Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-12-30

financial hopes or predictions found such
adequate realization as they did during
1879 Certainly nothing like the wide
spread and general upward movement OF
values. alike OF staples and of securities
such as occurred during this year. could
have been foreseen. Linked with an i'm
mcnse business and record-breaking pro-
duction in nearly all lines OF business
and industry. except perhaps In some pro-
ducts In agricultural interests. there was
an Increased staple value which has made
the year notable. and combined, these
have served 10 establish the year as
record-breahng one, and set up new
standards.
TRADE VOLUME UNPRECEDENTED.
The volume OF domestic and Of foreign
trade alike was the largest ever recorded,
and the bank clearings reflected immense
business expansion. active speculation In
STOCKS. and immense new industrial fioata-
lions, which surpassed all previous re-
cords
In industrial affairs, the year has been
one OF enormous expansion. Certainly
nothing like the general advance IN wages
OF Industrial employees has been Wit
messed for many years. and this has been
accomplished with minimum OF friction,
! emitting the year to special mention on
this. II on no other, account. The close Of
the year finds order books filed 20 from
three to six months ahead in nearly all
lines
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS.
Notwithstanding smaller exports OF
| agricultural products during the calendar
year breadstuffs being 10 per cent. small
er, cattle and hog exports u per cent
less. and cotton shipments. owing 10 the
}
| there was such an expansion Of our manu-
| featured exports that the entire export
trade OF the year viii considerably ex-
| coed that Of the last calendar year, which
| was the heaviest recorded and make the
year no less notable in the lines of foreign
| than I'm those Of domestic trade. with Il
total Of exports little less than 81 ,2o0OVo,oO,
an aggregate which. If reached, will mark
"a gain Of per cent. over the record total
Of 1898.
Imports have naturally showed a marx
| ed revival and If the gain for eleven
| months Is maintained I'm the month or
| December. a total a little below SsOO.OOO.-
| 600 may be expected, which would guar
antee a total foreign trade well in excess
| OF 81 COO 10000 an amount, IT might be
remarked. never before equailed.
PRICE ADVANCED.
That the advance I'm the prices of sta
| pies has not been a fictitious one, or one
based upon the arbitrary action OF com
missions. IS evidenced by the fact that q
similar price movement has been main
tanned abroad, the general level of prices
! I'm Egypt, for instance. being higher on
December 1st this year than for more
| than eight years past
Breadstuffs alone. OF all the classes OF
staples. are actually lower now than they
! were a wear ago the decline being about
6 per cent On the other hand. manuidc-
| tured or partly manufactured products,
such as metals, raw and manufactured,
textiles, building materials, coal and
| naval stores. have scored remarkable
| gains Metals as q whole, are 90 per
I cent. higher than a year ago, owing
| largely. Of course, 20 the upward rush OF
iron and steel prices, which have all
practically doubled I'm value within the
year. .......,.,.r.,,-e,
Raw cotton and wool have made espe-
| ciallv noteworthy advances and being
| among the most depressed of industries,
the textile manufacturing trades nave
become the busiest there is record o.
! Other textiles have shared i'm this ad-
vance. and the result is that textiles as a
class are one-thrd higher than year
ago. .,..
Taking bank clearances as an index,
the outlook at present favOrs total AT
the country's clearinghouse, making
comparison with previous years OF fully
| Sg3. 800 100000. an increase Of 30 per cent
| over q year ago, of "a per cent over 1891.
and of 81 per cent. over 1892. While, as
compared with 1894, the volume of clear
ings has practically doubled.