Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1903-11-20
Is Prosperity Waning?

Many thoughtful people are asking
Is the prosperity which has marked
the past few years on the wane and is
the country gravitating toward hard
timcsf Judged by some recent develop,
ments in the financial world. there is
ground for apprehension as to the fu-
ture. Indications in this direction are
found In the recent failures of banks
and trust companies, in the closing of
steel and cotton mills. in the laying off
Of help on railroads and in the depres-
sion of the stocks of industrial corpora
lions. Dun Il Co.'S review of the finan-
cial conditions of the country furnishes
facts that are far from reassuring.
Touching the failures for October, 1t
says:
There were loss commercial failures, in.
volving a total Indebtedness of SIS 3S7 567
and p banking suspensions, with liza
bilities of sl3.0S4 635. In the correspond
ing month of last year there were 1853
commercial defaults for $l0,S51, 534 and 10
commercial failures In October We're lar
ger than In any preceding month OF the
current calendar year, the nearest being
those of July, which amounted to SIG ISL
245.
An added reason of apprehension IL
the fact that our great iron and steel in
dustry Is in an absolutely bad condition.
1t has been undergoing a reaction and
Is threatened with period of actual
depression says the New York Jour
nal of Commerce. The Iron Age of re-
cent date says:
The conditions of the iron trade show
no Improvement. As week after weel.
rolls by old orders are being worked off
ana the gap is only partially filed by
ne" ORDERS Affairs are mixed In pig
IRON the basis of the whole industry.
me manufacturers of the central west
are now discussing the question of re-
stricting the product further to about 40
per cent
On the other hand, as evidences of
the continuation Of prosperity there are
to be noted the splendid crops of wheat
corn and cotton, which are selling at
favorable figures, an easy money mar.
ket and an inflow of gold that would
ordinarily cheer the heart of pessi-
mist. Speaking of the gold holdings of
the United States, Treasurer Ellis Fl
Roberts recently said:
rms country's gold stock at the begin.
ming OF October was s1277. 1862 651. The
amount held in the treasury was $S54 S11 :
ny. ne gold stock of Great Britain 4,
So2S, OOO,OOO; so that ours Is twice as great
O ~ increase in five years has been s376
vi 49, In that period Great Britain hos
added $sO,0oO000 to it's stock, France s137
WooV Germany So, 100000 and Austria
hungary $o5.3 600, while Russia has lost
Ao'4ooOoO. In all Europe in the last Ave
years there has been a net increase 90
s4.a ooo'ooo against our increase of s376
oA'9S'' and the population Of the five Eli
topean nations above named Is five times
that OF the United States,
ne New York Financier asserts that
a careful review of the situation fails
10 disclose any solid basis for forebod.
ing or fear" and adds:
Ihat conditions specifically are NOT q.
attractive as they were a year ago 10 70
We ADMITTED but a return to reason Ia NOT
PAD sign and that is the most cheerire
,naicatlon today. The stock market slnn,n
10 rejection of what is going on every
where The merchant is not buv,ng 90
niuch as before. but he is able to buv all
ne needs, and the productive as wei, &c
s ie cohsumptive capacity of the nation
mas not been seriously affected. Heavy
iosses nave been sustained, no doubt hut
compared with the growth of real wao ~.
lhey are nothing Wall street 10 not ~
center or the United States. II does nnt
make crops grow, nor does II ston tba,,,
=. may interfere with their transnorta t,nn
oul II is not able of itself to make or ,,r'
make national prosperity 1''
On the whole it would appear that
tne era OF prosperity is not ended NOV
~ 1t ending. though unouestionob,v
present financial conditions do not war
rant an overconfidence, wild snecp,o
tloh and reckless venture, which have
characterized fiscal operations in some
quarters during the past few years