing.
In 1881 manufacturing industry, without
doubt, yielded profitable results, as this
branch depends mainly for profit upon the
relation which raw materials bear to the
manufactured product; while importing
was not prosperous and distributing only
fairy so, because of excessive competition
and increased expenses in business methods.
The import trade has never fully recovered
! from the excessive importations of 1880. IT
was hoped that the reaction from the over
stocked market, which began in the sue
ceedlng year of 1881, when our imports
slightly declined, would continue; but our
government statistics show that our i'm
ports through the past year have increased
from S47 pa to $52,SS9, S3S an increase
OF over 50, 100000, or more than 10 per cent.
in single year, when the natural gain
should be about } per cent, or in accord
with the progress Of population. Without
doubt, the market of to-day is largely over
stocked with technical as well as medicinal
goods: A very great decline may be no
ticed in technical drugs and chemicals, and
a general reaction in manufacturing pros
perity Is considered to be inevitable in the
future. This state OF things has been
aggravated by the unsettled condition OF
the tariff policy; and it can only be said
that the prospect for the coming year is not
as encouraging in any direction as could be
wished. The legitimate commerce of the
country, however, may be said to be at the
present time in sound condition, and the
retail trade during all these events has been
fairly prosperous, as this last class of deal
ers are usually more benefited than injured
by decline in goods. The most note
worthy fact in the increase in the sum Of
imports is the gain in the Importation of
free as compared with dutiable goods, all
the increase being in free goods. We i'm
ported in 1852 1874 ,033, SIG in free goods,
against S2S, 2S592l III the year previous,
while in dutiable goods there was slight
decrease, as we imported of dutiabe goods
in 1881 Sl9, ,293, against SIS, S45,9g2 in
1882. Our American market apparently is
becoming more and more the RECEPTACLE
for any surplus of goods which may occur
in Europe; and in the future, ask the free
list enlarges and protective duties hre low
cred, this element should receive at the
hands Of the merchant more consideration
| than il hasn f-f