New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-02
THE RECORD or PROSPERITY.

The record which business makes for ltSclr.
by payments through banks and their clearing
houses has the advantage that 1t cannot Dc
SUSPECTED of manipulation 10 serve any specua-
tive or partisan purpose. At seventy or more
cities the exchanges are recorded every day,
and the aggregates tcegraphcd from each With
ont any means Of knowing what other cities
are reporting. whether larger or smaller bisi-
ness than I'm previous years. Such reports are
wired on Thursday night TO some journals FOR
the previous week, on Saturday night 10 others
and Mt the end of each month to many. so That
no deception or trickcry could pass without DO
lection II ANYBODY had n motive for attempting
IT, The reports thus obtained. also, do not rep
resent Transactions in branch of business
or % few leaving It an open question whether
similar conditions exist in hundreds or other
branches They show the payments actually
made through the settlements OF each bank
with every other in the same city, and All s'ich
PAYMENTS in every kind of business Specua-
ton contributes rs share rs we'll as manu-
features. farming or transportation, or the
transactions between this and other countries
Not ali the reports for August have yet been
compiled but enough have been To establish the
general result beyond question. The cities re-
porting already returned for August last year
exchanges amounting to Sl.7lI.o00.000. while all
cities then reported exchanges amounting to
about 81. 81. NDUO But the Increase over last
year NJ Tho cities now reported for the month
+ 1911 per com. and /. Is obvious that tho gain
~ all the cities taken together cannot DO In
materially different proportion. since less than
u thrilcth pnrt In volume Of business remains
This gain over last year Is tho more interesting
because tho full exchanges In August. 1891.
were larger than in August Of any previous
year. even In the years Of greatest general
prosperity Tho excess over exchanges Of
August. 1892. then 800. o0onoo. or G.G2
pcr cent. The returns for this year therefore
surpass those Of August. 1892. by % pcr
cent For every 500 ~ business done In that
month Of the most prosperous year OF all past
history. 1923 /, was transacted this year. The
aciupl increase already Is more than Sl032 O0
600 for the month, or Sl3 20 per month for
every inhnblian'.
II Is recognized Of course that the volume Of
speculation adds 10 these payments and that n
has been greater this year than in 1882 hut II
is a mistake 10 suppose. IA some do that the
payments amounting TO S3.5li 1894 this
year against $685. 95G9G0 last year nj
Ncw-York alone, represent speculative trans
actions chiefly ON the contrary but fraction
Of them. though not n fraction exactly dcfna-
bic. is due 10 such transactions. Moreover. they
doubtless contributed much loss TO clcarings
through banks than In 1892 In proportion 10
their magnitude. because the Stock Exchange
now clears great part Of IT, operations
through clearing house Of It's own not IN
cuded with bank returns. and similar organlza-
tons exist in connection with grain and other
operations which did not exist at all or were
doing scarcely any part Of the business six
years ago But without attempting TO estimate
tho share OF NcwYor,, exchanges drc To such
operations II Is quite enough that the trans
actions AT cities outside NcwYork show n gain
over last year OF 81 per cent.
The vast body ~ business transacted repre-
scnts the payment Of wages and the dlsirbu
ton Of wages through purchases Of supplies by
wagccarncra. with the movement OF products
mainly for their consumption from the farms
and the mills. It Is In he main the body Of
workers whose earnings md expenditures piabe
business large or small. The constant and clear
perception OF this fact lies nj the bottom Of
tho Republican National policy. Make the occu-
patton and earnings OF labor larger Il main
talns. and OF necessity the volume Of all legitl-
mate business Is rendered larger, the gain cx-
tending 10 every branch and even to the activity
Of banking and speculative operations Thir-
teen months ago the revival In principle of the
Mckinley tariff gave back to the country TINT
stlmnlus TO Industry which had made 1892 the
most prosperous Of It's previous years Now.
after only years experience. and In spite OF
war involving much delay and uncertainty
in business Of many kinds. the prosperity Of
tho country has so far increased that the actual
settlements In business which record them.
selves through exchanges are oil per cent
greater than In 1892. The old prosperity hos
been restored. and more.
The British colonies 70 right on with thely