East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-07-13
FAILURES IN 1908.

Il
According to statistics compiled by
Duns Review from reports of branch
offices of r. c.. Dun & Co., the COM
mercial failures in the United States
during the first six months of 1903
numbered 6SS1, the Liabilities
amounting to $SS,541,S7S This COM
pares with S7O9 failures in the first
half of 1908, having liabilities of
$124,37ASS3. In the first six months
of 1907 the record was 5607 failures
with liabilities of $69,56S,662. Thus,
the aggregate of business defaults in
the last six months has shown 4 fall
ing off of nearly 80 per cent from the
corresponding period of 1908, when
there was an increase of about 70 per
cent from the record of the first half
of 1907 Although the liabilities Of
the defaulting firms, during the past
six months, We're much less than in
1908, they were much heavier than
in any other of the last five years; in
the first half of 1906 the liabilities
amounted to 62,664,074; in 1906 to
$55, 904,5S5, and in 1904 to $79,49O,-
9O9. The liabilities of the past six
months were about SIC, 900, 600 in eX-
cess of the average of. the liabilities
of the preceding five years-this av-
erage, however, includes the heavy
defaults of 1908. Taken as a whole,
the record of failures is not quite as
favorable as the bank clearings and
other statistical tests of the business
situation, but 1t is nevertheless mov-
ing in the direction of commercial re-
covery, and at this time when all the
signs are so promising for a new pc
riod of business uplift and expansion,
the large total of business embarrass-
ments must be regarded as represent
ing the effects of a financial crisH
that has passed and not as indicative
of present conditions. During the
past three months-the second quar-
ter of the first half Of the year-there
were 29S1 failures, with total liabili-
ties of $44,0S0,42S, and an average
liabilities per suspension of $14,7S7.
y Otldlltu IliDdlloOll lbl NiAN AAt''
half Of the year shows that there
were 1922 manufacturing defaults in
volving $SS,O5O,241 liabilities, as COM
pared with 2142 manufacturing sus-
pensions in the first half of 1905 with
$5S.442.S04 liabilities, and as COM
pared with 1895 manufacturing fail
ures in the first half of 1907 with
liabilities of $S6,64S,64S. In view
however, of the industrial disturbance
during a large portion of the hall
year and in view also of the progress
of tariff revision, this showing OF
business embarrassments in the man.
ufacturing field is, on the whole, eN-
ceedingly reassuring. The tradlhe
failures during the first half of the
wear amounted to 5122 with liabili-
tie Of $26,S31.S52, comparing with
6235 failures in the corresponding pc
riod of 1908 with liabilities of $49,-
O1O.O22. and comparing with 4lZu
failures in the first half of 1907 with
! liabilities of $26,744,7S6. The other
commercial failures, such as insur'
ance. real estate, brokerage, etc, were
proportionately large during the pas
six months, amounting to 1877 II
number. with $14,159,2SO liabilities
comparing with 332 in the first hall
of 1908, with liabilities of S2l,92Z''
5O7. In the first half of 1907 there
were 1872 of this class of failures, IN
yolving only $6,1S9,22S.