The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-12-30
A GRATIFYING SHOWING.
rhe Closing Year Record Breaker In the
business World.

New York Dec 30 Bradstrset's re-
view Of "The Year in Business says.
Rarely have sanguine commercial and
financial hopes or predictions found
such adequate realization as they did
during 1889 Certainly nothing like
the widespread and general upward
movement in values, alike of staples
and of securities, such as occurred dur
ing this year, could have been fore
seen. Linked with an immense busi
ness and record breaking production
i'm nearly all lines of business and in
dustry, except, perhaps, in some pro-
ducts 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
record breaker and set up new stand
ards.
The volume of domestic and of for
eign trade alike was the largest ever
recorded and the bank clearings, re-
ilecting immense business expansion,
active speculation in stocks and inn
mense new industrial floatings, far
surpassed all previous records. Prices,
as a result, primarily of the stimula-
tion proceedings from supply and de-
mand conditions, scored probably the
greatest advance ever recorded in any
single year and brought the general
level of staple values to the highest
point reached for more than eight
years past.
Failure statistics point to the small
est number reported for II years past.
These results shave come to pass in
the face OF a considerably lessened
production of wheat and an immense
falling off i'm the yield OF cotton. With
the exception of marked speculative ac-
tivity in the latter during the early
months of the present season specula-
ton on the leading exchanges has been
most largely confined to stocks and Sc
curities.
In industrial affairs the year has
been one of enormous expansion. Ger
tainly nothing like the general ad-
vance in wages of industrial employees
has been witnessed for many years,
and this has been accomplished with
minimum of friction emitting the year
to special mention on this if on no
other account The close of the year
6nds more der books filed from three
to six months ahead in nearly all lines
The dstributive trade was naturally
Of immense volume throughout the
year, though mild weather at the close
tended to modify the satisfaction with
which retail trade in winter fabrics
was regarsed This was however
partly compensated for by holiday
business surprising all previous rec
ords.
Notwithstanding smaller exports Of
agricultural products during the cal
endar year. breadstuffs shipments be-
| ing IS per cent smaller, cattle and hogs
| exports 2 per cent less and cotton
shipments, owing to the short crop,
| at least IL per cent less, there was such
an expansion in our manufactured eX-
ports that the entire export trade of
| the year will considerably exceed that
| of last calendar year. which was the
| heaviest recorded, and make the year
! less notable in the line of foreign than
! in domestic trade with a total of ex
! ports little less than 81 $50, 100000 an
aggregate which, If reached, will mark
| a gain OF per cent over the record
total of 1898 Imports have naturally
shown a marked revival and if the
| gain for the II months is maintained
! for the month Of December a total a
| little below $500 600 600 may be expect
Gu, WHICH NOhlh ENdi dittt q lOltAl lOl =
eign trade well in excess of $4,000, ,000.-
600, an amount, il might be remarked
never before equaled. AS to exports it
is to be noted that nearly one-third of
all areof manufactured products, pro-
portion never before reached; and as
to imports, the heavy increase in raw
products intended for manufacture in
dicates the activity Of domestic indus
try The apparent trade balance in our
favor though not as heavy as in 1898
will still aggregate an enormots sum.
The business community looks for
ward to 1900 with almost equally mixed
fe ings Of hone snd confidence.