FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1890. 



307 



commercial bills, and on the 8th it was demoral- 

 ized by active money to such an extent that 

 rates fell to $4.80 for sixty-day and $4.84 for 

 sight, and gold was ordered out from London 

 and Paris. Subsequently, as money grew easier, 

 the market recovered tone, and toward the mid- 

 dle of the month a demand from importers for 

 remittance carried the rates to $4.81 for long 

 and $4.85J for short ; but when the inquiry sub- 

 sided the market became dull and heavy, so con- 

 tinuing until the end of the month, when a re- 

 vival of the demand imparted a stronger tone. 

 Rates closed firm at $4.80 for long and $4.84 

 for short. 



The Crops. The yield of wheat, corn, and 

 oats for the season of 1890 was almost as con- 

 spicuous for deficiency as that of the previous 

 year had been for abundance. Winter wheat 

 had been injured before the summer came, 1 and 

 the drought in July and August seriously dam- 

 aged oats and corn. Fortunately, however, for 

 the farmers, the light yield of the principal crops 

 tended to advance prices very largely, and those 

 who had grain to sell marketed it at good fig- 

 ures. In December corn averaged 50 cents 

 against 28 in 1889 ; oats were 42 against 23, and 

 wheat was 84 against 69 in 1889. Taking the 

 prices in New York on the 1st of January, if the 

 whole of the crop could have been laid down at 

 that point on that date, the values would have 

 been as follows : 



the difficulty of obtaining money after the mid- 

 dle of the year. The failures were comparatively 

 light during the first nine months, numbering 

 7,581, with liabilities of $100,771,820, against 

 7,879 failures involving $105,055,898 for the 

 same time in 1889. The failures for the year 

 were 10,907, or 1 to 102 in business, with liabil- 

 ities of $189,856,964. 



Railroads. The markets were overloaded at 

 the beginning of 1890 with the enormous cereal 

 crops of the previous year, and the transporta- 

 tion of the grain largely augmented the business 

 of the railroads during the early part of the 

 year. When-this movement subsided, earnings, 

 particularly of the Granger roads, fell off, and 

 then followed cutting of. rates, which resulted 

 in more or less demoralization. t The low prices 

 which farmers received for their products made 

 them clamorous for lower rates for transporta- 

 tion, and appeals for relief were made from time 

 to time to local authorities with some degree of 

 success. One important event, as affecting the 

 railroad interest, was a decision by the United 

 States Supreme Court in the Minnesota milk 

 cases, which held that State commissioners 

 should not make rates that are unreasonable, and 

 that the question of what is proper is one for 

 the court, to decide. Among the consolidations 

 effected during the year were the St. Louis and 

 San Francisco, which was taken into the Atchi- 

 son system, and the Cincinnati, New Orleans, 



ESTIMATES OF CROP VALUES. 



Manufacturing- Industries. The principal 

 manufactures, including cotton, wool, and iron, 

 were large. The consumption of cotton in the 

 United States for the year to Sept. 13 was 2,349,- 

 478 bales against 2,315,603 to the same time in 

 the previous year. The profits were not large, 

 and the dividends paid by Fall River mills were 

 $1,462,870 against $1,850,700 in 1889. The re- 

 sults of wool manufacturing were more satis- 

 factory, and the stock of foreign and domestic 

 wool on hand at the close of the year was esti- 

 mated at 26,000,000 pounds against 36,000,000 

 at the end of 1889. Iron was active and the de- 

 mand was good for structural and other pur- 

 poses. The total production was in excess of 

 that of any previous year. Prices of pig iron 

 declined from $19.90 in January to about $17 in 

 December and steel rails from $35 to $28.50. 

 The production of anthracite coal was a little in 

 excess of 1889, and stocks at tide- water at the 

 end of the year were smaller. During the closing 

 months of 1890 the stringency in money serious- 

 ly affected manufacturers, especially at the East. 

 But the failures among them were few, and re- 

 lief soon came, as money grew more plentiful. 

 Generally speaking, the business of the year was 

 good in all lines of manufactures, and the tend- 

 ency to overproduction was held in check by 



and Pacific, which was absorbed by the East 

 Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. A steady de- 

 cline in net earnings after the middle of the 

 year was one cause for a fall in values of nearly 

 all stock properties, and it led to the considera- 

 tion of plans by which expenses might be re- 

 duced and tariffs regulated. Mr. Aldace F. 

 Walker, Chairman of the Interstate Railway 

 Association, which was formed early in 1889, 

 presented his views to leading railroad mana- 

 gers, suggesting the limitation of the powers of 

 agents, especially at competitive points, and the 

 concentration of authority to fix rates and for 

 other purposes. The subject was fully discussed, 

 and finally it was decided to have a conference 

 of railroad managers and bankers, with a view 

 to formulating some comprehensive plan. The 

 meeting was held Dec. 15, at which there were 

 present representatives of the principal Western 

 railroads, and the preliminary steps were then 

 taken for the formation of a new alliance, the de- 

 tails of which were referred to advisory commit- 

 tees from the various lines, who were to meet at 

 the call of the chairman. Before the end of the 

 year all the companies represented had assented 

 to the plan, and it was then expected that the 

 scheme would be perfected at a meeting to be 

 held early in January. 



