The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-01
YEARS. RECORD
4 GREAT ONE
DESPITE PANIC
The Value of Farm Products
Reaches Tremendous Total
of $7,40O,OOO,OOO.
DUN REVIEWS THE YEAR
LAST THREE MONTHS WORST
PERIOD I'M YEARS.


New York, Dec. S1.-The withdrawal
OF sl25,00O,000 from a few large trust
companies, precipitating a season CT
hoarding and sending currency to a
premium at a time when it was most
needed throughout the country. is
credited In R c. Dun & Co.'S annual
review of trade. published tomorrow. |
Win having been one of the great fac
tors IN turning the year 1907 from its |
promise OF new records in prosperity |
10 closing period OF financial dis |
luroance that caused many plans for |
future extensions of business to be |
either abandoned or postponed. The |
restoration of normal conditions the
review declares, depends upon easier /
money and revival of confidence, |
both of which seem nearer today than /
at any time since October, when the /
: fstrfngency began. While failures were |
frequent during the last quarter Of the /
year, the review points sout that if the |
comparison is carried back to previous |
periods OF distress, there is much cause 1
Tor congratulatiOn in They insolvency
returns.
Year Opened With Promise.
The review says. in part:
4A4C year iJUt started uQOer auspices /
that seemed bright beyond precedent |
and the movement of trade attained 2 |
Velocity that constantly promised new |
records OF prosperity. For almost ten /
months statistics of production, bank /
exchanges, railway earnings and other /
measures OF commercial activity COM |
pared favOrably with any previous |
year, and in many instances the total |
TOT the twelve months were never |
eclipsed.
Great Crops the Rule.
Products of the farm far surpassed
all earlier records, high prices more
Ihan compensating for smaller crops of
some cereals and cotton than IN ban
ner years. Immigration and foreign
commerce both exceeded any previous
year, gold in the treasury rose 20 $780,
OOO.OC0, and the amount of honey in
circulation per capita became greater
than ever before, despite an increase
IN population to over $4,000. 900. Condi-
tons changed radically during the last
ten weeks Of 1907 the financial disturb
ance that started in October unsettIing
confidence so completely that currency
commanded a premium and plans for
future extensions of business were
abandoned or postponed. Failures were
larger than at any time since the crisis
of the previous decade, and a number
VI Oc>AAhS tlOSclt SOIuG OF them -OnlN
temporarily. Orders were cancelled
and new contracts came to the mills
so slowly that forces were reduced and
production materially curtailed.
What Brought the Crash.
Probably the year might have ended
without any sensatiOnally high quota
tons for money had it not been for the
heavy Withdrawals of deposits from a
few large trust companies that prccin- |
ttated a season OF boarding. No ac:I-
rate figures are available regarding lie
extent OF this movement, but il is es-
timated by well-pOsted bankers that
the cash withdrawn from New York
banks alone amounted to S12500O 600,
and perhaps four times as rIuch
throughout the country
Record of Last Three Months.
'Insolvencies were not unusually nu-
merous in 1907, despite some increase
In the last quarter, but as the year ad-
vanced there were more defaults Of eX-
ceptiOnal size. and liabilities in the
fourth quarter exceeded those Of any
three-mOnth period since 1899. ConSid-
ering the severity of the financial dis
turbance and the inability of the banks
TO provide mercantile accomm- dat;pns.
it is extremely gratifying that failures
were not much more numerous, while
gregate amount Of defaulted indebted
ness is the more striking when il IS
realized how vastly the nations bust
ness has grown. Based on a ratio of
liabilities to the amount of capital in
VOlved, the mercantile mortality in
1907 was comparatively light. Taking
the last quarter. which supplied the
largest amount of liabilities. the per-
centage of defaults was only S2.41 to
each 81 ,000 of payments through the
clearing houses, whereas in the CORE
spending three months of 1893 the ratio
was S7S3. and the average for the
same quarter for ten years ending with
1896 was over So.
Iron and Steel Record.
Changes in the iron and steel in
dusJry during 1907 We're more striking I
than elsewhere, particularly in respect
TO the volume of production. During
the early part of the year there was a
gradual increase in output, the week
iy active capacity of blast furnaces
constantly establishing new records
until. the high point was reached on
July l, with a total of 52S,17O tons of
pig iron per week. From this point a !
moderate decrease occurred until to-
ward the end Of the year il was estf-
mated that not more than about 80 per $
cent of the entire iron and steel ca
pacity was in operation. While this !
recognition of the reduction in orders y
for the time being was unmistakable, il
is significant that the leading interests [
in this country had great confidence
in the future. because at no time was
work suspended on the plant at Gary.
High Prices for Grain. .
Although in many cases the size Of a
crops in 1907 fell below some preceding s
years high prices made the return 10 | O
the farmer much larger than ever be- C
fore. To some extent short crops in
other countries accounted for the high b
prices. notably in the case of wheat. a
for which foreigners were willing TO il
Continued IN Pane g y