New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-01-01
REVIEW OF TRADE.
Conditions Of Year as Published IN
DUn'S ReU9ez0.

SUU y 6tt CtC o.
In the history of the youngest yet most virile
Of the great nations the year 1906 stands out
Is the of most rapid progress and greatest
success. 1t has become customary to estab-
lish new records in this country of apparently
unbounded resources and opportunities that sta
kstics of unprecedented achievements occasion
little comment. Yet the last year has been so
exceptionally prosperous that the attention of
l. busy people should be called to some of the
most noteworthy accomplishments If
nillion immigrants were absorbed in a single
Jear without Cutting the labor market in any
ther nation sociologists would ponder the prob
em with amazement, but such an unheard of
occurrence iii the United States arouses little
comment So to reports of foreign commerce
ind practically every measure of internal trade
10 say nothing of agricultural production and
Transportation The mileage of the railways has
steadily increased and the issues of stocks and
bonds are beyond precedent; yet the market
value of the sixty most active securities has
risen far above all previous records, the earn
tngs much greater than ever before and fire.
quent complaints have been heard because traf-
ic facilities were inadequate. Manufacturing
plants have turned out quantities of products
much in excess of any earlier year without cduS
Ing accumulation: in fact, it often the case
that goods could not be delivered specified
and In the iron and stee industry orders will be
carried over into 1906 equal to the entire annual
production few years ago
Prices of commodities have risen to the high
est position in twenty-five years, a striking evil
dence of the consuming capacity of the people,
for it IS not possible TO maintain the quotations
of unsurpassed production of the various
necessares of life unless there is common
surate broadening of demand.
FEWER FAILURES.
Failures are fewer in proportion to the num-
Der of firms in business, and liabilities at
the minimum ratio to solvent payments through
the clearing houses, which have also reached
new high water mark. Faster than the growth
of population has been the increase in the
amount of money in circulation, the average
standing at the heretofore uneQualled sum
of $31 10 per capita, and the stock of gold in
the federal Treasury has eclipsed all previous
records of this any other nation at over
$685. 100000. Nevertheless, commercial and
her demands have drawn upon the avail
Sble supply of funds that rates for loans rose
so high during December as to suggest the pos
sibility of serious strngency. This is another
index that tells story of national prosperity
to the student of economics
Production of pig iron has proved in the past
8 most accurate measure of general prosperity
II structural work is absorbing large tonnage
of steel, railways being extended. and
1hinery is in constant demand, the inquiry for
material produces pressure at blast furnaces
and output is forced to the limit of available
capacity New plants have beens erected and
equipped during the last year, until the possible
yield is between 2SO0O.0C0 and 30.000,000 tons
annually, if all furnaces are kept in constant
blast This is not to be expected however,
repairs necessary at times. and there arise
complications in regard to deliveries of ore and
fuel, while the labor factor occasionally inter
fereS. In view of these unavoidable SetbackS it
means that work is being pushed about as far as
possible when the furnaces producing at
the rate of 25,0OO000 tons yearly This the
rate the latest date for which exact statistics
are accessible and surpasses all previous records
1t has been notably busy year in the cOnstruc-
ton of municipal and office buildings railway
equipment and farm implements, while the new
tunnels and bridges are demanding enOr-
quantities of steel.
AGRICULTURAL RESULTS.
Industrial pursuits in the United States have
become so diversified that it is no longer pos
sible to speak of this country a farming ma
ton, and agricultural products now scarcely
provide more than one-half the value of exports,
whereas the percentage was formerly over
Wheming; nevertheless. prosperity for the TILL
ers of the soil brings success to all. Hence. the
years results the farms watched with
anxiety by the manufacturer and the financier.
quite as much by the agricuitUTist. Bust
ness begins to feel the impetus or the retarding
influence as soon il is possible to determine
closely the size and quality of the crops. In
vestors purchase the granger stocks long be
fore the roads begin TO move the grain, and
drygoods iobberS feel the broadening demand
as dealers in rural districts increase their stocks
without waiting for the actual harvest if the
outlook is bright. There still exists
certainty regarding the cotton crop, but other
wise the final official report has been issued,
and if the least favorable cotton estimates are
added there still appears on the whole the best
pXbi record