Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1894-01-04
THE PAST YEAR.
Some Points in Dun's Review OF
Trade.
A Shrinkage in Everything Except Gro
ceries The Great Panic and Its
Progress Unprecedented
Collapse.
The Year 1898.

NEW YORK, Dec. SIR. G. Dun &c
Co. Weekly Review of Trade says un-
der the caption .'The Year 1882
Starting with the largest trade ever known,
mills crow ed with work and al bu ines slim
ulated BY high hopes. the year 1893 has proved,
IN sudden shrinkags of trade, in commercial
disasters and depression Of Industries, the
worst tor fifty years Whether the final results
of the panic of 1887 were relativel more severe
the scanty records that exist do not clearly
show. The year closes with prices Of many
produ Is the lowest ever known. with millions
OF workers looking in vain for work. and with
Starvation in all our cities. All hope the new
year ma bring brighter days, but tile dying
year leaves only dismal record.
The review of different departments of trade
given to day exhibits collapse of industry and
business which is almost without pfecedent
The iron fndustrr sust .ined weekly produc-
tion of 1881 tons pig May l, but by October 1
the output had fallen to 73 695 tons, and the re-
Gov ry TO about O.0y0 December still leaves
40 per cent OF the force unemployed Over
half the woolen manufacture Is idle, excepting
a brief recovery in November, has been since
new wool in May, for all sales at the three chief
markets in the eight mont have
been but los.6 800 pounds partly for
speculation. the price having fallen 20 per
cent for fleece, TO the lowest point ever known,
against 2i2. $500 pounds in the same months
last year Sales Of cotton goods are fully one
fourth below the usual quantity The small
advance attempted in bo IL and shoes year
ago was not suS stained but with prices as low
ever the shipment Is OF boots and shoes from
Boston are 81 per cent less than last year in
December. and though in November the de-
crease was but 1tS per cent, it has been % per
per cent for the last four months. Not only
manufactured goods as whole but the most
important farm produ IS are SO low that pro-
ducers find little comfort
Ofcisl and other reports give the notion that
the crops OF last year were so short that famine
prices could be realized purchases Enor-
nous stocks were bought and held with tho aid
Of banks till heavy receipts IN the spring
caused collapse OF wheat D rk and cotton
pools Disastrous failures helped ito produce
the alarm which soon made money impossible
to get. but even a the worst hour OF the panic,
prices were scarcely lower than they are
now. Wheat has repeatedly sold higher, and
at Chicago at the lowest price ever known and
is but a cent above 1t now. Pork fellis5 in an
hour when the speculation burst, but sells
lower vet to- day Cotton was lifted q cent with
accounts Of scarcity in September, but has lost
most of the gain and sells belo cents. Thus
unreasonable spcculat onS, b. preventing ahe
sale OF surplus products, have proved great
injury to firmers at time when their orcsd
curtailment of purchases is disastrous to all
other indus tries
Monetary anxieties appeared to cause the
panic. and became epidemic when doubts were
raised in Apr about redemption of treasury
notes IN silver. Western banks had given
n ason for distrust By connection with real
estate, produce and stock ventures Deposits
in national banks alone declined in five months
nearly $4,000 ,0)3 Purchases for consumptio
shrunk much, hands were
out OF work earning reduced
wa es, and business OF all kinds
50 reduced that the accumulat tion of Idle money
became the greatest ever known, exceeding
81 ". Coz du in New York The transactions
through the clearing houses outside New York
in January were .5 per cent larger than last
year. ard rs per cent larger than for the first
quarter, 3 per CEN. smaller in the third quar-
ter and % per cent smaller in the last ,arter.
Clear evi !encA n ShriDlxaOa n
branches Of business is afforded by answers al
ready received to several thousand circulars
requesting figures of sales during the last half
OF 1897 and 1892 Full Information of the rail-
roads will be given hereafter. but returns of
textile goods already show sales amounting to
s43S4 ,s55 this against 81, si7 sS2 last year,
decrease of 81 per cent
Iron returns thus far aggregate 81, SjS 49,
against 92l last year a decrease of 80
per cent reports thus far of jewelrysshows de-
crease Of o per cent. OF furniture, 25 per cent;
of dry goods. 2S per cent. OF ats 1a per cent
or hardware. ~ per cent OF shoe MANUFACTURES,
l6 per cent. and by dealers, per cent. and OF
clothing. II per cent It ia curious that the
onls trade showing an incre Use is in groceries,
the aggregate bel ng l per cent larger
than IN the last half of 1892
In thirty seven wears, covered by the records
OF this agencr, the number of failures has only
once risen II tie above 1882 in a year. In
1895 the number reported has been IL. $50. The
aggregate OF The liabilities in all failures re.
rorted and in x Years have not risen above
900 %, AMI his wear the strictly CONNER
cial liabilities alone have exceeded '5l4.2 $50;
the liabilities of banking AMI financial institu.
lions have been $40 9ji. s5i, and the liabilities
OF railroads placed in the hands of receivers
about 81. i22,27,si3 AS all reports hitherto
have been TO SONY extent erroneous through
inclusion OF failures not strictly commercial,
the classified returns show 1926 manufactur-
ing failures with liabilities of si6i. .7o7, 449; TO-
6s3 failures in egitim trade. with liabilities
of 1873 q Sq6, and .62 other failures Including
brokers, spectators etc. with liabilities Of
$50, 662 7s5 The average of lin bill lies in manu-
featuring Is SD 10J in legitimate trading 50, 90
and other failures sli 600