The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-12-30

New YoRK, Dec. Or. G. Dun & Co.'S
weekly review says: Starting with the
largest trade ever known, mills crowded
with work and all business stimulated
By high hopes, the year 1898 has proved,
in sudden shrinkage of trade, in COM
morcial disasters and depression Of In
dustrie', the worst for fifty years.
Whether the final results Of the panic
in 1887 were relatively more severe the
scanty records OF that time do not
clearly show. The year closes with
prices of many products the lowest ever
known, with millions Of workers seek
ing in vain for work and with charity
laboring to keep back suffering and
starvation in all our cities. All hope
the new year may bring brighter days,
but the dying year leaves only dismal
record.
IDLE MILLS
The review Of different departments
Of trade given to-day exhibits col
lapse of industrious business which is
almost without precedent. The iron
industry sustained a weekly produc-
tion Of ISL SOL tons pig May l, but by
October l, the output had fallen to
u, ,S95 tons, and the recovery 10 about
100000, December l, still leaves 40 per
cent OF the force unemployed. Over
half the wooden manufacture is Idle,
and, excepting brief recovery in No
vember, has been ever since the new
wool came in May, for all sales at the
three chief markets in the eight months
have been but log, 795, AGO pounds, part
ly for speculation, the price having
fallen 90 per cent for fleece to the low
est point ever known, against 2l2, $780,
OO3 pounds in the same months last
year
Sales of cotton goods are fully quar-
ter below the usual quantity. Not only
manufactured goods as whole, but
the most important farm products are
so low that farmers find little comfort.
Disastrous failures helped to produce
the alarm which soon made money i'm
possible to got, but even at the worst
hour Of the panic prices were scarcely
lower than they arc now.
suRINKAdE OF BUSINESS.
Clear evidence OF the shrinkage in
different branches Of business is afforded
by answers already received to several
thousand circulars requesting figures of
sales during the last half OF 1893 and
1899. Full information OF the results
will be given hereafter, but returns Of
the textile goods already show sales
amounting to $43,s93, ,S73 this year
against S70,34ISS2 last year, decrease
Of 81 per cent.
Iron returus thus far aggregate S40,-
1853, $50 against $G5,520.93l last year, a
decrease OF SO per cent; reports thus
far OF jowelry show decrease OF 30 per
cent; OF furniture 26 per cent; Of
dry goods 20 per cent; of hats 1915 per
cent; OF hardware - per cent; OF shoe
manufacturers 10 per cent, and by deal
ers s per cent, and OF clothing 10 per
cent. 1t is curious that the only trade
showing any increase as yet is in gro
ceries, the aggregate Gales being one
per cent larger than in the last half Of
1892.
UNPRECEDENTED FAILURES.
In thirty-seven years covered by the
records OF this agency the number of
failures has only once risen little
above 1860 in year. In 1893, the
number reported has been 1860. The
aggregate OF liabilities in all failures re-
ported has in six years risen above
5000. 1000 900. This year the strictly
commercial liabilities alone have ex-
ceeded 1881 422,939 The liabilities Of
banking and financial institutions have
been S2l0, 1856, 1854, and tho liabilities Of
railroads placed in the hands OF receiV-
ers about 81 ,9l2,2lI093.
As all reports hitherto have been to
some extent erroneous, through inclu-
sion of failures not strictly commercial,
the classified returns will be found moro
complete and instructive than any
hitherto published. They show 1926
manufacturing failures with liabilities
OF Sl64, 7O7, ,449; 10,8s3 failures in legiti-
mate trade with liabilities OF SS5,527, ,S96
and 3O2 other failures, including brokers
and spectators with liabilities OF $780,
6B2, 735. The average of liabilities in
manufacturing is $4,000, in legitimate
trading 5000 and in other failures
$1,000.
Killed Their Little sister.
Spsrtat DiSpdieh 10 tie fnteiitgencsr