The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-01-02

gain in tonnage, but competition has
greatly reduced profits here as else
where. High prices OF raw material
and inability to get costs back out OF
raw cotton caused rAill curtailment,
in the spring and summer of 80 to so
per cent. but more abundant supplies
in the fall helped resumption to prae-
tically full time, north and south.
Later, talk of renewed curtailment
was heard. Much wooden and wors-
ted mill machinery was idle early, but
lower prices OF raw material from the
new clip allowed assumptions. Much
foreign wool yxas reexported and some
domestic products found more profit
able outlet abroad than was possible
at home. Bituninous coal product
was interfered with by strikes from
April onward, but shortages of sup
plies were not felt severely. owing TO
quieter industry. Coke production
showed progressive curtailment as the
year advanced. Increased friction in
industrial lines was evident, despite
numerous wage advances by railways
and industrial lines; the number of
strikers was double that of 1909 and
only exceeded by the record suspen-
sions of 1908 immigration was 10
per cent beyond 1909, though not
equaling the 1907 record. Building
expenditures fell per cent below the
enormous 1909 aggregate.
Clearines and Failures.
Financial measures of the years
turnover showed only slight shrink
age. Thus. clearings fell only 1.3 per
cent below the record of 1909. This
loss was, however, mainly at New
York, where the decrease was per
cent while the rest of the country
showed gain of per cent. Explana-
ton of the loss at New York is partly
Punishable by the decreases of % per
cent in stock transactions and of so
per cent in bond sales as compared
with 1909. Still, it might be noted
that clearings as whole were nearly
per sent larger than the 1906 total
and nearly double those of a decade
ago. Failure returns were irregular.
| These were 1.3 per cent fewer than in
1909 and Is per cent less than in 1908,
though Is per cent more than in 1907.
Liabilities, owing to the occurrence
of some large suspensions, were %
per cent larger than in 1909, but 40
per cent less than in 1908, and less
than half those of 1907, the record
year of failure damage.
Looking Forward.
High prices of most products, and
especially foods and raw materials
have been sort of endless chain
/ burden to labor, to manufacture and
to trade generally, which free buy
ing of some generally esteemed non.
essentials has not entirely concealed
Perhaps the best evidence that Amer
lean markets were out of line with
i the rest of the world was the reduc-
! ton of our export trade in food pro.
ducts, which one time constituted our
strength in foreign trade. Coincident.
ly, imports broke all records, this CIV
ing rise to the remark that the United
States was a good place to sell in but
not so favorable a country to buy in
In this contingency it has undoubtedly
been fortunate that our export trade
in manufactured products and in raw
cotton has more than made up for de
clines in breadstuffs and provisions.
1t will hardly be confidently claimed
that home demand for food products
is sufficient to take up the surplus
productions of the country in a veal