Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-12-30
A WONDERFUL ERA
Being Passed Through in Trade,
Finance and Industry.
Past Year Developed Even Most
Wonderful Features Of All.
Volume OF Business. Shown by Bank Clearings
Beats All Records.

|
view Of American trade. finance and
! industry prepared ~ Hradstre.ts and
| given publicity. Saturday. declared 1901
10 y" Il record breaker among the fiv,
successive years Of commercial exran-
! sion enjoyed by tn" United States. Its
J prr-emincncc the review states wac
all the more notable because IL suffered
from 4 combination Of happenings that
| m normal year would have proved
| depressing ii not disastrous. Enumer-
ateG in the latter We're the machinists
| and steel strike. the stock panic Of
! MAY. the failure Of several inprud"ntly
managed combinations. the efforts ~
| some combinations. including that in
copper. to liz prices, the shprtag" in
| corn. cotton ana oats. ana the assas-
| sinatinn az President MCkinlcy. sum
marihing the general situation. tn" ir-
view said:
| briefly summarized. the year has
| seen transacted an Igg1egat" If gen
aral business. as reelected in banl,
cleaIinES. far in excess ~ any proceed
my period. has Witnessed stock Specu-
| iat.un. rampant beyond the dreams NJ
llI-timc brokers. chnked and cuTtailed
" one of the sharpest stock panics i'll
history. ana vet. with n remarkable
minimum pf disturbance Of general
financial operations. has watched gen
nrai industry ana production grow
-t.adily until new and larger figures
were. needed to express the outputs Of
coal and ore ANA iron ana steel ana
leather ana lumber ana a multitude ~
Their branches. has seen tho freight
transportation facilities Of the coun-
r. strained to the breaking point
prove insufficient To handl" the VOLUME
IF business offered, and finally has Wit
messed a volume Of heavy business
easing An previous bounds both of
quantity and quality all Of which are
evidence II the vastly increased pur-
hasing power of the general public
VI late years.
From thc standpoint of present esti-
mates, cicar.ncA TINS year Will exceed
he highest records of preceding years
~ Oue-foUgth. Gross railroad earning
iaVc increased u per cent. and net re-
urus have gained Is per cent. Of the best
rcCodila year. Pig iron production will
= not far from one-seventh larger than
the heaviest year before recorded, Since
reduction and shipments and. therefore.
presumably leather production, show al
most as large gain. iron ore produc-
ion ana shipments were never before
qualled, certainly lake shipments Were
ever so large. anthracite coal production
will be fully ~ per cent. larger than last
year and per cent. heavier than the rec
,rd. the bituminous production promises
: heavy gain over past records.
Wooden manufacturing has been help
Cd ny low cost Of material and good de-
mand for clothing. All the returns are
not so favorable. There mas been less
money in cotton for the South. this year
ana the margin of profit in manufacture
has occasioned complaint there. and in
New and Old England The agricultural
interests have been favored by heavy
advances in farm products, which have
done much to cnGnterhalance reductions
in yield; ,-,,o ,as shour s,srs Of hos.
itation after years of steady advance,
and imports have increased. but mainly
ufacture and the margin III favor OF eN-
"The hank clearings were estimated at
S1S,H0 W1,,00 a gain OF ~ per cent over
last year and 10 per cent. over the record
year of 1899
The failures for the year We're placed
at 1910 with an aggregate liability of
$3.50 10000 and assets of S51.5oo,W0. TINS
is gain OF SO per cent. in number over
1890 and Of nearly Il per cent. over 1899,
but back Of that year cons par.sous favor
the current one. Liabilities have not
gained relatively so heavily, as shown by
the fact thar they are only "a per cent.
larger this year than last and Sc Per
cent. larger than in 1899. In only three
ties smaller than they were this year.
"A point often lost sight of is that
| there Is Il constant tSSiOn or new IN
Ciividuais. firms and corporations in bust
ness each year. and this alone furnishes
basis for the recording of numerous
unsuccessful ventures. There are now
l72 900 more people in business than there
were Il decade ago. an increase of 10 per
cent. but failures have only increased
) per cent in number during that period
and liabilities are only ~ per cent. larger.
a continuing unfavorablc feature is the
small percentage OF assets to liabilities,
Ii is only 46i per cent. this year, as
against ~ per lent Il year ago and 81
per cent in 1899 and 1898.
Wheat has reached the highest point
since 1898. corn and oats are higher than
for almost decade and other produce
has sympathized. Food products q
whole are higher than in the general
price boom of 1900, while manufactures
are lower. notable in this respect being
leather, textiles. coal and coke. naval
stores. building materials chemicals and
drugs and miscellaneous proGucts Prices
as whole are per cent. lower than in
February 1900, and December, 1899. bat
are higher than in any year from 1898
until the third quarter of 1889. If other |
products follow the lead of food pro-
ducts, as is not unusual further adj |
vance of the former Is noJ unlikely. Iron
and steel prices seem to lead in this lat
ter-day advance. but the other metals |
have broken away from them, and cop !
per- lead and tin are weakening. the re-
suit of failures of injudicious attempts at
controlling production. Food products, !
largely Imported like coffee ard sugar, !