Birmingham state herald., 1896-12-13
PROSPERITY FROM THE TOP.

follow in the wake of republican suc@ cess should have heaved in sight. By this time confidence should have been pretty well established, the number and magnitude of business failures consid- erably reduced and the outlook become fairly clear and reasonably bright and promising.
 The country had every reason to be- lieve provided the claims and promises of those who opposed the success of the democratic ticket were to be relied upon, that by the middle of December if Me Kinley, and with him, a "sound money" house and senate were elected, the great commercial agencies, Bradstreet and Dun, would be able to put forth such favorable reports of the business con dtion and prospects as the country had
 not read from them in many years. But what are the facts? How do these re- ports impress the cool, sober. steady, quiet, thinking business men of the coun- try upon whose shoulders rests in a great degree the responsibility of the election
 of the republican advance agent of prosperity?"
 At tho risk of~being stormed at as calamity howler the State Herald will,
 this morning. call especial attention to
 the reports of Bradstreet and Dun, pub
 lished yesterday. We are not going to engage in this in the spirit of "T told
 you" We are not going to discuss these
 reports because it affords us any pleas
 ure to know that they must necessarily
 be disappointing to the men who hon
 estly held to the opinion that the way
 to get prosperity to again visit this coun-
 try of ours was to follow the advice of
 those who were prospering on the mis- fortunes of the people. We take no pleasure whatever in the fact that pros perity has not returned. We take no
 pleasure in the fact that from our stand
 point there is to be seen absolutely no evidences tending to show that the great
 ly needed article is coming even in the
 distant future.
 If we could extract a single ray of hope from the condition of affairs as portrayed
 by the agencies to whose reports we noW refer, it would afford us no little pleas ure to enlarge upon it and congratulate the business element of the country on the fact that probably in the end it would be proven that they were right in expecting better times to follow the de- feat of the democratic candidates and the success of the man who showed a disposition during the campaign to poo poo the idea that it is the lack of ability financial ability---on the part of the peo- pie to consume that stands in the way of returning prosperity, rather than the failure to manufacture more goods and wares to rust and mould on the shelves of the retail dealer But the ray of hope WI ur Inf Instead of a cheering report, we find l in Bradstreet's report published yester- day, the following:
 "At Augusta, Louisville, Nashville. Charleston. Chattanooga, Cincinnati, and Memphis the condition of business is unchanged. Like reports come from Cleveland, Providence, Chicago, Omaha and Duluth, where activity is confined to the retail demand for holiday goods and requests for staples continued mod crate. The situation at Milwaukee Gal weston and Birmingham, Ala. is char acterized as disappointing. but at St. Paul and Minneapolis there is more ac- tive demand for drugs, groceries, shoes and hats, and at Jacksonville, Savan- | nah, Atlanta and New Orleans for sta- pie goods.
 ''Tha tendency of prices is nor con- spicuously downward, noticeably for
  hides, leather, four wheat. corn, oats, | lard, cotton and petroleum. Compar- atively steady quotations are report ed | for raw wool, print cloths lumber, pork ! and sugar. Coffee is higher.
 | November g1os railroad earnings, as | expected, are the poorest for over two years. Total November earnings of 115 | companies aggregate 3S,154,762, a de- | crease Of 10 per cent. from 1895, where there was gain of 63 per cent. over November, 1894.
 Bank cearings show the expected falling off, amounting to $1 065, FOG, ,000, or 15 per cent. less than in the preceding week.
 "There were 3S1 business failures re- ported in the United States this week, another increase, as compared with the l average in recent weeks, and 6S more l than in the like week one year ago." 1 Bear in mind that these extracts are not taken from the columns of any of | the newspapers that have been desig- hated by the gold press as calamity | howlers" They come from Bradstreet, and are borne out by the Dun agency re- | port published on the same date. 1 In twelve of the principal trade cen- l ters of the country "the condition of | business is unchanged" No signs of | improvement there.
 ! At three great centers we find "the l business condition" characterized as dis l appointing. At two places more &C., | tive demand" for drugs, groceries, 1 shoes and hats" At three places a
 more active demand' for staple | goods"
 .The tendency of prices is more con- | spicuously downward, noticeably for Bes- 1 semer pig iron, steel, billets, rails, hides l leather, flour, wheat. corn, oats. lard | cotton, and petroleum" Nothing but "coffee" reported higher.
 l The gross railroad earnings the poorest l for two years. True We are told that this was expected" but by whom expected | we are not informed. About that we | are left to grope in utter darkness. Ger
 tainly itwas not expected" by those who
 told us that. prosperity would certainly
 follow democratic defeat. Surely those
 who proclaim that prosperity has all
 ready returned were not expecting" that l on yesterday- Bradstreet's report would | be called upon to announce that the Mo- 1 yember gross railroad earnings were the | poorest for over two years"
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