The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-28
PAST YEAR BREAKS ALL RECORDS
OF FINANCE AND H.
DUSTRY
BRADsTREET ANNUAL REVIEW
Despite Many Depressing Events,
the Commercial Expansion of
1901 Has Been Phe-
nOmenal.
BIG GAIN IN BANK CLEARINGs

NEW YORK Dec. N.-The annual re-
view of American trade. finance ana IN
dustry, prepared by Bradstreets ana
given publicity today, declares 19Ul TO oe
a record breaker among the hve sue
ceeding years of commercial expansion
enioved bv the United States. Its pre-
eminence, the review says, was all the
more notable because it suffered from a
combination of happenings that in a
normal year would have proved de-
pressing, if not disastrous. Enumerated
in the latter were the mach1n1sts ana
steel strikes; the stock panic of May;
the failure of several imprudently man
aged combinations; the efforts OF some
combinations, including that in copper,
to fix prices; the shortage in corn, cot
ton and oats, and the assassination OF
President Mckinley. Summarizing the
general situation, the review says:
Briefly summarized, the year has seen
transacted an aggregate of generai
business, as reflected in bank clearlngs,
far in excess Of any preceding per1oo;
has had wild stock speculation, rampant
beyond the dreams of old-time bro
kers, checked and curtailed by one or
the sharpest stock panics in history, and
yet with a remarkable minimum of dis
turbance of financial operations; has
watched general industry and produc-
ton grow steadily until new and larger
figures were needed to express the out
puts of coal, ore iron, steel, leather and
lumber and multitude of other branch
es; has seen the freight transportation
facilities of the country, strained to the
breaking point, prove insufficient to ham
die the volume of business offered and
finally has witnessed a volume of holi-
day business passing all previous bounds
both on the quantity and quality and
ha o-tI rob q cir
of the public in late years.
From the standpoint of the present es-
timates the clearings this year will eX-
ceed the highest records of preceding
years by one-fourth. Gross railway earn
ings have increased u per cent and net
returns have gained 16 per cent over the
best preceding year. Pig iron production
will be not far from one-seventh larger
than the heaviest ever recorded. Shoe
production and shipments, and, therefore
presumably leather production, shows
almost as large a gain. Iron ore pro-
duction and shipments were never be-
fore equaled; certainly lake shipments
Were never so large. Anthracite coal
production will be fully 10 per cent
larger than last year and per cent
heavier than the record. The bituminous
production promises as heavy again over
past records. Woolen manufacturing has
been helped by low cost of material and
good demand for clothing All the re-
turns are not so favorable. There has
been less money in cotton for the South
this year, and the margin of profit in
manufacture has occasioned complaint
there and in New and old England The
agricultural interest has been favored
by heavy advances in farm products,
which have done much to counterbalance
reductions in yield. Export trade has
shown signs of hesitation after years of
steady advance, and imports have in
creased, but mainly in materials intended
for domestic manufacture and the mar
gin III favor of export is still enormous
ly heavy.
Hank C1earings Increased,
The bank clearings were estimated at
$llS,O0O, ,O00,O00, a gain of SS per cent over
last lear and 26 per cent over the rec
ora Oh lSss. The Middle states showed
the greatest increase in cIearings. The
failures. for the year were placed at
IO,H5, with aggregate liabilities of $780,.
100000, and assets of $50, 800 co., AS to this
showing the reviewer says:
Ihls is a gain of Sc per cent in num-
ber over 1900, and Of nearly p per cent
over 1899, but back of that year com
parsons favor the current one. Liabil-
tles have not gained relatively so heavily
10 SlAONlA ny tuS TACT Jnat thew are
only "A per cent larger this year than
last, and Sc per cent larger than in
1899. In only three of the past thirteen
years, in fact, were liabilities smaller
Than they were this year. A point often
lost sight of is that there is a constant
accession of new individuals. firms and
corporations in business each year. and
TINS alone furnishes basis for the re-
eordlng of numerous unsuccessful ven-
1907
pie IN business than there were a decade
ago, an increase of 16 per cent, but fail
ures have only increased per cent in
number during that period and iabil-
tiles are only 20 per cent larger. A con-
dnuing unfayQrable feature is the small
percentage of assets to liabilities It is
only 46.4 per cent this year, as against
47.2 per cent a year ago and 50 per cent
in 1899 and 1898
Wheat and Corn High
Wheat has reached the highest point
since 1898; corn and oats are higher than
for almost decade, and other products
have sympathized. Food products as a
whole are higher than in the general
boom of 1900, while manufactures are
lower notably in this respect being
leather, textiles, coal and coke, naval
stores, building materials, chemicals and
drugs and miscellaneous products
Prices as a whole are s per cent lower
than February, 1900, and December. 1899.
but are higher than in any year from
1898 until the third quarter of 1899. If
other products follow the lead of food
products, as is not unusual further
advance of the former is not unlikely
Iron and steel prices seem to lead in
this latter-day advance, but the other
metals have broken away from them.
Food products, largely imported, like
coffee and sugar, have reached low-water
mark prices on large production
In summarizing the foreign trade the
review declared that there had been a
falling off in the demand for American
iron, steel and copper, loss in profits in
cotton exports owing to the decline il
prices, a reduction in the exports of corr
and oats, phenomenal wheat shipments
and larger shipments of animals and pro-
visions.
Exports were estimated at 81, ,4S5, 600, 600
or 1 per cent less than the record of last
year. The calculation treated Porto
Rico and Hawaii as American territory
AS to imports the review declared:
Gain in Imports.
Imports have gained slightly-they will
aggregate at least sS75 V00, 900, a gain OF
5.5 per cent over 1900, leaving the balance