New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1915-03-13
stood in it's relation to embar-
raised concerns.

oCOON AL ACf1 AtAeASAOA w SAAAOuA
raised concerns.
There were 1857 business fail
ures or suspensions reported te
: B1adstreet 8 journal in the year
: 1914, an increase of 15.2 per cent
over the preceding year, Of 19.4
per cent. over 1908, Of 70 per cent
over 1906, the record low year
: in failures for a generation, and
of 8 per cent. over 1893, the rec.
ord high year in failures since
Bradstreet' first began to com
pile those induces Of business
stran. The liabilities of the year
were 1857 ,O91, $40, an increase of
% per cent. over 1913, but a de-
crease of about 7 per cent. from
1908 and from 1893, which two
years were singularly alike in
volume Of failure damage. The
assets of failing traders ag2re-
gated $197, 170,019, an increase
of % per cent. over 1913, but a
decrease of 81 per cent. from 1907,
which latter year alone exceed
ed that rec emily closed. The pro-
portion of assets to liabilities in
1914 was 55.2 per cent, a slight
increase over 1913, when it was
54.3 per cent, but below the
years 1908, 1907, 1896 and 1893,
when the proportions were, re-
spectively, 500, IS, 500 and 60.6
per cent.
The relatively greater increase
in liabilities than in number of .
failures over preceding years
was due to the number of very
large suspensions of purely mer-
camille concerns as distinct from
banks, failures of which increased
in number over any year since
1908, but showed a smaller a~-
of liabilities than in 1913,
1908, 1907, 1907, 1896 or 1893.
For this, the confidence felt in the
existing emergency currency law
and the new federal reserve svs
tenn were no doubt mainly re-
sponsible. Then, 100, it might be
noted that while the number of
failures in 1914 broke all records.
50 also did the numbel OF th:s
n business, and the result was ,,
hat the proportion of those fail
ng to those in business was only
linety-five hundredths of / per
'ent., an increase, it is true, over !
913, when it was eighty-four /,
lundredths Of l per cent, and l
arlier years back of 1899, DUR L
NO which it fuctuated between =
ixty-six and ninety-four hun =
redths Of per cent, but below L
hose years from 1898 back to q
1888, when the annual business :
PORTABILITY ranged between ninety
inc hundredths and 1.46 per 81
emit. p
While on this subject of bust " "
ess mortality, it is not inapprop- !,
ate again to recur to the fact =,
lat the business community has ~ y,
expanded enormously in number u
uring past years. Compared -,
18th a decade ago, 1904 to be ex- .e
It, the number in business shows ~
gain of 80 per cent, and CON- =,
ared with 1894 the increase is 81 - -.
er cent. while the gains in pop ~ ~
alton in the same periods were, ~
spectively, 20 and 46 per cent. "
other wrods, the number in ~
lsiness has increased proper
much more than has the IN
'pulation. 1t is true that these Wo
rye increases in the number in al
siness automatically retard the en-
of the percentage of OPP
lure to increase as the number tic
failures increases, but the ques- SUI
N has several times been ad- ac'
need as to whether the large rel
crease in the number in bust rn
ss-greater, as is shown, than VI
? increase in population-does pis
represent an undue dilution be,
cha