Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1894-01-01
CONDITION OF TRADE
TIE ANNUAL REVIEW or r. G.
DUN G CO.

The Past Year the Most Disastrous
since 1887 Prices Of Many Products
the Lowest Ever known, With aIiilions
of Workers Seeking Employment.
New YORK. Jan. t.-R. G. Dun g
Co review says; Starting with the
largest trade ever known. mills crowded
with work and all business stimulated
by high prices, the year 1898 proved, in
the sudden shrinkage of trade. the nu.
1nerous disasters ami the depression Of
industries. the worst for 80 years.
Whether the final results of the panic
OF 1881 were relatively more severe the
scanty records Of that time do not
clearly STOW. The year closes with the
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 ali our cities. All hope
the new year may bring brighter days,
but the dying year leaves only dismal
record A review of the different de-
partments of trade exhibits collapse
of industry and business almost with
out precedent.
The iron industry sustained weekly
production OF 131. 55l tons of pig May |,
hut by Oct. the output had fallen to
%. s95 tons and the recovery to about
100000. Dec. still leaves 40 per cent.
off for the unemployed. Over half the
WOODEN manufacturers are idle and the
only recovery has been made since No
vember. The sales of cotton goods are
! fully fourth below the usual guam
/ tity. The small advance attempted in
boots and shoes year ago was notsus-
tanned. but with prices as low as ever
the shipments of boots and shoes from
/ Boston are "a per cent. less than last
year in December. Not only manufact-
ured goods as whole, but the most
important farm products are so low
that farmers find little comfort. Off
eial and other reports deluded traders
with the notion that the crops of last
/ year were So short that famine prices
could be realized on purchases. Enor-
nous stocks were bought and held with
the all of banks until the heavy receipts
in the spring caused a collapse of the
wheat pork ana cotton pools Disas-
trous failures helped to produce alarm,
which soon made money impossible to
get but even at the worst hour Of the
panic prices were scarcely lower than
now. Wheat repeatedly sold here and
IN Chicago at the lowest price ever
known Cotton lifted cent WIKI the
accounts OF scarcity IN September. but
lost most Of the gain and sells below y
cents. Thus unreasonable speeulations
by preventing the sale of surplus prod
ncts have proved great injury to the
farmers at Il time when their enforced
curtailment of purchases is disastrous
To ali other industries
In the 81 years covered by the records
of this agency the number of failures
has only once risen above IS, $50 in q
year. In 1898 the numb reported has
/ 1eea IT, $50 The aggregate liabili les
IN all failures reported has not in six
years risen above $500. 600, 900, This
year he richly commercial liabilities
alone exceeded 1851 4a2, $50. The CLASH
fed returns show 1926 manufacturing
failures with liabilities of Sl64. 707, 449;
1868 failures in legitimate trade with
liabilities OF $50. 527. 500 and 392 other
failures including brokers and specu-
lators with liabilities of $36 662, 735.
The average liabilities in manufacture
ing was $50, 600, in legitimate trading
$1,000 and in other failures 81 200.