The Washington herald., 1922-01-06
FAILURES FOR 1921
MORE THAN TWICE
THOSE DURING 1920
Total of 1862 Compares
With Over $4,000 in
1915.
LAST QUARTER BAD
Insolvencies Reach 6,145, as
Against 4,S72 in First
Three Months.
LAST QUARTER BAD

AS successive monthly returns
had clearly foreshadowed, the fall
ure statistics for 1921 reveal a
marked rise in commercial mortal
ity. Exclusive of banking suspen-
sions and personal bankruptcies, the
insolvencies in the United States
numbered 1852 and supplied $751;
401,SS3 Of Indebtedness, as against
1851 defaults. involving s295,121. sos
in the Immediately preceding year.
While the business reverses of
the second half OF 1920 had in
creased sharply. both in number and
liabilities. IL remained for the fall
ure exhibit of the past year to dis
close the full effects of the far
reaching economic readjustments.
The result is seen in the largest
number of defaults reported for a
single year. with the exception of
1915, when the total exceeded a.
900, and the heaviest amount of in
debtedness on record.
The maximum OF liabilities prior
to- 1921 was in 1914, at $685.. 900. 900,
and the aggregate for the year Just
ended is as per cent above that for
the earlier period. To this unsat-
isfactory showing an unusual num-
ted In important measure, S73 fall
ures Cor 100000 or more in each
instance providing nearly so per
cent Of the Indebtedness for the
year. All defaults considered, how
ever. the average of liabilities is
slightly less than that Of 1920, al
though the ratio of total indebted
ness to solvent payments through
the clearing houses reached the
highest level since 1914.
The last quarter of the year made
the poorest showing, with 6,145
failures, as against 4.s7. in the hrst
quarter.
Traders Suffer Most.
When the past years insolvency
statistics are examined according to
occupation. II is seen that large in
creases were recorded in each of
the three divisions-manufact
trading, and other commercial.
Numbering 4,495. the manufactur-
ing defaults exceed by 70.6 per cent
the 2,635 similar reverses of 1920,
while the s232.s07.1S5 of liabilities
represents a rise of So per cent over
the s127,ss2.471 of the earlier year.
With 1899 failures, for s254,-
7sI,ss5. the trading group reflects
an increase of 1881 per cent in
number and 1917 per cent in
amounS, in comparison with the
5.53s insolvencies among traders for
sss,55S.347 In 1920, while the 1.15s
defaults in the class embracing
agents, brokers, etc, disclose a rise
of 62.2 per cent in number and IT'S
per cent in the Indebtedness over
the ia failures for s7s.570,9S7 in
this division in the earlier year.
It thus appears that relatively
the most unfavorable exhibit. both
numerically and otherwise. is made
by the trading defaults. and the
least unsatisfactory showing in both
respects is recorded by the "other
commercial" insolvencies.
south Atlantic Failures.
The 1854 commercial failures.
with aggregate liabilities of $780,
s3s.s7s. in the South Atlantic sec
tiou during the year 1921 compare
with al defaults for $22.203,693 in
1920. Analysis of the returns by
States show that the insolvencies
were more numerous in every state
than was the case in the earlier
year. The record of indebtedness.
moreover. is against 1921, the
amounts being heavier than in 1920
in practically every instance.