The Hardwood Record 



VOL. XIV. 



SaTUKDAV, august 23. 1902. 



The Hardwood Record. 



Nu. 10 



PUBLISHED 



EVERY OTHER SATURDAY 



BY 



C. V. KIMBALL, 



134. MONROE STREET, - CHICAGO, ILL. 



ENTERED AT CHICAGO POST OFFICE AS 

 SECOND-CLASS MATTER. 



TERMS OF subscription: 



U. 8. , Canada and Mexico $1 .00 per year. 



Foreign Countries 2.00 per year. 



ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION. 



The cost of advertising in the Wanted and For Sale 

 columns will be found at the head of that department. 



ADVERTISING INtEX ON FAGE 25. 



THE "BUSINESS SITUATIOST. 



It seems a good deal like vanity for 

 Uncle Sam to be constantly spealiing of 

 the wonderful commercial and industrial 

 'development of his country, but if any- 

 thing were neec^ed to convince the world 

 that this country is now enjoying its golden 

 era. the statements just issued by the 

 statisticians of the treasury department 

 would certainly be sufficient. 



The tabulated statement of the past 20 

 years reads almost lilve a romance, for 

 nothing anywhere near approaching it has 

 ever been known in the same length of 

 time. Such remarkable growth is new 

 in the history of the world and we doubt 

 if it will ever be equaled. In the 20 

 .^ears the population Jias doubled and the 

 wealth more than doubled. The total 

 value of the real and personal property of 

 the United States is fixed at JOi.OOO.OOO.OOO, 

 as against .$-!2,()00,000,000. Those figures 

 scarcely convey much meaning to the av- 

 erage mind. They are too large to grasp. 

 And while the wealth of the country has 

 increased at such a rate the public debt 

 has been decreased nearly one-half, or 

 from .¥1,919,000,000 to $1,107,000,000, and 

 the per capita debt from $38.27 to $14.52, 



In other word.s, the total property value 

 of the country is $94,000,000,000, or over 



•I^LOOO for each man, woman and child, and 

 the average indelitedness of $14..52 leaves 

 the country and its people in a very fair 

 financial condition. The amount of money 

 in savings banks has trebled in the 20 

 years and is now $2,4.50,000.000, as against 

 $819,000,000, and the number of depositors 

 is now 0.108,000, as against 2,2a">,000. 



Another indication of the marvelous 

 growth is found in the statistics of farm 

 products. The value of farm property has 

 increased from .$12,000,000.0(h> to $20,500,- 

 000,000; of the yearly products of farms 

 from $2,212,000,000 to $.3,704,000,000; and 

 of farm animals from $1,882,000,000 to .$2.- 

 982,000,000. It would be interesting to 

 know how much mortgage debt the farm- 

 ers have extinguished in the last few years, 

 how much money they have put in bank, 

 how much has been spent in improving 

 and stocking farms, and how many luxur- 

 ies have been bought for farmers' homes, 

 and what part have industrial workingir.en 

 played in this marvelous showing? The 

 numljer of manufacturing plants has doub- 

 led. There were 25,S,000 of them 20 years 

 ago; now there are 513,000. The value of 

 the output 20 years ago was .$5,309,000,000; 

 now it is more than $13,000,000,000. Twice 

 as many men have work and wages have 

 nearly trebled, being $2,735,000,000, as 

 compared with $948,000,000. 



The same marvelous ratio of increase 

 and in some directions still higher, is 

 manifest iu every department of industry 

 and commerical and financial business. 

 The country produces about four times as 

 jnuch coal, three times as much petroleum, 

 four times as much pig iron, eight times 

 as much steel, and ten times as much cop- 

 per, while the wool product has increased 

 25 per cent, corn 40 per cent, and cotton 

 65 per cent. There is not a department 

 of natural industry that does not show 

 the same astonishing increase. 



Looking back for 20 years gives one a 

 good idea of what progress has been made. 

 There was also included in that time nearly 

 ten years of panic and business depression, 

 but for all that the progress is beyond all 

 parallel. 



The American people are a great people, 

 but after all the principal credit is due to 

 the Almighty. There was never a heritage 

 such as that which has been bestowed on 

 this people. The rich mines and the 

 fertile plains would bring prosperity al- 

 most without measure in any event, but 

 when such tremendous resources are placed 

 in the hands of such a people as the Ameri- 

 cans, with their boundless energy, amt)i- 



tion and ingenuit.v, then such a record as 

 that of the past 20 years is possible. 



It is interesting to look backward, but 

 it is equally interesting to look forward, 

 and attempt to forecast the conditions 

 which will prevail here 20 years hence. 

 How much prosperity will this people be 

 able to bear? 



The present business situation is about 

 as good as it may well be. In every line 

 of business the same story is told; "More 

 business than we can handle," is the gen- 

 eral verdict. 



The developments of the past few weeks 

 have been most favorable to growing crops 

 of all kinds, and a record-breaking crop of 

 corn is now a practical certainty. That 

 means a continuance of good times, for no 

 matter how big the crop, it is sure to bear 

 a good price, for the receipts of corn, In 

 Chicago, in spite of the high price of 55 

 cents a bushel, are extremely light. Every- 

 thing indicates that the granaries through- 

 out the country are swept clean of their 

 stores, and no matter how big the crop, it 

 will bear a good price. Hogs and cattle 

 are somewhat easier on crop prospects, 

 hogs selling around 7 cents and cattle at 

 S cents. 



The crop prospect is also responsiole for 

 a good strong market for railroad securi- 

 ties and industrial stocks generally. There 

 seems .scarcely a weak spot in the market. 



Lumber is moving in large volume aud 

 at firm prices. At this season a good many 

 consumers of lumber look about for bar- 

 gains, but they are very scarce just now. 

 With the summer dull season practically 

 over, a splendid outlook for fall trade 

 aud stocks of lumber in all hands light, 

 we see no reason why the market should 

 not remain strong, with prices advancing. 



A BAD PIECE OF BUSINESS. 



A certain amount of commercial in- 

 tegi-ity is absolutely essential to the con- 

 duet of any business, and this fact is 

 recognized by practically all business men. 

 A firm will, for instance, deliver goods to 

 a customer and accept his check in pay- 

 ment, where his note would not be taken, 

 becaus'e even the most tricky of men will 

 recognize the obligation of a business man 

 to make his check good; and in a hundred 

 ways a firm doing a legitimate business 

 is compelled to take chances and even 

 very unworthy concerns must be given a 

 certain amount of credit. These things 

 are absolutely necessary to cari-ying on 

 business at all and it is only occasionally 



