The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-01-07
THE SOUTH IN 1891.
A YEARS PROGRESS III COMMERCE,
INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE.
A General Outline Of What the Southerr
states Have Accomplished During
the Past year in All Branches
of Trade.

inc Illdnclal, commercial, aSflCultuf.l
and industrial interests of this cOm-
try have ever been called upon %
pass. The great financial crisis re-
sulting from the Barring collapse in
November, 1890, overshadowed every
this at the beginning of the year,
and the last twelve months have been
a striking Illustration of the ability Of
this country to recover from heavy
blow to its financial and commercial
interests. The great resources of this
country have been fully equal to the
emergency, and the advent of 1892
finds us in a prosperous condition
with all our industries in state of
great activity. Unlike the great
panics of 1878 and 1854, the crisis of
169O-0l was due entirely to outside
causes and not to conditions created
in this country. England, by ill-ad-
vised speculative ventures, precipi-
tated the trouble, and in the emer-
gency the United States was called
upon to right matters. The necessi-
ties of the case canSed a severe drain
upon the financial resources of this
country, but the equilibrium has be6l
once more restored with comparative
ly little injury to our financial and
commercial interests.
The past year has been a period OF
slow recovery from the great blow.
but the recovery has been steady, con
tinuous and thorough, and the open
ing of another year brings prospects
Of the brightest character. Nature
has come nObly to the aid of this coun
try with bountiful crops of every
kind, ample enough not only to meet
all requirements of home consump.
ton, but also to supply the dencienI
cies existing in other sections of the
world. The last half Of the year has
been especially period of activity
and prosperity in nearly every line of
business, and the growth of trade
shows how fully and how rapidly the
recovery has taken place.
Between the beginning and the end
of the past year there have been try
ing periods i'll every section of the
country. Speculative ventures of
many kinds have collapsed, business
enterprises without sufficient capital
have been forced to suspend and I'M
sound banks have been toppled over.
All of this has had a benehcial effect
upon the country at large, and bust
ness interests are today in a more
healthy condition than they were
twelve months ago. There has been
general clearing of the business at
mOsphere, and sound concerns can
now breathe more freely.
1t has been especially interesting to
note the manner and locations in
which The reaction from the crisis OF a
year ago has manifested itself, aud
here again the South has cause ,pr
satisfaction. There have been many
large failures in business during the
past year, and theaggregate of liablli-
ties has been unusually heavy, but
the disastrous failures have been cOnr
fined almost exclusively to the ol0e-
financial centers of the North. The
reactionary influences were severely
felt in some parts of the West, where
there had been widespread collapse of
speculative ventures, but fortunately
the enormous grain crops have again
brought prosperity to that section.
The tailul es in the South have Oeen
limited mainlyto a comparatively lew
small concerns of insecure footing and
limited means. None of the more i'm
portant interests in he South have
met with disaster, and we believe
that any well informed and unpre-
JUDGED observer will admit that the
South has stood the strain of the past
year i'm phenomenal manner. In view
of the great proportion Of new
establishments in the South it would
not have been surprising if many of
them had collapsed under the pressure
that has overthrow SO many larry @
and long estabished firms in other
sections of the country, and the fact
that such has not been the case is the
best possible evidence of the sta ility
of the South.
The South has not only held its own
against tremendous odds in 1891, but
it has made a record of substantial
progress which, in many respects, has
never been equalIed in the most pros
porous years. Mature has beer eSpeci-
any generous W inc OOulI. IS wv
ton crop of 1990-0l surpassed all rec.
ords, and that of lS9l-92 will not fail
far short. There has been an enorm'
Gus increase in the yield of wheat and
corn, the sugar crop has distanced
previous records, and the minor crops
have been bountifUl beyond
all expectation. The South
has given more literally OF
its products to the world than in
former years, as indicated by the
great activity at the seapOrts. In the
development of mineral resources and
the establishment of dependent in,
dustries there has been great progress,
and it is gratifying TO note that what
has been done in the past year has
been done well, and with a view o
permanence and profit. There hE
been less of the speculative spirit ard
more of sound business principles
than ever before, and what has been
done i'm the estabishme t Of new in
dustries in the past year will tell
powerfully in the future of the South
| The year 1891 has not been period o
uninterrupted prosperity for any sec
tion of the country. hut it has re
suited in immeasurahle benefit to the
South. During 1891 the SOutl
completed % blast furnaces, i
n ,