The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-30
Volume Of Domestic and Foreign Business the Creates
Ever Recorded in the Country.
All Staples Save Breadstus Have Increased Greatly in Price, and
the Demand Has Been Such that Manufacturers Can
Hardly Keep Pace With It,

ports. It is to be noted tnat nearly one
third OF all are manufactured products, a
proportion never before reached; and as
to imports, the heavy increase in raw
products intended for manufacture bears
testimony to the activity of domestic In
dustry.
The apparent trade balance in our Ia
vor, though not as heavy as in 1885, will
still aggregate an enormous sum.
Advances Not Fictitious.
That the advance in the price Of staples
has not been fictitious one or based upon
arbitrary action OF combinations, is evil
denced by the fact that similar price
movement has been witnessed abroad, the
general level of prices in England. for In
stance being higher on December 1, this
year, than for more than eight years past.
The course of values, too, has been in ac-
cordance with expectations of economists.
in that the greatest relative rise has been
in manufactured goods or in products Of
industry not exclusively agricultural.
Breadstuffs alone of all the classes of
staples, are actually lower now than they
were year ago, the decline being about
per cent. On the other hand the manu-
factured or partly manufactured products,
such as metals, raw and manufactured tex
tiles. building material, coal and naval
stores, have scored remarkable gains.
Metals, as a whole, are 80 per cent. higher
than year ago. due largely. Of course, to
the forward rush of iron and steel prices,
which have all practically doubled in value
within the year. Raw cotton and wool
have made especially noteworthy advances,
and from being among the most depressed
Of industries, the textile manufacturing
trades have become among the busiest
there is record Of Other textiles have
shared In this advance and the result IS
that textiles as a class are one-third higher
than year ago. Coal and coke have
shared in the wonderful Industrial devel-
opment Of the year, with a rise equal to
that in textiles. and building materials.
too. have made equal gains owing mainly
to the marked advance in lumber.
other increases I'm Prices.
Naval stores show gain Of nearly one
third, and prices of hides and leather are
one-fourth higher; live stock. dried fruits
and oils are one-eighth higher and pro-
visions, chemicals and miscellaneous pro-
ducts have all advanced.
Bank CIearings of the Country.
Taking bank clearings as an index the
outlook at present favors a total at the
country clearing houses making compari-
son with previous years of "a per cent.
over 1897 and Of 81 per cent over 1892.
while as compared with 1894 the volume
of clearing has practically doubled.
Active stock speculation and immense
Industrial fioatings but. above all, enor-
nous trade and industrial activity, natur-
ally swelled the volume of clearings In the
middle states, but the gains in the New
England group, including Boston, where
copper share speculation was extensive
and where are the great manufacturing
centers, were also considerable. The
largest monthly clearings up to December
were reported in March, while outside of
the metropolis the heaviest totals were
shown as late as October. The furry in
money late in December swelled the
weekly bank clearings to an unprecedent-
ed sum, making possible an exceptionally
heavy December aggregate. Decreases