Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-02-01
The Gr.stRevuision of 1851,

Oy lts lessOns, VI DiiuuiJ hhu HceuiFNNiJ u
peat the errors which melted il? Sh the
burnt child realize aud respect the truth that
fire will burn or shall be proceed to thrust
his fingers afresh into the glowing EN- 1ers Is
carelessly as il they had never scurchei him?
Shall experience teach us or shall all the
commercial reverses and disasters of 1897
have been suffered absolutely III vain?
The business OF new year is just begin
ming. The plans and engagements which
will largely control it are now in process o!
formation. The best intentions and re-
solves will not, Indeed, insure line of cot
duet in perfect consistency herewith; but 1t
is very certain that we shall not, g. CON-
munity, do better than we intend. On what
principles, then, we urgently ask, Is the
American Trace of 1858 to be c'tductcd ?
by what rules is it u be governed!
1t must be stead ly borne in mind that,
though the first fury OF the commercial tor
nado is spent, its disastrous effects have by
90 means been fully realized aud proclaim
ed. There are still thoGs .nds who hold
their heads quite high, including many who
even eateem themselves wealthy and pros
porous, who arc nevertheless this hour lnsOi-
vent, and must SOON be proclaimed so. The
country is talry covered with the wrecks OF
the great hurricane some of which are COW
cred by other wrecks or otherwise shrOudei
from observation. Many an honorable mer-
chant supposes himself solvent and fore
handed on the strength Of bills receivable,
which w,i neither be paid 1T maturity nor
ever. There are thousands Of MORTGAGES In
existence and supposed ny their holders to
ue worth treir face, which will never com
mand the b; Ii f it. T. say n1tning ot the
Railroad Stocks AID Bonds which are not
woItl the paper they spoil, the amount OF
ylrieglt but al worthless promises 70 lay,
whercwith the whole land Is plastarrd, is
enough to put the eptre gold product OF
California t. open shame.
We know how general is the belief that
the interior is full of unreallzed wealth, IN
the shape OF Grain IN the stack or the shock,
only awaiting the opportuue mo ncnt to ru-h
to the seaboard and extngush ali on Istand-
ing mere tn,iIe iudebt 'dness son, the .tu-
merS are rich" is alleged on every eide,
land, when they sell their crops, all vii! he
made right" No calculation was ever more
faIlacious. A good many-rerhaps most
farmers will he able to pay their o"n debts
when they shall have marketed their crops;
but tins will fall far short Of clearing ott tbs
mercantile indebtedness Of the Interior. II
remains 10 be proved 1T the owners OF the
surplus Grain aud the debtors to the country
merchants are the same, aud not two very
different classes. There are tJwnshlps, and
even counties, which possess the wheTe"ith
TO pay all their mercantile Indebtedness; but
those who owe the debt do not happen to
own the means which undoubtedly exist for
paying 1t.
Let US STATE few facts. In furnishing
young city of Wisconsin, three mercantile
firms, all respectable and hitherto IN CO.
credit we're recently constrained to make
assignments One Of them owed thTtY'hVe
thousand dollars, and showed bills recelVt-
bic lgooi and bad to the amount Of ten
thousand; another owed something over
twenty thousand, aud set forth bills receiva-
tie TALL sort-l to the amount of e'ght thous-
and. Each, of course, had some goods on
hand-not many, tor they had purchased
little since last Syring-not u speak OF
Real Estate" which they valued at ten
thousand, and which might possibly be sold
for two Thousand. 1t can hardly be neces-
sary to add that the farmers may hquldhte
every farthing that is due these concerns
and vet they cannot pay fifty cents on the
dollar. There are good many ouch mer-
camille concerns, and they are by no means
contiued to the West.
The vital truth is, there are or recently
were) four times as many persons engaged
in Trade as there should be, and the mnlu
melting cause of this burdensnmc mlSllrPc
ton of effort is the fatal facility whefewi'h
goods have been bought on credit Almost
any youth, after serving rs clerk Tor year
or two, could gather In score oi CONNER
datOry letters, on tho strength OF which ne
could buy several Thousand dollars worth VI
goods, in any of the great seaboard cities. -
Thus launched upon the sea OF Trade, with
out capital, capacity or adequate experience,
but with the means Of gratifying every APP
petite and whim so easily acquired, what
wonder if he launched into prodIgal expect
d,ures, married and furnished house,
bought a store, dipped into land speculntlons,
and subscribed generou-ly 10 the RHlroad,
fondly expected to make a city OF bis village
paying all from the proceeds OF tie goods
all but thrust upon him? VI course, the
goods themselves he cannot pay for; but he
can rail at the "panic' and denounce those
who are destroying the credit Of the coun-
try" as heartily as the Ioudest
The country does not need onc-fonrth the
amount Of Dry Goods 10 1853 that were sent
into it 10 1856 or 7, and will be every way
richer and more prosperous II they should
neither be imported nor distributed. NJ re-
taller who owes one farthing for past pnrcha-
ses should obtain another dollars worth on
credit; and those who are out OF DEBT can DO
nothing else 80 wise "a to keep out. II JON
bers in ST. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, DuNuqn"
and other Western cities, see lit to give ere
dit of sixty or ninety days to the retailers OF
the surrounding country knowing them IL
tiuayely and having them constantly IN view,
that may be q toieratly safe operation; tut,
"a between the r tailcrs and their customers,
there is but one sound pulicy--that OF, Pay
Down. Let the farmer who has Corn or
Cattle to spare, accept low price 10 baud
rather than hi her price IN promises; and
l., the merchant invariably do hkcwise.-
q :od pavmas;ers have long enough pad 10
enhanced prices for the goods consumed by
had ones. There never was better time
than the present for turning over new ieai,
and insisting that it shall stay turned. Inc
infiexjble disuss hencefOrth OF Mercantile
Credit would add tens OF thousands specify
and permanently to the producers OF our
country's. wealth. lrsiead OF supporting
such armies of traders, lawyers, sherlbS,
cupstables, &C., &c, cur producers would
vla