The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-12-28
TRADE RECORDS BROKEN.
There Was Nothing for Five Years TO
Compare with 1901.
BUSINESS WAS SPLENDID IN ALL LINES
Bank Clearings Estimated at One Hun
dren and Eighteen Billion Dollars,
an Increase Of SO Per Cent.

New York, December q. The annual re
view of the American trade. hpance and
Industry, prepared by Bradstreets de-
clares 1901 to be record breaker" among
the hye preceding years of commercial ex-
panslon enjoyed BY the United States Its
pfe-eminence, the review states was all
the more notable because IL suffered from
\ GouSination OF happenings that in a
Normal Year would have proved depressing
II not disastrous Enumerated in the lat
ter were the machaists and steel strikes
the stock panic ofNay, the failure Of sew
eral !mprudent managed combinations, the
efforts Of some combinations including that
IN copper. TO tx prices; the shortage in
cotton, corn aud oats and the assassination
Of President Mckinley.
summarizing the general situation, the re-
view says: Briefly summarized the year
has seen transacted an aggregate Of gen
eral business as reflected in bank ceurings,
fur IN excess Of any preceding period; has
witnessed sloCk speculation, rampant be-
yohu Inc dreams uI old tnie urOkers,
checked anu eurtnlled by one OF the shalp
est STOCK puuleS ~ history, and yet, WIN
remarkable minimum Oh disturbance o.
general financial operations, has watched
general INDUSTRY and production grow
steadily until new and larger figures were
I
steer, leather ana lumber ana a multitude
OF other branches; mas seen the freight
transportation facilities OF the country,
| strained TO the breaking point, prove insul.
! hcient to handle the volume OF business Of
| iered, and hnally has Witnessed volume
| OF business passing all previous bounds,
| both In the quantity and quality aud the
| Nustly Increased purchasing power of the
| public in late years. From the standpoint
| OF the present estimates the clearlngs this
| year Will exceed the highest records OF
/ Ia e.. Ill
! ways earnings have Increased II per cent
ana net returns have gained rs per cent
| over Tue best preceding year. Pig iron
! production VIII be not far from one seventh
! larger than the heaviest ever before re
| coIGN. Shoe productions aud shipment,
| hud therefore presumably leather pruduc
| ton snow almost as large a gain lror
! ore production VIII be fully 10 per CEN
! larger than last year and per cent heavier
| than the record. The bituminous production
| promises as heavy gain of past records
| Wooden manufacturing has been helped bl
| low cost of material and good demand TO
| clothing. All the returns are not so favor
! able. There has been less money IN cot
tou for the South this year and the mar
gin OF profit In manufacturing has occd
stoned complaint there and In New an,
| old England. The agricultural interest ha
been favored by heavy advances n farm
products which have done much Z coun
terbalance reductions in yield. EGpos
trade has shown signs of hesitation afte
years Of steady advance and imports hav
| lutINubtus nut mainly III lNulhIlulN lNlenutt
for domestic manufacture, and the margil
In favor OF exports is stlll enormousl
heavy
The bank clearlugs are estimated at Sis
900 600 COO, Il gain of 80 per cent over las
year and 30 per cent over the record o
1899 The failures for the year were place.
at 1910, with aggregate liabilities Of Sl30
900 600 and assets OF $GO30O,OOO. As to TIL
shown. the reviewer says;
'rhis is a gain of SO per cent In mum
Der over 1900, and of nearly II per cen
over 1899, but back OF that year comparI
sons favor the current one. Liahilitie
+ have not gained relatively so heavily a
shown by the fact that they are only .
per cent larger this year than last, an
. 5 "a per cent larger than in $500. cor
tinuing unfnyornble feature lis the sma
A percentage OF assets to liabilities. 1t
only 46.4 per cent this year rs againS
4 81 > per cent year ago aud % per cent
1890 and 1893"
< As TO prices the review says: "Whea
has reached the highest point since lS0S
corn and oats are higher than for almos
decade. and other products hnye syn
pathized Food products MS q whole ar
higher than In the general price boom 9
1900 while manufactures are lower notahl
In this respect being leather textiles, COS
and coke, naval stores. building materials
chemicals and drugs and mtscellaneou
products.
prices as whole are s per cent lowe
than February, 1900, and December lSE
4 but are higher than in any year from ~.