The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-01-06
THE YEAR PAST.

The Beginning and Ending OF 1898 From
| Business Standpoint, rs Relieved by
r. G.. Dun q Colt Began with the
Largest Trade Ever Known md Ended
In the Midst of the Worst Depression
OF Our INDUSTRIES Experienced In Fifty
Year-Business Failures, Etc.
New YORK, Dec. 30.-R. G. Dun &c
Co. S weekly review of trade, issued to-
day, says under the caption, THE Year
| 1885,"
Starting with the largest trade ever known,
| mills crowded with work and all business
stimulated by high hopes, the year 1893 has
proved In sudden shrinkage Of trade, In COM
mercial disasters and depression OF industries.
the worst for ffty years. Whether the final
results OF the panic Of 1857 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 seeking in
vain for work! and with charity laboring to
keep hack suffering and starvation in all our
cities. All hope the new year may bring
brighter days. but the dying year leaves only n
dismal record.
The review OF the different departments OF
trade given to- day exhibits q collapse OF indus
try and business which is almost without
precedent; The iron industry sustained q
weekly production OF ls1 SOL tons OF pig May I.
but by October the output had fallen to 3,Sss
tons. and the recovery to about l0O0o) tons De-
cember still leaves 40 per cent. OF the force
unemployed
Over half the wooden manufacturers are idle,
and. excepting q brief recovery in November,
have been ever since new wool in May; Tor all
sales ut the three chief markets in the eight
months have been but lO6. az, ,I6J pounds partly
for speculation. the price having fallen 20 per
cent. for fleece to the lowest Point ever known,
against 2I2 339. .OO3 pounds In the same months
last year Sales OF cotton goods are fully
quarter below the usual quantity.
The small advance attempted in boots and
shoes year ago. was not sustained. but with
prices as low as ever the shipments of boots
and shoes from Boston were 81 per cent. less
than last year in December, and though in No
vember the decrease was but los per cent. IL
has been p per cent. for the last four months
Not only manufactured goods as u whole, but
the most important farm products are so low
that producers find little comfort Official and
other reports gave the notion that the crops Of
last year were so short that famine prices
could be realized on purchases. Enormous
stocks were bought and held with the aid of
hanks till heavy receipts in the spring caused
q collapse OF wheat, pork and cotton pools
Disastrous failures helped to produce the
alarm which soon made money impossible to
get, but even at the worst hour Of the panic.
prices were scarcely lower than they are now.
Wheat has repeatedly sold here and ut Chi
cago at the lowest price ever known, and is
but half q cent above 1t now. Pork fell 81 in
an hour when the speculation burst, but sells
lower yet to-day. Cotton was lifted O cent
with accounts OF scarcity in September but
has lost most OF the gain and sells bellows
cents Thus, unreasonable speculatiOns. by
preventing the sale of surplus products, have
proved great injury to farmers, at time
when their enforced curtailment is disastrous
TO all other industries.
Monetary transactions appeared TO cause tho
panic and became epidemic when doubts were
raised In April about redemption OF treasury
notes in silver. Western hanks had given
reason for distrust by connection with real
estate, produce and stock ventures. Deposits
in national banks alone decreased in five
months nearly 1900, O,OOOO0. Purchases for con-
sumption shrunk so much. so many hands were
out OF work or earning reduced wages. and
business of all kinds was so reduced that tho
OF idle money became the great
est ever known, exceeding sao0oOO,00o in New
York.
The transactions through all clearnghouses
outside New York in January Ie.5 per
cent. larger than last year and IS per cent.
larger than the first quarter; slightly larger
in the second quarter; 81 per cent. smsiier in
the third quarter. and - per cent. smaller in
the last quarter.
Clear evidence OF the Shrfnkage IN the diner
ent branches OF business is afforded BY answers
already received to several thousand circulars
requesting figures OF sales for 1893 and 1892
Full information OF the results Will be given
hereafter, but returns of textile goods alresdy
show sales amounting to si3s43,s75 this ycer.
against s7O,3i5. .ssa last year. a decrease Of 81
per cent
Iron returns thus far aggregate s40,s53.is),
against s65, ,5s09!l last year, decrease of -
per cent Reports thus far OF lewelry show 4
decrease OF % per cent. of furniture. a6 per
cent; OF dry goods. p per cent; OF hats. 1875
per cent; OF hardware, 10 per cent: OF shoe
IS per cent, and Of clothing, ID
per cent.
1t is curious that the only trade showing an
increase is in groceries, the aggregate sales
teing per cent. larger than in the last half Of
1892.
In thirty-seven years. covered by the records
Of this agency, the number Of failures has
only once risen little above 1850 The ag-
gregate OF the liabilities in all failures
ported has in six years risen above ssOO.OO0g0,
and this year the strictly commercial liabA!-
ties alone have exceeded 1891, ,isaa 9s9. The liza
bilities OF banking and financial institutions
have been s2l0, e5S.s6i. The average OF liabili-
ties in manufacturing is s5OOO0.OO) in legiti
mate trading. ss.OOl0)O. and in other failures,
All an an