The first three years enjoyed great prosperity and the number of combinations were six, thirteen, thirteen. In 1893, the number was less, but the total nominal capital (preferred and common stocks and bonds) was still the greatest it had ever been in any year. Then came the period of depression, 1894-97, when both the numbers and the capital were comparatively small. Then followed the period of the greatest formation of trust companies the world has ever seen, which extended from 1898 to 1901, and ended in 1902. [Sidenote: Trust statistics for 1904] In a list recently revised by another authority[2] it appears that the data for all "industrial trusts" (nearly, but not quite, comparable with the foregoing figures), are in round numbers as follows: Number of Plants Acquired Total Date Number or Controlled Nominal Capital Jan. 1, 1904 318 5288 $7,246,000,000 [Footnote 2: John Moody, "The Truth About the Trusts," 1904.] These figures would indicate that the industrial trusts more than doubled within four years, most of the growth being within three years. The same authority, in a more comprehensive list, classifies in six groups all so-called "trusts" of the United States, at the date of January 1, 1904, as follows (the figures just given above are the totals of the first three groups): No. of Plants Acquired or Total Groups Number Controlled Nominal Capital 1. Greater industrial trusts 7 1528 $2,660,000,000 2. Lesser industrial trusts 298 3426 4,055,000,000 3. Other industrial trusts in process of reorganization or readjustment 13 334 528,000,000 4. Franchise trusts 111 1336 3,735,000,000 5. Great steam railroad groups 6 790 9,017,000,000 6. Allied independent railroad groups 10 250 380,000,000 --- ---- --------------- Total, 445 8664 $20,000,000,000 § II. ADVANTAGES OF LARGE PRODUCTION [Sidenote: Economical use of machinery in large production]