[Trade Journal]
Publication: Annual Statement of the Commerce of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH, United States
p. 1,5-8,46-48,50,52, col. 1-2
ANNUAL STATEMENT
OF THE
COMMERCE OF CINCINNATI.
FOR THE
COMMERCIAL YEAR, ENDING AUG. 31, 1863,
REPORTED TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BY WILLIAM SMITH,
Superintendent of the Merchant's Exchange.
CINCINNATI:
GAZETTE COMPANY STEAM PRINTING OFFICE CORNER FOURTH AND VINE STREETS.
1863.
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ANNUAL STATEMENT.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
The great events growing out of the vast civil war, which still rages in the land, have made the past year, like the two former ones, remarkable. Great victories have been won, and defeats suffered by the army of the Government, but, on the whole, it has achieved important advantages, and made rapid progress in defeating the Rebel forces. These defeats and victories have, in their turn, agitated financial and commercial matters; at times almost paralyzing business in both departments. All classes in the Loyal States have hoped and feared alternately, but during the last six months of the year, hope predominated, and fear was being forgotten.
At the close of our last Statement, the affairs of the coutry [sic] country looked gloomy in the extreme; and, before that Statement was published, our city was threatened by a large Rebel army, and was really in great danger, for more than a month, of being captured by the insurgent forces. Fortifications were hastily erected on the Kentucky side of the river, martial law proclaimed on the 2nd of September in this city, Covington and Newport, and the entire able-bodied male population called out to fortify and bear arms. At the call of the Governor, twenty thousand men came in from the interior, and this and the adjoining cities were transformed into a vast camp of armed men. Business was totally abandoned, and its place taken by the insignia and the rush of war. This made all September and a great portion of October, blanks, comparatively, as regarded commerce, for although martial law did not exist in its full rigour all this time, yet the unsettled state of the public mind and the apprehensions regarding the safety of the city, made the time we have mentioned virtually what we state.
As the winter months came on this danger was removed, and commerce resumed its usual position; but the affairs of the nation continued to wear a gloomy aspect. Financial affairs became greatly agitated as soon as the new year came, and toward the close of January the currency of the country rapidly and largely depreciated, or, in other words, gold advanced to a rate which at once astonished and alarmed the entire community. Hope seemed to forsake the most hopeful, and fear took its place. This advance in gold was not so much in consequence of any defeat suffered in the field, as an impression that it would become necessary for the Secretary of the Treasury to issue legal tender notes, to an indefinite amount, and Congress seemed to lean in this direction. But Congress wisely left this to the able Secretary of the Treasury, and empowered him to do what he might deem advisable, and with the spring, affairs in the Cabinet and the field looked brighter, and during the summer, the great victories, of opening the Mississippi and defeating the Rebel army in Pennsylvania, turned the tide so thoroughly and completely in favor of the Government, that all looked bright and hopeful at the close, and the indications were that all the important points, in South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, will soon be occupied by the Government forces.
Commercially, the past year has been one of great prosperity in all departments; the vast sums of money spent by the Government in the prosecution of the war have increased the supply in the hands of all classes, who have spent it freely and extravagantly, so that trade has flourished and wealth increased with a rapidity and generality before unknown. In this general prosperity, our city has participated, though not to the extent she would have, had we not been situated as we are, and constantly menaced by the insurgents. But the wealth of our merchants has increased rapidly nevertheless, and our statistics exhibit a satisfactory result. There has been a steady demand for the luxuries as well as the necessaries of life, and this has given constant employment to our workshops, and labor has been scarce and in demand, and higher wages obtained than ever before known. The demand for the luxuries of life — jewelry and dress — has exceeded anything before thought of, but which is accounted for by the large amounts of money the general prosperity has placed in possession of masses of people, before unaccustomed to it, and who in common with uneducated man in all ages, imagine that to adorn themselves or their houses, with rich, costly and gaudy trappings, placed them among the great and noble of the race. Those who deal in gold and silver ornaments, and in precious stones, as well as all who trade in articles of dress, have done a business of great magnitude and profit, and have become rich beyond their expectations. Cabinet ware has been in great demand, and the various factories have been employed to their utmost capacity. The iron business, aside from the Government demand, has been rather dull, but there has been an increase in even this department, as compared with last year, as regards the city demand, but a flailing of as regards the demand from the interior. The Government demand for clothing, and the heavy contracts obtained by our clothing houses, have given employment to a large number of the population, of all classes; and not only in this department has this taken place, but the manufacture of tents, wagons, ambulances, and all camp and campaign equipage, has employed our mechanics of all classes, and our general trade has felt this army demand throughout all its ramifications.
Our statistics of the commerce of the city, establish the singular fact that whilst the high prices diminished the consumption of the necessaries of life, the consumption of what is called the luxuries actually increased.
The imports show a large increase in Apples, Boots and Shoes, Crockery Ware, Cheese, Cotton, Flour, Hardware, Lead, Leather, General Merchandise, (chiefly dry goods,) Molasses, Nails, Pork, Potatoes, Spices, Foreign Fruits. Tea and Wines, in which the increase is over one hundred per cent.
