Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-12-28
1901 A RECORD BREAKER
Bradstreet's Annual Review Of
American Trade. Finance and
Industry.
Commercial Expansion in 1901
Has Been Unequalled in the
Past Five Years.
The Year Has Been Remarkable
in Many Respects..Some In.
teresting Figures.

New York, Dec. 2S.-The annual re-
view Of American trade, finance ard IN
dustry, prepared by Bradstreet's and
given publicity today, declares 1901 to
be q ''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 mere notable because it suffered
from a combination OF happenings that
in q normal year would have proved de-
pressing IL not disastrous. Enumerated
in the latter were the 1nachinists' and
steel strikes, the stock panic of May the
failure of several imprudently managed
combinations, the efforts Of some conf
binations, including that in copper, to
fixe 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 gener-
al business, as reflected In bank clear
ings, far in excess of any preceding per-
iod; 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 opera
tons; has watched general industry
and production grow steadily until new
and larger figures were needed to ex-
press the outputs 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 country, strained to the breaking
point, prove insufficient to handle the
volume of business made; and. finally
has witnessed volume of holiday bust
ness passing all previous bounds both
on the quantity and quality and the
vastly increased purchasing power OF
the public in late years. From the
standpoint Of the present estimates the
clearings this year will exceed the high
est records of preceding years by one
fourth. Gross railway earnings have
Increased IL per cent and net returns
have gained 18 per cent over the best
preceding year. Pig iron productions
will not be far from one-seventh larg-
err than the heaviest ever befor record
ed. Sheet productions and shipments
therefore. presumably, leather produce
lions show almost as large gain. Iron
ore production and shipment were
never before equaled: certainly lake
shipments were never SO large. AM
thracite coal production fully 10 per
cent larger than last year and 8 per
cent heavier than the record. The Bit
luminous production promises as heavy
gain over past records. WOODEN man
ufacturing has been helped by lowest OF
material and good demand for clothing.
All the returns are not so favorable.
There has been less money In cotton
this year and the margin OF profit IN
manufacture has occasioned COM
plant there and in New and Old Eng
land The agricultural interest has. been
favored by heavy advances IN farm pro-
ducts, which have done much to coun-
terbalance reductions In yield. Export
trade has shown signs OF hesitation az
ter wears of steady advance and inn
ports have increased. but mainly in ma
terials intended for domestic manufac-
ture and the margin in favor OF exports
+ is still enormously heavy"
The bank c,earings were estimated at
$l1S, 0O0, 100000. q gain of 80 per cent ov-
err last year and 26 per cent over the
record OF 1899. The middle states show
ed the greatest increase in clearings.
The failures for the year were placed at
1915. with aggregate liabilities OF $780,
O00, 900, and assets of s60,300.000 AS to
this showing, the reviewer says:
"This gain OF Sc per cent in number
over 1900 and of nearly IL per cent over
1899, but back Of that year comparisons
favor the current one. Liabilities have
not gained relatively so heavily as
shown by the fact that they are only
"a larger this year than last and s.6
per cent larger than in 1899. In 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 In
dividuals, firms and corporations In
business each year, and this alone fur
nishes basis for the recording OF nu-
merous unsuccessful ventures. There
are now $4,000 more people In business
than there was decade ago. an in
crease of per cent In number during
that time and liabilities are only 20 per
cent larger A continuing favorable
feature is the small percentage OF as
sets to liabilities. It ia only 44.4 per cent
this year as against 47.2 per cent year
ago and 70 per cent in 1890 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 pro-
ducts has sympathizeds Food products
as whole are higher than in the gem
eral price boom of 1900, while marufac-
turers are lower, notable in this respect
being leather, textiles. coal and coke,
naval stores, building materials. chem
icals. ard drugs and miscellaneous pro-
ducts. Prices as a whole are 8 per cent
lower than in February, 1900, and De-
cember, 1899, but are higher than in any
year from 1893 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 in
lead in this latter day advance but the
other materials have broken away from
them and copper. lead and tin are
weakening, the result of failures OF in
judfcious attempts at controlling pro-
ductton. Food products, largely Inn
ported, like coffee and sugar. have
~, ohad In,x. x,,o Tor. mn rl y,ricpS IN Ia rnp