Few Failures

One of the favorite indications as to the condition of business is the record of business failures compiled by Bradstreet. For October October total since the boom days of 1920. Liabilities of last month's failures were only $36,195,273, likewise the lowest October figures since 1920.

For the country, failures last October were 11% under those for October, 1924, and last month's liabilities were 21% under those for the corresponding period in 1924. In only New England were this year's failures heavier than the year before, while liabilities were lighter in all sections except the South and Central West.

Experience indicates that failure statistics are apt to run behind the general business cycle rather than with or before it. This is because insolvencies can usually be delayed some time after a crash in business. For the same reason, light failure-statistics necessarily indicate past rather than present prosperity.