In the exports, there is a marked increase in Apples, Ale, Beef, &c., Brooms, Butter, Boots and Shoes, Crockery or Queensware, Chairs Candles, Corn, Cheese, Cotton, Fish, Furniture — the increase in which is over one hundred per cent., — Grease, Hides, Hardware, Malt, Oil, Oats, Onions, Pork, Potatoes, Merchandise, (generally dry goods,) Spices, Wines.
The falling of has been light, in both the imports end exports, with but few exceptions. In the imports there is a marked deficiency in Corn, Cooperage, Cattle, Dried Fruit, Wheat and Whisky. In the exports, Alcohol, Buffalo Robes, Bran, &c., Coffee, Cooperage, Cattle, Eggs, Flour, Window Glass, Iron, Rye, Soap, Sheep, Manufactured Tobacco, Tallow, Whisky, White Lead and Castings.
With the exception of a demand for flour, wheat, lard and mess pork — when gold advanced to 150 and upward — from parties who desired to protect themselves against loss consequent upon what they feared a permanent depreciation of the currency, there has been a general absence of speculation in produce. And those who bought in January and February, for the purposes stated, lost largely. Not less than thirty thousand bbls. of flour were bought then in this city and held on until summer and sold at a loss of $1 50 to $2 50 per bbl.; and lard was bought largely at 10 to 10 3/4c. in February, and is still held.
The great abundance of money and the accumulation of idle capital, caused anxious inquiry for something in which to make temporary and profitable investments, and there has been few seasons when less opportunities offered for making such, with any degree of safety. There was a large foreign demand for domestic produce, but the abundance was so great that prices, notwithstanding that the rate of exchange was, on an average, 25 per cent, above par, and against this country, prices ruled much lower than might have been expected, and American produce was laid down in European markets, at prices below any previous precedent.
The pork crop of this country was an immense one, exceeding the calculations of the most sanguine, in the resources of the country, and the business done in pork packing, as will be seen, far exceeded that of any previous season. The trade, however, has not proved profitable, as the price paid for hogs was too high, notwithstanding the depreciated currency; but whilst this injured the dealer, it benefitted the farmers, for whilst the price, compared with a specie standard, was low, it was in fact, for all practical purposes, high, as the currency not only paid debts, but enabled them to buy land at old prices — for land did not advance — and to stock their farms at but a slight advance over previous rates. In short, the payment was to the agricultural classes nearly if not quite as good as if it had been in specie.
It will be seen, by referring to our table showing the value of the imports and exports, there is a large increase- in the value, which, however, is not so much in consequence of the increase in the quantity of merchandise, as the great advance in prices of nearly all articles of both foreign and domestic produce. The value of the imports the past year is, in round numbers, 144 millions, against 103 millions the previous year; and of the exports 102 millions, against 76 millions the previous year.
The value of the imports and exports for a series of years compare as follows:
It must be borne in mind that all our imports, and a very large portion of the exports, are not included in the above values in any year:
The great advance in gold caused a general and corresponding advance in all kinds of foreign merchandise, as well all articles of domestic produce, for which there is a demand in foreign markets, and a large speculative business based upon this existed in the Eastern cities, beginning with October and terminating with March. And in view of this the comparisons we give are distorted, because the general advance they show is in most cases but apparent, and therefore, in order to compare the actual values, one-fourth should be deducted from the prices we shall give for the past year.
The opening of the Mississippi River, by the capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, in July, which is now being navigated by our steamers without interruption, was one of the great events of the year, and, as far as the West is concerned, the most important, and a gradual resumption of trade with the people on the borders of the lower Mississippi may be reasonably expected; but this will be a slow affair in the estimation of those who have supposed that the opening of the navigation of the River would be followed by the resumption of trade immediately.
A Railway is now being constructed in Kentucky, for the purpose of opening Railway communication with East Tennessee, which will prove of more importance to this city than any public improvement in the way of Railways, which has been made. The construction of this Railway is being prosecuted by the Government as a military necessity, and for military purposes, but after the war is over the Railway will remain, and place our city in direct communication with Tennessee and all the central Southern States. This road should have been constructed two years ago and it would have saved the Government four times the amount it would have cost, besides giving to it the complete control of that loyal part of Tennessee.
The crops of the present year, so far as secured, have been a fair average, but frost toward the close it is feared has seriously injured the corn and tobacco, in all parts year, as enough is safe to more than supply of the West, north of the latitude of this city; but we will treat of this more fully under the proper head. There is, however, no danger of a scarcity of food the coming the wants of the country.
We will close our introductory remarks by stating that abundance and general prosperity prevails throughout the free or loyal States, never excelled, if ever equaled, since the formation of the Government, which is in striking contrast to the utter prostration of trade and general desolation in all those States which have participated in this gigantic effort, not only to destroy this Government, but to demonstrate the theory as true that despotic or monarchial Governments are but the ones adapted to humanity.
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CINCINNATI
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
1862-1863
OFFICERS.
PRESIDENT,
GEORGE F. DAVIS.
VICE-PRESIDENTS,
N. GOLDSMITH, ISAAC A. OGBORN,
WM. HENRY DAVIS, A. E. ARMSTRONG,
JAS. M. GLENN, THOS. H. FOULDS.
TREASURER,
GEORGE KECK.
SECRETARY,
JOHN A. GANO.
Members, September 1st, 1863:
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Gray, Hemingray & Bro.
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