The age-herald., 1899-10-07
FINANCIAL REVIEW

V- cial review tomorrow will say:
 September bank clearing returns confirm early advices of the maintenance of the country's general trade and productive in- dustry in exceedingly large volume When 1t is recalled that owing to holiday observ- ances at leading cities the number of business days in September was the small est of any month except February, the facts that the aggregate clearings at twen- ty-six cities exceeded seven billion dollars were larger than those of August and nearly as heavy as those of July, are evil dence in the absence of any particular ac- tivfty in stock CT other speculation of the immense volume of business which was done.
 As illustrative of the great advance in business in this over preceding years, the nine months clearing returns are no less significant. The total eearings for nine months this year aggregate sum greater than the entire 1896 total, though there are three months yet to elapse before the year is complete. In this connection the annual report of Manager Sherrier of the New York clearing house shows that the aggre- gate bank clearings in the year ending with September were the heaviest ever known, exceeding by nearly $9, 600 GOO 900 the record total of 1881 and this, too, in the face of the fact that now less than ever before, do the New York city bank clearings represent speculative transactions and on the con- trary more accurately represent legitimate business transactions than at any preceding period.
 The aggregate clearings at seventy-six cities for the month of September were %013, 99S 221, a gain of nearly per cent. over August, of 2S6 per cent. over Septem- ber a year ago and of 27 per cent. over 1897, while they are slightly more than double those of September, 1894, and nearly AT per cent. in excess of those of September, 1892.
 As indicative of the fact that the expan- sion in the country's business is of par- ticularly even and general character, it is further to be noted that the gain in clear ings at cities outside of New York. is almost identical with the gain at all cities. Gains by groups of cities for September are more pronounced than were those for August owing mainly, however, to September last year having shown a drop from the total in August whereas this year a contrary movement occurred.
 The heaviest gain by any group is that made by the far western cities, 40 per cent, followed by the New England and middle states cities with gains of respectively 3O.S and 25.9 per cent, and at longer distance still by the western, southern and north western cities by gains of respectively 25.7, 255 and "A per cent. The smallest gain of any group, 19 per cent, Is reported by the southwestern cities. Here again, the even- ness of the trade development the country over is illustrated by the fact that five groups of cities show gains within compar- atively narrow range of 2l to 31 per cent.
 For nine months, as already remarked, the clearings are very large, exceeding in fact, the aggrepate for the entire year of 1898.
 As compared with the nine months re- turns of 1898, this years returns show gain of fl per cent and are n per cent larger than those of 1897 and Ill per cent heavier than in 1894, and 53.6 per cent heavier than in 1892.