The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1902-01-01
REVIEW OF THE YEARS TRADE.
Bradstreet's Annual Review of
Business Conditions Declares
1901 a Record Breaker.

industry prepared by Bradstreet's,
and given publicity today, declared
1901 to be a ssrecord breaker" among
the five succeeding years Of CONNER,
cial expansion enjoyed by the United
States. It's prominence, the review
stated. was all the more notable, be-
cause it suffered from a comblna-
ton of happenings that in a normal
year would have proved depressing
if not disastrous. Enumerated IN the
latter were the machinists and steel
strikes, the stock panic of May the
failure Of several imprudenty managed
combinations, the efforts Of some COM
binations, including that in copper. to
fix prices, the shortage in corn, cotton
and oats, and the assassination OF
President Mckinley.
Summarizing the general situation
The review said:
Briefly summarized, the year mas
seen transacted an aggregate of gener-
al business, as reflected IN bank clear
ings, far in excess Of any preceolng
period; has Witnessed stock specuia..
tion, rampant beyond the dreams o OF
old time brokers, checked and curIall-
ed by one Of the sharpest STOCK conpa-
nies in history and yet, with remark
able minimum of disturbance OF gene,
raj financial operations has Wascneo
general industry and production grow
steadily until new and larger hgures
were needed to express the outputs OF
coal and ore and iron and steel and
leather and lumber and multltdue OF
o+ber branches: has seen the freight
transportation facilities Of the coun-
+ry. strained to the breaking point,
nroye insufficient to handle the volume
of business offered; and finally has
witnessed volume Of holiday 6usi-
ness passing all previous BOUNDS potn
of Quantity and quality, all of which
are evidence of the vastly Increased
purchasing power OF the general pup
lie of late years.
From the standpoint of present
estimates clearings this year will ez-
eeed the highest records Of preceding
Years by one-fourth. Gross railway
earnings have increased y per cent. a
and net returns have gained lo per
cent. over the best preceding year. Plgg
iron production will be not far from
one-seventh larger than the hea!lesC
ever before recorded. Shoe proouc-
ton and shipments and therefore pre-
sumably leather production, show al
most as large again. Iron ore proouc-
tion and shipments were never oeIofe
eoualed; certainly lake shipments were
never so large; anthracite coal pro-
duction will be fully 10 per cent.
Iarger than last wear and per cent
heavier than the record. The bltuml-
nous production promises as heavy
a gain over past records. Woolen man
ufacturing has been helped by low cost
of material and good demand for
clothing. All the returns are not SO
favorable. There has been less money
in cotton for the south this year, ano
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 re-
emotions in Weld. Export trade has
shown signs of hesitation after years OF
steady advance, and imports have IN
creased, but mainly in materials In
tended for domestic manufacture, and
the margin in favor OF exports Is still
enormously heavy"
The bank clearings we're estimated at
s118, 900, 600, 900, gain of 50 per cent.
over last year and 26 per cent. over
the record year of 1899. The middle
States showed the greatest increases
in clearings. The failures for the
wear were placed at 10, TO with aggre-
gate liabilities of sl30. 600, 0oO ana
assets of $50, 300, 900. AS to this show
ing The Review said:
.sThis is a gain Of Sc per cent. IN
nunaber over 1900 and Of nearly II
per cent over 1899, but back of that
year comparisons favor the current
one. Liabilities have not gained rela-
lively so heavily as shown by the fact
that they are only 2. 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, were hablll-
ties 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, anc this alone 1ur.
nishes a basis for the recording OF
numerous unsuccessful ventures. There
are nov l72, 900 more people IN busl-
ness than there were a decade ago,
an Increase Of l6 per cent, bat fail
ares have only increased 3 per cent;
in number during that period and
liabilities are only 20 per cent. larger.
A continuing unfavorabie feature IS
the small percentage of assest to la
bilit;es. 1t is only 46.4 FER cent. this
year, as gainst Az per cent. year
age and 50 per cent. in 1899 and 1898. y
As to prices The Review said:
Wheat has reached the highest
poirt since 1898: corn and oats are
higher thar for almost decade. and
other produce has sympathized. Food
products as whole are higher than IN
the general price boom of 1900, while
manufacturers are lower, notable IN
this respect being leather, textiles,
coal and coke, naval stores, building
materials, chemicals and drugs and
miscellaneous products. Prices as
whole are 8 Per cent. lower than Feb
rusry, 1900, and December, 1895, but but
are higher than in any year from 1893
of 1900 -