Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1900-01-05
THE YEAR In BUSINESS
WIDESPREAD AND GENERAL UPWARD
MOVEMENT OF VALUES.
The Yenr Record Breaker Dom estio And
Foreign Trade Largest Ever Record cd,
Smallest Number of Failures In Seven
teen Years.

have. sanguine commercial and fnan-
clal hopes or predictions found such
adequate realizations as they did dur
ing 1899. Certainly nothing like the
widespread and general upward move
ment of valuse alike Of staples and rf
securities, such as occurred during this
year, could have been foressen. Link
ed with an immense business and q
record breaking production in nearly
all lines of business and industry, ex-
cept, perhaps in some products Of the
agricultural interests, there was with
it an advance of staple values, either Of
which alone would have made the year
notable, and, combined, they have ssrv-
ed to establish the year as record
breaker and set up new standards. The
volume of domestic and of foreign
trade alike was tee largest ever record
cd and the bank clearings, rejecting
immense business expansions, active
speculation in stocks and immense new
industrial floating, far surpassed all
previous records. Prices as result
primarily Of the stimulation proceeding
from supply and demand conditions
scored probably the greatest advance
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
smallest number reported for seven
teen years past. These results have
come to pass in the face Of consider
ably lessened production Of wheat, and
an immense falling off In the yield of
cotton.
In industrial affairs, the year has
been one Of enormous expansion. Ger
tainly nothing like the general advance
in wages Of Industrial employees has
been witnessed for many years, an1
been accomplished with minimum of
friction emitting the year to special
mention on this, If on no other account.
The close of the year finds or Ter books
filed to from three to six months ahead
in nearly all lines. Distributive 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 regarded
This was, however, partly compensst-
ed for by a holiday business SURPRISING
all previous records.
Notwithstanding smaller exports OF
agricultural proauc6s during the calen-
dar year. breadstuffs shipments being
fifteen per cent smaller, cattle and hog
exports twelve per cent less, and cotton
shipments, owing to the short crop, at
least fifteen per cent less, there was
such an expansion in our manufactured
exports that the entire export trade of
the year will considerably exceed that
OF the last calendar year, which was
the heaviest recorded make the year nc
less notable in the line, Of foreign trade
than in domestic trade, with total Of
exports little less than $1.280, 900, 00O
an aggregate which, II reached, will
mark gain of three per cent over the
record total of 1898.
!. Imports have naturally shown Q
marked revival. and if the gain for the
eleven months is maintained for the
month of December, a total little below
$500, 900, 900 may be expected, which
would guarantee total forsIgn trade
well in excess of $4,000, 600, 900, az
amount, it might be remarked, nevel
before equalsd. As to exports. it il
to be noted that nearly one third o.
all are Of manufactured products, {
proportion never before reached. and
as to imports, the heavy increase In
raw products intended fer manufac'
ture, bear testimony to the activity
of domestic industry. The apparent
trade balance in our favor, though
not as heavy as in 1898, will aggre
gate an enormous sum.
That the advance in the price O
staples has not teen a fictitious one' O
based upon arbitrary actions of comb
nations, Is evidenced by the fact that
similar imr roved movement has bee
witnessed abroad, the general lsyel
prices in England. for instance, bein
higher on December l this year tina
for more than eight years past. II
course Of values too has been in accor