Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-01-06
LAST YEARS BUSINESS FAILURES.

/ Alo!ii tIfe opposite emu OIL Inc NORM
LAST YEARS BUSINESS FAILURES.
| Incomplete returns of commercial In
| solvencies during the year 1908. as Civ
en- by Dunts Review. show that 1901
concerns suspended having liabilities
of S156,63S.S95. These figures COM
| pare with final returns of 11,615 fail
ures for s117,476,76s in 1902. and a
| still lower commercial mortality In
| 1901. Thruout the early months of the
year there were fewer failures. bu,
always larger defaulted Indebtedness
than in 1902, each quarter exhibiting
satisfactory results in this respect. II
remaining for the last quarter however,
to provide the really striking losses of
,, the year, both as to commercial and
banking suspensions. In addition to
these figures there was the collapse OF
a few stock companies, not properly
included under the classifica,ions into
which these failure statistics are di-
vided, notably the United States Ship
building Company which has OUT
standing stock TO S45.o00.0oo. bonds
amounting to s2i500.oe0. and floating
debt of S5,335.00o II would obviously
be unfair to include this aggregate of
s72 S25.o00 IN the business insolvencies
of the year. particularly as legitimat
trade WAS not directly disturbed by the
collapse.
Ai,housi; 20 great setback has &C
CURED in BUSINESS, and banking losses
we-S actnafiy smaller than in the pre-
eeding year. the large increase in CONF
mertisl liabilities indicates that pro-
gress il the industrial world and In
distributive trade has received very
pronounced check. Far from being
cause for apprehension. the statistics
of failures are calculated to inspire
courage for the future. That the re-
action has come and the point OF
greatest stress has been passed with
no greater disasters Is cause for graf
ifcation. When 1t Is remembered that
securities fell an average OF 80 per
cent, and money was hastily taken
from mercantile pursuits, 1t is realized
that suspensions on this account alone
might have reached very heavy to-
tai.
Labor troubles In the building trades
and abandonment of undertakings also
provided an unusual element calculat-
ed to precipisate insolvencies. Money
market pressure made extensions diff
cult, and specuiations in cotton de-
moraiIzed that industry. There was
also striking reimbursement of prices
and production in the iron and steel
industry. All these events tended to
increase failures, while the growing
of investors caused much
embarrassment in the carrying out OF
partially finished commercial under
takings. In numerous ways the year
provided elements of an outward ma
ture that might easily have made the
failure returns much more gloomy.
Prosperity In the agricultural sections.
and a large international trade balance.
with its attendant relief to the money
market, must be recognized as par
tial Offset to the demoralizing events
of the year.
or commercial failures this
increase of the past year is
in manufacturing lines,
the depression in iron
and steei and In some of the textile
trades. There were more than $50 adj
dltional manufacturing failures this
year, compared with 1902. involving
ST, 900, 900 more of liabilities. In trad
ing failures the number is practically
the same as in 1902, while the amount
of liabilities shows gain of only ST.
900, 600. Brokers and other similar
failures show considerable decrease
in number, though liabilities are S.
600, 900 larger than in 1902. The de-
crease in nearly all lines has been
in large failures.