The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1895-01-11
TRADE REVIEW.
Great Decrease In Failures the Past Year
Condition of Industries.

Condition of Industries.
New YORK, Jan. 5.-R. G. Dun & Co.'S
Weekly Review of Trade says:
Failures for 1894 are fully reported this week,
being 1885 in the Uniled States and 1856 in
the Dominion of Canada Liabilities in the
United States were sl72.s9 $50 and in Canada,
sl7,6i62l5. Neither the decrease of over half
in this country nor the increase OF over 40 per
cent in Canada is surprising, but the state
ment shows that most of the decrease in the
United States was in manufacturing liabilities,
while the entire increase in Canada is in
liabilities OF trading concerns. A few
states, including New York and PennSyl-
vania. show more failures than in 1893 and
in a few southern states the amount OF liabili-
lies is larger. but in the central and western
states very much smaller. In eleven Of the
last thirty-eight years reported liabilities
have been larger than in 1894, though for this
year and 1898 the statement Is confined TO COM
mercial failures, as it was not in former years
The failures have been 1875 10 every 1000 firms
1oing business; the liabilities have aggregated
sl32 a. to each firm in trade, and in proportion
to the volume of solvent business represented
by all clearing house exchanges, S2G3 for every
81 900.
The complete review OF different branches Of
business places in n clear light the :act that
prices Of commodities are at the lowest level
ever known. Eight years ago in July prices
averaged only " cent VI tuE pIlNt> Abi
the same articles and in the same markets jan
uary l, 1860, and this remained the lowest point
ever touched until August 10. 1893, when the
average fell 10 - 80, but early this year prices
dropped below all previous records. and have
never recovered, the average decrease Of % be-
ing only 6s.73 per cent of the prices in 1860
The range was very little higher at the end of
the year, and about as low October p. The
fall since a year ago has been So per cent, hug
very uupoual different branches In irca
and steel products, Il per cent. in wOolens ana
cOttOns, about Is per cent. These changes con-
trast sharply with the decline of wages paid
hours work, which average only 12 per cent.
less than a year ago.
The condition - industries has been largely
governed by the fall in prices, and while pro-
ductiOn is much greater than a csf ago, the
aggregate increase being fairly measured by
the increase of s.24 per cent. in hours of work
done in November. compared with the previ-
Gus year il has been the controlling feature IN
almost every important industry that con-
sumption has not kept pace with the output
and has not sustained prices.
In iron and steel the lowest prices of the
year are at the close and the lowest ever
known, the demand calling for less than half
the usual quantity of rails. with large decrease
in many other branches, though probably the
use of structural forms was larger in 1894 than
ever before.
The wooden industry records production
for the year about quarter less than normal
and for the last four months 90 a per cent. less
than In 1892 in quantity of wool consumed, but
in the value of product the decrease was Of
course greater.
The year has been especially noteworthy for
the lowest prices of wheat and cotton on
record. Both suffer from wholly unprecedent-
ed accumulation of stocks, the crops being
large. Outside this country, wheat production
has not increased enough to justify price Of
60 cents at New York, and the accumulation is
largely due to false reports of yield intended
to brighten foreign buyers and raise prices
The same influence has been felt in cotton,
which is also affected by worldwide depres-
sion in business and decrease in consumption
of goods. In other produce markets the year
has been relatively less important