New-York daily tribune., 1849-04-26
NEW-YORK TRIBUNE.
The Trade Reform.

.seu 10 be sudden, II IS because tpe real chauge
h.d long been going on Unuoticed end that winch
/. mistaken for it is only the disclosure or discoy
.,v You will only hear from the vulgar and shaI
os that repeated attempts at fenovatlon have
,,iied or broken down, until at ast the ignorant
and crcdulous are astounded by the admission
.h.t what they have SO often b}en told had ex
nloded has actually triumphed Even now they
will not comprehend that what they have been
,,nsbt 70 consider failures wa but the necessary
foundation Of what they must now admit lssuccess
that the latter IS but the mpiemcnt aud frui-
,.on Of the former They admit the particular fact
In, shut their eyes 70 the general principle, aud
the verynext reform that is commenced finds them
q, blind and shallow as ever.
There IL TO be, there must be, arcat Reform IN
the mode and means Of ehecting Exchanges Of
Products betw weenproducers and consumers sener
s1y. The AVERAGE cost Oi such exchanges is alb.
,grlly higher than It need be and viii be. There
are certain marked exceptions % this general
statement one Of them 10 the case Of Cotton.
Tie manufacturer whether in Ola or New En-
land. in France or Pittsburgh, regularly buys his
stock Of Cotton for seldom more and often less
than the growers price with the usual charges Tor
brokerage and transportation. The same IS the
case with few other great staples which are
mainly bought and sold in large quantities, aud
which suffer little injury from time or changes OF
climate. But with regard 10 the great majority OF
vendiblcs the fact is eloomily Otherwise There
are very many articles which cost large classes Of
consumers three 10 SIX times what the producers
receive for them while ON more than hall tie
IL .t
twenty five TO fifty per cent. above what they
need cost the consumer. THIS advance IS tax
on Productive Labor which canuct long abide
the nciehborhood of Common Schools, cheap
Newspapers and Electric Tele 5raphs. 1t must
come down.
Do you ask uhy toe rate Of mercantile profit Is
too high Count the number Of stores in any
County, and you have ready answer. There are
FIVE to ten times as many persons employed in aud
subssting by Trade az there need or should be.
As the taxes of a nation must be in proportion to
the number and salaries of those quartered on It's
Treasury, the profits of Trade must be graduated
by the number they are required 10 support. IL
twenty mercantile establishments are kept up
where three would be abundant, the average I'D
vance on the cost Of the goods must be three or
tour times what it should be. of course we DO
not forget the use OF competition IN counteractng
selfish rapacity but there are ways oi attaining
the good here contemplated far more cheaply than
by employing twenty men to do the work winch
three would do better.
We shall have an end OF this The diversihca-
ton of industrial pursuits W i'll do much to promote
IT, As a general rule, the profit charged on any
article 10 the consumer is proportoned to the DIS
tance from the point Of production. iabric "hich
tue msnuiscturer will gladly sell people OF his
own county for ave per cent. on its cost and think
he is doing W ell will sell thousand miles AWAY
attwenty per cent aud across Continent at ihty
or even a hundred. When the nations OF the
earth shall have become wise enough to purchase
freely OF each other such raw materials as the na-
ture of their soil or climate iorbds them respect
vely TO produce, each iabricating and comm'ng-
ling for itself, the aggregate tax levied on Labor
by Traffic will be immensely diminished. Butthat
is a work of time
The more immediate instrumentalities through
which reduction Of this tax IS to be Effected are,
as we have hitherto stated, the substitution Of
Cash Payment for Credit as the common law oi
mercantile TRANSACTIONS and an immense and sys-
tematic extension of Advertising And though on
these heads we have little to offer that is novel,
we would again commend them to public at'en-
ton.
Credit, we need hardly repeat, is an excellent
an indispensab thing, but grossly abused, as eX-
cehent things are apt TO be- ltouGht TO be based
ON substantial security. We give credit to bank
note which we know to be based upon ana Sc
cured by a deposit of State Stocks In the pubic
Golfers of our State we give credit to the man
who profrers pledge Of undoubted property Tor
the punctuaI payment of his debt we givc credit
TO the man we thoroughly know as a man OF IN
tegrty and pecuniary ability. So far all is legi'I-
mate though it should still appear that the person
giving credit is thoroughly able so to do. Credit
should be given because the creditor is able anu
willing to entrust some share OF his means 10 inc
less fortunate debtor, and not merely because the
former is a seller and the latter buyer. SeHlns
and giving credit are two entirely distinct opera
tons and one should never suppose nor inVoNe
the other. But the existing system OF Mercah'"o
Credit is as loose and vicious as 1t could DC shd
not lead directly TO general ruin. Our importers
buy in Europe on credit our manufacturers are
too often constrained to sell through commission
really able to give it, but because such is the course
Of trade and they must conform to II or not sell al
all, except at ruinous sacrifice. The Jobber ol
jobs on credit, and when his payments
crowd him he IS forced to credit not less but more
ior his stock IN store will not pay his notes, but
when turned into retailers paper though not ao'
solutely known TO be good, it can. well endorsed,
be ground into cash. 1t is mystery, therefore,
that failing house has lots Of bad paper among
its assets is natural as life Ii has been
making sales to Keep the mill going and could not
stop to be nice. Thus green country youth, not
worth a thousand dollars in the world but backed
up by such letters as most people will write or sign
without much consideration OF conscience, can
come hers and get in debt Tor FIVE thousand dol
lars worth of goods, when they have no lesiti-
mate claim TO credit for onefourth the amount.
These they go back 10 retail, nine tonths on
credit to Tom, Dick and Harry, at glorious
prices. but with dubious prospects OF payment.