The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1917-01-11
A WORLD RECORD
IN TRADE FIELD
LAST YEAR PUT AMERICA AT THE
HEAD IN TRADE AND
FINANCE
WAR OEMAMDS MADE US BANKER NATION
Bradstreet's Report Shows Phenomenal
Gains In Every Line Of
Trade

Nineteen hundred and sixteen was a
wonderful year, but that characterize
ton does only partial justice to this
latest and greatest twelve months in
the country's history. 1t was said Of
1915 that adjectives were lacking fifty
to portray that years progress. So it
may be said OF 1916, in turn, that com.
paratives fail to describe the repeated
examples of high records set up in
nearly all lines and industry. only to
be displaced in turn and ~relegated to
the rear by new and hitherto unheard-
OF totals of industrial production and
trade volume, Of bank clearings and
building expenditure. of transportation
earnings on land and on water, Of K
port and import trade in merchandise,
in gold and in silver, of mineral out
put and ship construction, Of prices of
all commodities, and of high levels Of
wages paid in most industries and of
dividends paid by enterprises OF all
kinds. 1t would be far easier, in fact,
to single out the lines that did not
break records than to attempt to emu
merate the multitude of directions in
which trade expanded, industry set up
new milestones OF progress and
finance sought wider fields of exploita-
ton.
In 1nIE tho hgnr Of rauhl.cnnan
liquidation of our own stocks and
bonds held abroad was finally laid, and
we began to offer a market here for
foreign securities; but in 1916 we
definitely secured tile to our position
as a creditor nation, loaned freely to
the entire world, and, despite hitherto
|unequaled purchases by us of belliger-
ent securities. became possessed Of
gold imports in a volume such as was
never before seen. To the spur of for
eien war demand, represented by un-
heard-of quantities OF food, munitions
and general merchandise sold abroad.
was added a new and record-breaking
volume of imports, largely Of raw ma
terials to feed our Industrial machin-
cry. while at the same time purely do
nestle trade grew beyond the most
%sanguine dreams Of our merchants and
manufacturers.
All this activity had occurred, too,
despite the fact that 1t was a presiden-
tial year, one also Of disturbed foreign
relations and a period of disappointing
crop %Outturn, which was made more
manifest by large foreign buying of
obtainable supplies, and evidences of
speculation having taken advantage of
natural conditions to push prices of
food to record heights. This latter re-
suited in a popular outburst against
high living costs and the usual fren-
zied efforts of public men, legislators
and others to find evidences of monop-
olistic combinations affecting the
prices of the peoples food"
Some Fianciai Features
Exports of merchandise totaled S.
ATE, 900 900 in value, excclling those for
the previous calendar ear by 81 per
cent, and those for the year 1914 by
l59 per cent. Imports aggregated 81
$50, 900 900, exceeding 1915 and 1914 by
32 per cent Gold imports totaled
$3.50, 900 900, surprising exports by
$3.50, 000, 900. Our gross imports Of
gold during the war have aggregated
81, $50, 900 900, and the net imports
1866, 600 900, while our sales of mer-
chandise for the like period were con-
siderably over double our purchases.
Hence the estimates that we bought
back $4,000, 900 900 of American Sc
curities, and, in addition, became cred
itors for an additional $4,000, 600, 900 of
foreign bonds or notes.
Bank cl%earings for 1916 testified to
the m volume of the banking
movement in a total of $3.50 SAL
075, a sum before equaled, and a
gain of 40 per cent over the 1915 high
rrcOrd and IF 60 ner cant over 1914