New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-06-19
WHAT THE FACTS SHOW.

Every preparation for the coming National
campaign, respects financial and industrial
questions from the framing of a platform to the
minute array of data for a particular speech,
will be found essentially historical. -Four years
ago the Republicans found the public credit
more impaired. the volume of business lower
and industries more Frustrated than at any cor
responding time for years They believed that
return TO Republican principles would restore
prosperity, and without hesitation so declared.
1t is precisely by such manly facing of reSpon-
sibility that the good old party has achieved its
greatest victories. 1t pleased the Democrats 10
spend their whole time in the campaign of 1896
in declaring that the gold standard had made
all the trouble. In answer it enough to
show that the payments through all clearing
houses were actually smaller in May, June and
July. 1896, than in the same months of 1895,
1892 1891 or $780, and that the industries Of
the Nation had been wonderfully depressed.
The people looked at the evidence, recognized
the truth and gave their confidence again to
the party which had brought them, prior TO
1898, the highest prosperity ever known.
Exactly the same appeal to facts will be
most effective this year. no matter what pre-
text for opposition the Democrats may select.
In 1896 the year of President McKinleys cleo
ton, the payments through all clearing houses
were $51,175, 100000 in amount, in 1897 they
were $6,22S 100000 greater, or about u per
cent in 1898 they We're ST. 70S000000, or
80 per cent greater; in 1899 they were $42,-
S02,000000. or about 50 per cent greater,
and in the five months OF 1900 thus far the
increase over 1896 has been nearly 10 per
cent, a really astonishing advance though
not quite as great as that of last year. More
over, although it is true that speculative opera
lions sweled such payments at a few points
no dTna loct hot Dir
brings out more clearly the surprising gain over
the last and every other year in the whole
region west and south Of New-York, since
scarcely any locality shows decrease excepting
this city and Boston and few of small cOnse-
quence near them.
1t is not surprising that the jealous Demo
cTat always gets angry when these records are
mentioned, and complains that they can be used
to prove anything. Unhappily for him, it is we'll
nigh true that actual payments of $94 900 0O00OO
against about $51,OO00O0OOO when President
Mckinley was elected do prove that there has
been wonderful change not in one kind of
business only, but in almost every one. If it
pleases the Democrat to turn for relief to
records Of quantities shipped his best data are
found in railway earnings, which, taking all
classes Of roads throughout the country together,
were 1879 per cent larger in 1898 than in 1896
and 1871 per cent larger in 1900 than in 1898,
making an increase of 37.7 per cent in the four
years In many kinds of traffic there has been
decrease, but the fact remains that in all classes
taken together the increase was so great as to
prove real revolution in the conduct Of bust
ness as whole. A vast body of evidence of
similar character appears whenever one turns
from the accounts of business in the aggregate
to the particular branches, even to those sup
posed to have been embarrassed more than
others by temporary excess of production
Thus the iron manufacture mounted to the
largest weekly output ever known 298,O14 tons
week February l. and has since fallen a
little below that quantity through the readiness
of works to take time for repairs instead of de-
pressing prices by running beyond the tempo
rary demand. From February l to June 1 the
unsOld stock increased about 26,OO0 tons a
week, indicating that the temporary curtail-
ment Of demand was quite large. Nevertheless
the output June 1 was 114O 900 tons weekly
greater than it was in June 1896, so that after
deductng the apparent increase Of 26OOO tons
in unsold stocks there would appear an in
crease of $4,000 tons weekly or As per cent in
the actual consumption Of iron in manufacture.
This means an increase of nearly one-haIf in
the number Of hands employed at thousands of
mines and furnaces, mills and other works, and
when one considers that more than half a mill
ion hands were employed in this one industry
when the last census was taken such an ex-
pansion Is not a small matter. But there is
still to be added a great advance in wages of
labor, perhaps as great in this industry as in
any other. Though exact data for all the differ
ent branches cannot be submitted that increase
is probably mora than 20 per cent If there
were half million people employed in 1896 at
$500 yearly, whose wages have been increased
$50 year and if 4S per cent, or 100000 more
persons are now employed at $3.50 each the
addition to the purchasing power of this force
has been not far from 81 ,2O0,OOO,OOO yearly. Of
itself no mean support for the expansion in all
other industries and branches Of trade.