Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-30
Closing Years Business Greatest in
This Country's History.
TOTAL EXPORT OF sl,2SO,OOo,OO(
One-Third of This Amount Was
in Manufactured Articles.
DECLINE IN FARM PRODUCTS

Bradstreet's review of 1.-The Year in
Business saws:
Rarely have sanguine commercial and
financial hopes or predictions found such
adequate realization they did during
| 1899 Certainly nothing like the wide
| spread and general upward movement in
| values. alike of staples and securities, such
as occurred during this year could have
been foreseen. Linked with AN immense
business and record-breaking production
in nearly all lines of business and industry
except perhaps, in some products of the
agricultural interest, there was with it an
advance of staple values. either of which
alone would have made the year notable
| and combined they have served to establish
the year as a record breaker and set UP
new standards.
The volume of domestic and Of foreign
trade alike was the largest ever recorded
and the bank clearings. rejecting immense
business expansion, active speculation in
stocks and immense new industrial float
lngs, far surpassed all previous records
Prices, as result, primarily of the slim
ulation proceeding from supply and de-
mand conditions, scored probably the
greatest advance ever recorded in any sin
gre year ana brought the general level of
staple values to the highest point reached
Tor more than eight years past. Failure
statistics point to the smallest number re-
ported Tor seventeen years past.
Lessened Production of Wheat.
These results have come to pass, in the
| face of a considerably lessened production
of wheat, and an immense falling off in the
Eieio OF cotton. With the exception of
marked speculative activity in the latter
during the early months of the present
season. speculation on the leading ex
changes has been
stocks and securities ~
In Industrial affairs the year has been
one or enormous expansion. Certainly
nothing like the general advance in wages
OF industrial employees has been witnessed
| Tor many years. and this had been accom-
pushed with minimum of friction emit
e,lns 'ile year TO special mention on this if
| on no other account.
me close of the year finds more order
poohs Hiied IRON three to six months ahead
IN nearly all lines. The distrbutfve trade
was naturally of immense volume through
OUT the year, though mild weather at fha
close tended to modify the satisfaction with
Nhlch retail trade in winter fabrics was re-
sarded. This was, however partly COM
pensated for by a holiday business S,lr
passing all previous records
Expansion of Export Trade.
Notwithstanding smaller exports of aprf
cultural products during the calendar year
nreadstuffs shipments being Is per cent
smaller, cattle and hogs exports II per cent
less and cotton shipments owing to tha
snort crop, at least 10 per cent less there
was such an expansion in our manufact ured
exports That the entire export trade. of the
year Will considerably exceed that OF last
calendar year, which was the heaviest ra
corded, and make the year less notabIa in
tne line OF foreign than in domestic trade
with a total of exports little less than 81 i,
-oooooNo, an aggregate which, if reached
VIII mark gain of 3 per cent over the rec
ord total of 1885 N
imports have naturally shown marked
revival and if the gain for the eleven
H'onths Is maintained for the month of De-
ctfnDer total little below $500. 900 600 NAV
be expected, which would guarantee a total
foreign trade well in excess of $1,000 900 ue0
an amount. it might be remarked never he,
fore equaled.-
As to exports, it is to be noted that near
~ one-third of all of manufactured nro-
uucts, a proportion never before reached.
ana as to imports, the heavy increase in
t raw proaucts intended for manufacture
bears testimony to the activity of domes-
TIC industry. The apparent trade balance
IN our favor, though not as heavy as in
1888, Will still aggregate an enormous sum.
Increase in Bank CIcarings.
Iaking bank clearings as an index the
OUTLOOK at present favors a total at the
country's clearing houses, making c3m-
parison with previous years, of fully 81.
3oo,OO00OO, an increase of So per cent over
a year ago, of IA per cent over 1897 and of
81 per cent over 1892, while as compared
with 1884, the volume of clearings has prac
tically doubled.
Active stock speculation and immense in
dustrfal doatings, but above all enormous
trade and Industrial activity naturally
swelled the volume of clearings in the mid
Ole states; but the gains in the New Eng
land group. including Boston, where copper
snare speculation was rampant, and the
great textile manufacturing centers were
also considerable.
me railroads of the country have done
the heaviest business in their history. as
proved by the gains noted alike in gross
and net receipts over all previous records.
This too, has apparently made little i'm
preston on the business done on such water
routes as the lakes. which report the heay-
lest traffic and the most profitable season
ever recorded. Railway building, though
mostly of branches and feeders, was the
heaviest reported since 1890, was double
the average of the preceding four years,
and 80 per cent larger than in 1s9S
/