FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1884. 



327 



Foreign Exchange. The merchandise imports 

 for 1884 were $57,838,486 below those for 

 1883, and the exports of domestic and foreign 

 produce were $45,862,314 less than for the 

 previous year. The excess of merchandise ex- 

 ports over imports was $120,076,072, against 

 $108,099,900 in 1883. There was an excess of 

 exports over imports of specie and bullion of 

 $27,039,310 in 1884, against an excess of im- 

 ports over exports of the same of $4,365,878 

 in 1883. The excess of exports over imports 

 of merchandise and specie amounted in 1884 

 to $147,115,382, against $103,734,022 in 1883. 

 This shows that, deducting $100,000,000 to 

 cover freights, insurance, undervaluations, etc., 

 from the apparent trade balance at the begin- 

 ning of the year, there was left only a very small 

 actual balance in our favor. The outward 

 movement of bread stuffs was checked early in 

 the year by speculative manipulation of the 

 markets at the chief distributing centers, and 

 the unsettled feeling at the Stock Exchange, 

 resulting from the collapse of the North River 

 Construction Company, and the (urther decline 

 in Oregon and Transcontinental and Northern 

 Pacific, induced the return of securities from 

 abroad, thus contributing to keep exchange firm 

 at about the gold-exporting point during Janu- 

 ary. Early in February the suggestion that 

 the Treasury Department would soon have to 

 settle its debit balances at the Clearing-House 

 in part with silver certificates, tended to alarm 

 foreign bankers. Exchange advanced to the 

 gold-exporting point, and it was strong during 

 February, March, and April, and by the end of 

 the last-named month $32,000,000 gold had 

 been exported. The panic in May, by suddenly 

 advancing the rate for money, unsettled ex- 

 change, which fell sharply and so low that 

 gold was ordered out from France and Lon- 

 don. The market did not react after money 

 became easier, because of a pressure of bills 

 drawn against breadstuff's exports made possi- 

 ble by the collapse of the speculation in these 

 staples. There was also more or less buying by 

 Europeans of those of our securities which 

 possessed merit and had been unduly depressed 

 during the panic. In June and July borrowed 

 bills, and those made against a Canadian Gov- 

 ernment loan, negotiated in London, pressed 

 exchange to the gold-importing point, and the 

 movement hither was moderate during these 

 months. The fall in sterling was arrested 

 in August, but it was again approaching the 

 gold point in October, when the Bank of Eng- 

 land, in order to check withdrawals and accu- 

 mulate bullion, advanced the rate of discount 

 from 3 to 5 per cent. This effectually stopped 

 gold shipments to America from London, al- 

 though some was sent from the Continent. In 

 October, purchases of long sterling begnn to 

 be made for investment by parties who sought 

 security for their money, and at the same time 

 expected to realize a fair profit in the differ- 

 ence between the purchase price and that 

 which would result from the sale of the bills 



at maturity. At first these operations attracted 

 little attention, but they gradually increased in 

 magnitude, and this demand for long sterling 

 tended to absorb nearly all the offerings of 

 bankers and commercial bills, keeping the rates 

 very close to the gold-exporting point for the 

 remainder of the year. 



Manufacturing Industries. In 1884 industrial 

 enterprises were depressed, iron, cotton, and 

 woolen mills suspending operations as the de- 

 mand fell off, while other manufacturers pre- 

 sented to their employes the alternative of 

 closing the mills or reducing wages. The la- 

 boring classes almost uniformly accepted the 

 reduction, and toward the close of the year 

 they were rewarded for their sacrifice, most of 

 the mills resuming operations, although on a 

 restricted scale. The production of pig-iron 

 was cut down from 4,623,000 tons' in 1883 to 

 3,834,000 in 1884, but prices did not improve, 

 and one feature of this industry was compe- 

 tition in the Pennsylvania markets of Southern 

 irons, mostly from Alabama, which was made 

 possible by the decreased cost of manufacture. 

 The production of anthracite coal was reduced 

 from 31,793,027 tons in 1883 to 30,718,293 in 

 1884, and toward the close, of the year it was 

 determined to substitute for the plan of re- 

 striction, which had been in force for the pre- 

 vious six years, the policy of allotment, each 

 company being allowed to produce monthly quo- 

 tas on the basis of 30,000,000 tons a year for 

 all the producers. Railroad-building progressed 

 more rapidly than might have been expected, 

 it being stimulated to some extent by the low 

 price of material and labor. The total mileage 

 of the year was about 4,000, representing, at 

 $30,000 a mile, including equipment, a capi- 

 tal outlay of $120,000,000, against about $202,- 

 600,000 in 1883. A very large amount of for- 

 eign and domestic capital was invested during 

 the year in grazing-land and the establishment 

 of cattle-ranches. 



The Crops* The cereal crops were almost 

 unprecedented in magnitude, and of superior 

 quality. The Agricultural Bureau's estimate of 

 the production of wheat was 512,763,900 bush- 

 els, against 420,154.500 in 1883 and 502,836,- 

 700 in 1882. That of corn was 1,795,528,432 

 bushels the largest ever grown against 1,- 

 551,066,835 in 1883 ; and that of oats was 583,- 

 628,000, against 571,302,400 in the previous 

 year. The cotton-crop was somewhat below 

 early expectations by reason of drought in Tex- 

 as, but the latest estimates place the yield at 

 about 5,900,000 bales, against 5,714,052 in 1883. 

 The very favorable outlook for a large yield 

 of fall-sown grain caused a sharp fall in wheat 

 in March, supplies that had been carried 

 through the winter by speculators being thrown 

 upon the market. This established compara- 

 tively low prices by the time the crop of win- 

 ter wheat was gathered, and induced the 

 prompt marketing of the staple. The Euro- 

 pean cereal crops were also large, and supplies 

 pressing on the London market from almost 



