The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1901-12-28
Past Year Breaks All Records
in Commercial Expansion.
New and Larger Figures Needed
to Give Expression.
ONE-FOURTH GREATER
Excess of Bank CIearings Over
Amy Former Year.
Middle States Show Largest In
crease in Business.

New York. Dec. 2s.-The annual re-
port of American trade. finance and in
dustry. prepared by Bradstreets and
given publicity today. declares 1901 10
be record breaker among the FIVE
succeeding years of commercial expan-
sion enjoyed. by the United States Its
pre-eminence, the review states, was
all the more notable because 1t suf-
fered from combination of happenings
that in normal year would have
proved depressing, if not disastrous.
Enumerated in the latter are the ma
chinists and steel strikes. the stock
panic of Mayl the failure of several inn
prudently managed combinations. the
efforts of some combinations. including
that in copper, to fix prices, the short
age in corn, cotton 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 general
business as reflected in bank clearinys,
far in excess of any preceding period;
has witnessed stock speculation, RAIN
pant. beyond the dream of old-time
brokers, checked and curtailed by one
of the sharpest stock panics in history,
and yet with a remarkable minimum of
disturbance of general financial opera
tonS; has watched general industry and
production grow steadily until new ana
larger figures were needed to express
the output of coal and ore and iron anu
multitude Of other branches; has seen
the freight transportation facilities
strained to the breaking point, prove in
sufficient to handle the volume of busi-
ness passing all previous bounds both
in quantity and quality and the vastly
increased purchasing power of the pub
lie in late years
From the standpoint of the present
estimates the clearings this year viii
exceed the highest records of preceding
years by one-fourth. Gross railway
earnings have increased II per cent and
net returns have gained 16 per cent over
the best preceding year. Pig iron pro-
duction will not be far from one-seventh
larger than the heaviest ever before
recorded. Shoe production and ship
mepts and therefore, presumably. leather
production show almost as large gain
Iron ore production and shipments were
never before equalled, certainly lake
shipments were never so large. Anthra-
cite coal production viii be fully 10 per
cent larger than last year and per
cent heavier than the record. The BIZ
luminous production promises heavy
a gain over past records. Woolen man.
ufacturing has been helped by lower
cost of material and good demand for
clothing All the returns are not
favora BILE. There has been less money
in cotton for the south this year. ana
the N aVgin of profit in manufacture has
occasioned complaint there and in new
and old England. The agricultural in
terest has been favored by heavy ad-
vances in farm products. which have
in yield Export trade has shown signs
of hesitation after years of steady ad-
vance and imports have increased but
mainly in materials intended for do
mestic manufacture and the margin frt
favor of exports is still enormously
heavy.
The bank clearings are estimated at
$11s,O0e. 900, 900. a gain of Ss per cent
over last year and 26 per cent over the
record of 1899
The. middle states show the greatest
~, m, Gle ri ho faf Fr,s4
the year are placed at 10,775 with aggre-
gate liabilities of $130.0000 600 and assets
of $780, 900. AS to this showing the
review says:
This is a gain of S.6 per cent in num-
ber over 1900. and of nearly II per cent
over 1899. but back OF that year com
parsons favor the current one Liabili-
ties have not gained relatively so heav-
ily, as shown by the fact that they are
only "a per cent larger this year than
last, and SO 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 ana
this alone furnishes basis for the re-
cording of numerous unsuccessful Ven-
lures. There are now 172 600 more peo-
pie in business than there were a dec
ade ago, an increase of 16 per cent. but
failures have only Increased per cent.
in number during that period, and la
continuing unfavorable feature is the
small percentage of assets to liabilities
1t is only aga per cent. this year, as
against 47.2 per cent. a year ago, and
So per cent. in 1899 and 1885,
AS to prices the review says.
Wheat has reached the highest point
since 1898: corn and oats are higher
than for almost a decade, and other
produce has sympathized-
Food products as a whole are higher
than in the general boom of 1900, while
manufacturers are lower notably in this
respect, being leather, textiles coal and
coke, naval stores, building materials,
chemicals, drugs and miscellaneous pro-
ducts.
prices as a whole are per cent
lower than February, 1900, and Decem-
ber 1899 but are higher than in any
year from 1893 until the third quarter of
OF wood products, as is not unusual. a
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 and copper, lead and tin are
weakening, the result Of failures of in
judcious attempts at controlling pro-
duction. Food products largely I'M
ported, like coffee and sugar, have
production
In summarizing the foreign trade the
review declares that there has been a
falling off in the demand abroad for
American iron, steel and copper, a loss
in profits in cotton exports. owing to
the decline in prices, a reduction in the
exports of corn and oats. phenomenal
wheat shipments and larger shipments
of amin ais and provisions
E,xu0r<fs are estimated aft Il ARE 600 ono