Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1853-01-15
Signs Of Commercial Peril.

Hunts Meychants M0gdz1ne for January
touches briefly upon two or three topics winch
at this moment possess more thaa ordinary IN
tcrest We extract the following suggestive
paragraphs
"Onr merchants have never enjoyed such
uninterrupted prosperity. breaches OF mer-
camille faith, or failure to meet commercial en-
gAgemenls have been almost unknown, and
thus the profit and loss accounts exhibit Il
range of entries all upon the credit side.
'What nexf Z IS the QUESTION asked, or ans
ously considered every side. Have we
reached this height of prosperity only to MAXI
our fll the more disnsrousl Is the Course Of
commer,i al aAniis ALWAYS like the segment Of
a circle described by a childs sW ing, and can
there be no progress without corresponding
rcactian? Has the world grown no wiser
with ago than thus 10 Iiol up the hill with the
ccrtainty that the ground Will all be lost AGAIN.
These are thoughts which will come To many
during The long evening that close in upon the
new wear.
There are, it is true, some signs of evil por
tent. We regard as the most dangerous The
rapid increase of new banks. The pinci pal
danger from This source is no: IN the fact that
the expenses of legitimate banking will be
greatly increased, while the profits " il only be
di, ldcd. Nor j. II 40 much In the healthy ex
pansion which will be created by the in
creased issue oi paper money, although this
is evil Oft OR, at magnitude. The great dan
ger lies in The fact thai the control of the cur.
rcncy and the direction Of monetary alta RS
will pass, IN a Or, al measure, from the hands
of the judlclousand experienced into the hands
OF new set OF men, too little accus,ot ed 10
| L
in great degree by new hands, un disciplined
bv former revcrscs. aud unaccusfoned TO the
dangers which are sure to lie encountcred.-
Like inexperienced mariners thew will carry
too much sal in fair weather. and give way
| to too sudden patic When tie storm over
| takes them. A large cllss f The new banks,
too, are originated by borro,cerS instead Of
capitalists, aud this will add neither to their
caution nor stability.
"Anorhrr inGicn;ion of evil is The rapid for
nation ofnrw houses ny young and inexper
encrd clerks, no ought to he kept under the
control of wiser heads until they are more Fl
10 be trusted to their own strength. The re.
qul,es for the successful management of mer
camille business are greatly under"aed by a
| majority Of the young men in this country, and
the melancholy disasters with which our com
merclal history in the past is so thick y >rrr"cd
seem IN have no infpe in deitIring the
Young and advcnlu ons from emlarkrng IN tn"
sane desperate enterprise. And many even
of those who have some reason IN setling up
forthemseves. slow but little Judgment al The
very outset of their career. They have no
patience for the small beginnings the SLOW and
sure earnings which have laid the foundation
of all legitimate success in mercantile pursuits
They law out their s. hpme on a sc ale, of mao
m6cence truly dazzling and their expenses
are generally in n ralIo inverse To their profit
This multiplication of mercantile houses will
be one OF the most trying of all the assaults up
on our prosperity for the coming year.