The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-28
Volume of Business of the Twelve
Months Almost Past Was Most
Wonderful Despite Retarding
influences
RAILWAY EARNINGS
MADE BIG GAINS
Export Trade However Showed
Signs of Hesitation After
Years of Steady Advance
Summary of Bradstreets' An
nuaI Review of Trade

New York, Dec. 27.-The annual re-
view Of American trade and finance
prepared by Bradstreets and given
publicity today, declares 1901 to be a
record breaker among the five success
sive years of commercial expansion en-
joyed by the United States. Its pre-
eminence the review states, was all
the more notable because it suffered
from a combination of happenings that
in a normal year would have proved
depressing if not disastrous. Enumer-
ated in the latter are the machinists
and steel strikes, the stock panic of
May, the failure Of several fmprudent-
ly managed combinations, the efforts
of some combinations, including that
in copper, to fix prices the shortage in
corn. cotton and oats, and the assas-
sination of President Mckinley. Sum
marizing the general situation the re-
view says:
Briefly summarized the year has
seen business transacted far in excess
of any preceding period; has witnessed
stock speculation, rampant beyond the
dreams 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 operations has
watched general industry and produc-
ton grow steadily until new and larger
figures We're needed to express the out
puts of coal and ore, and iron and
steel. and leather and lumber, and a
multitude of other branches; has seen
the freight transportation facilities of
the Gtrqirpd 10 lit
point, prove insufficient to handle the
volume of business; and finally has
witnessed a volume of holiday business
passing all previous bounds both of
quantity and quality, all of which are
evidence # the vastly increased pur-
chasing power of the general public of
late years.
From the standpoint of present est
mates. clearings this year will exceed
the highest of preceding years by one
fourth. Railway earnings have in
creased u per cent and net retu'E
have gained 16 per cent over the high
set preceding year Shoe production
shipments and, therefore. presumably
leather production, show almost az
large a gain. Certainly lake shipments
were never so large Anthracite coal
production viii be fully 10 per cent
| larger than last year and > per cent
heavier than the record The btu
minOus production promises as heavy
gain over past records. Wooden
manufacturing has been helped by low
cost of material and good demand fol
clothing. All the returns 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 therefor es-
pecially in New England
Export trade has shown signs OF
hesitation after years Of steady adj
vance. and imports have increased, but
mainly in materials intended for
domestic manufacture, and the margin
in favor of exports is still enormously
heavy"
The bank clearlngs are estimated at
$118,000 100000, a gain of y per cent
over last year. The middle states
showed the greatest increases in
clearings. The failures for the year
are placed at 1878. with an aggregate
| liability of $3.50, 100000 and assets OF
$500, 100000. As to this showing the
review says:
This is a gain of Sc per cent in num-
Der over 1900 and Of nearly - per cent
over 1899, but back Of that year COM
parsons favor the current one. Liza
hilities have not gained relatively so
heavily as shown by the fact that they
are only "a per cent larger this year
than last and Sc per cent larger than in
1899. In only three of the past 13
years. in fact. We're liabilities smaller
than they We're this year A point Of
ten lost sight of is that there is a con
slant accession of new individuals.
firms and corporations in business each
year, and this alone furnishes a basis
for the recording of numerous unsuc-
cessful ventures. There are now 175.0O0
persons more in business than there
We're a decade ago but the failures
have only increased five per cent in
number during that time A continu-
ing unfavOrable feature is the small
percentage of assests to liabilities. 1t
is only 1858 per cent this year,as against
AZ rer rent a year ago, and T. ser cent
! IN 1899 and 1895"
As to prices the review said:
Wheat has reached the highest
point since 1898: corn and oats are
higher and other produce has made
good advances. Foodstuffs are higher
than last year and prices on a whole
are considerably above the level Of
former years. Coffee and sugar have
reached low water mark in prices"